Combating Bigotry & Hate
September 19, 2017
Ex-Members, Bigotry and Lazy Journalism
I have no doubt that in some cases the alleged negative experiences of ex-members are at least partially true. But what about...
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Scientology Religion
September 18, 2017
Surviving Irma Together—A Scientologist’s View from the Ground
While that contribution ended up playing out in the media, the behind-the-scenes I saw was more personal. It was the way the...
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Scientology Religion
September 17, 2017
A Scientologist’s Response to “Critics”
Journalists always seem to get their panties in a wad, downright insulted that Scientologists, when asked to “respond to...
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Scientology Religion
September 14, 2017
What Scientology Is, to Me
For me, Scientology is about endless possibility and hope. It’s about daring to aim for the top of the mountain and the...
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Religious Freedom
September 13, 2017
Adams, Jefferson, Religion & Freedom
A while ago I wrote a post about a squabble in Arizona over whether a humanist could give a benediction to the state legislature...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
September 13, 2017
Never Again—For Anyone
When I was a kid in the 70’s, I went to Sunday school at my synagogue. We did arts, crafts, sang songs and learned about...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
September 13, 2017
Scientology and the War of Two Worlds
It was 1938. Adolph Hitler (Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year”) had begun dropping in on his neighbors without an invitation....
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
September 13, 2017
The Rise of Hate in America
We as Scientologists have worked hard to demonstrate our values to the world. We help. We are first responders to world disasters....
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Religious Freedom
September 9, 2017
UN Youth Summit Inspires Human Rights Advocates Worldwide
I met Christians, Buddhists, Bahá’ís, Sikhs and Muslims. They were all united in their belief that fundamental human rights...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
August 31, 2017
Hate Merchant Tony Ortega Tries—and Fails—to Curtail STAND’s First Amendment Rights
Ortega was the chief editor of the Village Voice when it harbored Backpage.com, which, according to numerous media reports,...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
August 29, 2017
My Ph.D. in Hate: A Scientologist STANDs Against Bigotry
I know a lot about hate. Unfortunately, I’ve had way too much experience with intolerance and bigotry. I’m an expert in...
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Religious Freedom
August 28, 2017
Bigotry 101: Beware of Dragons
“Stay away from that,” warned my history professor, glaring at the book in my bag. “I’m serious.” “It’s… dangerous!”...
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Religious Freedom
August 23, 2017
STAND Member Reflects on Visit to Iconic Religious Freedom Site
Under cover of a January blizzard, Roger Williams left his wife and children, slipping away to avoid the men sent to arrest...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
August 16, 2017
Apostates: My Personal Encounters
Using apostates to spread religious intolerance is not a new tactic, but in the age of the internet and life-as-entertainment,...
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Religious Freedom
August 12, 2017
The Importance of Religious Liberty, a Scientologist’s view
During the modern age, regardless of how that is defined, unquestionably few groups have done more to advance the cause of...
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Religious Freedom
August 11, 2017
The “Haunted” Inn and a Lesson on Perspective
Recently, I flew back to my home town for a high school reunion. I rented a car and drove to the Historic Brook Forest Inn,...
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Scientology Religion
August 10, 2017
Why Leah Remini is Only Worth Pitying
One of the first things one learns about when studying Scientology is the definition of an overt act. An overt act is an act...
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Scientology Religion
August 8, 2017
Church of Scientology Mission of Baton Rouge—Beacon of Light and Hope on the Mississippi
This building of this Mission represents years of dedication by me and many others. It is an aesthetic space worthy of the...
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Religious Freedom
August 3, 2017
STAND Considers United Nations Combat of Hate Speech a Good Sign
UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered an insightful speech when he launched the Fez Plan of Action to prevent hate...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
July 28, 2017
How to Kill a Culture—A Satire
My mission is very simple: I want to kill a culture. I have been thinking about this for a long time and I believe I now have...
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Scientology Religion
July 26, 2017
Scientology and Responsibility
If you have the impression that Scientologists never examine Scientology, you would be wrong. The simple practice of Scientology...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
July 25, 2017
What I’ve Learned About Bigotry as an Arab-American Scientologist
As an Arab-American Scientologist, I’m familiar with bigotry. My family emigrated to the United States from Palestine when...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
July 24, 2017
The Liability of Religion Labels
Labels can be great. You can look at can labels and find out whether what you’re getting ready to eat is good for you. You...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
July 23, 2017
Does Walgreens Want People to Hate?
Walgreens is a sponsor of an A&E show featuring previously unemployed actress Leah Remini and other former members of the...
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Religious Freedom
July 20, 2017
A Case of Medical Discrimination
I took a survey yesterday about my recent experience in the hospital. I was there for a C-section for my third baby. One of...
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Religious Freedom
July 19, 2017
Faith, Freedom and One’s Fellow Man
After seven hours of a passionate but civil public dialogue, more than 170 Americans came together to decide the future of...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
July 18, 2017
Psychiatrists Say “Journalism” is a Mental Illness
So there I was minding my own business, having a little fun scrolling through what passes for “the news” when I spy this...
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Religious Freedom
July 12, 2017
A Scientologist’s Great-Grandmother’s Poem
I was fortunate enough to know, and have wonderful conversations, with a truly fascinating woman—my great grandmother. Just...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
July 5, 2017
The Power of a Well-Told Story
The other day, I read an online article that spoke of how an animation studio’s approach to storytelling was repurposed...
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Religious Freedom
July 4, 2017
Reflections on Independence Day and Freedom of Belief
As a Scientologist, a STAND member and a United States citizen who spent the bulk of her college career studying the American...
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Religious Freedom
June 30, 2017
Did the Supreme Court Just Strengthen or Weaken Religious Freedom?
Many generations of Supreme Court Justices have tried to define the correct balance of church and state.
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Religious Freedom
June 28, 2017
Football, Faith and Freedom
We LOVE football in our house. Everybody has a different favorite team they’re passionate about which makes holiday shopping...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 28, 2017
Tim Tebow’s Religion, America’s Favorite Pastime
What’s the saying? “It’s as American as baseball and apple pie?” Football gets a lot of the love these days but whenever...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 28, 2017
A Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing
I don’t know Leah. I didn’t know Leah. I have no interest in ever knowing Leah. But we share many connections, and friends,...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 27, 2017
Et tu, Stacey Carosi?
In one of my favorite seasons of Saved by the Bell, Zack Morris developed a summer relationship with Stacey Carosi, a tough,...
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Religious Freedom
June 26, 2017
Debunking the “Atheists are Smarter” Myth
Several researchers in the field of psychology descended from the ultra-recirculated, purified air of academia to address...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 21, 2017
To All the Good People out There
I just watched a beautiful video on Facebook. It was about an experiment conducted in Lithuania in which a young black man...
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Scientology Religion
June 19, 2017
The Power of Listening
The first course I took in Scientology was called, “The Communication Course.” The first exercise on the course was called...
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Scientology Religion
June 18, 2017
The Truth about Scientology, in my View
I remember when I was 17 years old and first walked into a Church of Scientology in Chicago. I was young, troubled, unsure...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 17, 2017
I Met a Scorpion Today
There are two versions of a well-known fable you might have heard. In the first one, a scorpion asks a frog to carry it across...
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Religious Freedom
June 16, 2017
Freedom in Prison
If a man breaks the law, does he then lose his right to be treated as a human being? It’s got to be said that here we’re...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 14, 2017
Has Social Media Become Antisocial?
Okay, I finally did it: I divorced Facebook. I let my friends know that I am done and won’t be visiting that space any more....
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 14, 2017
How Far Is Too Far in Punishing Hate Speech?
In a recent Scottish YouTube video, the creator orchestrates his dog giving a Hitler salute to the camera. Whether you think...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 14, 2017
The Only “Story” That Matters About the Portland Stabbing
I’ve been reading about the train stabbing incident in Portland with a heavy heart. Like so many others, I’ve been trying...
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Scientology Religion
June 13, 2017
The Biggest Secret About Scientology
I won't get into how it was, but one day I was sitting in a hotel in Siberia, downing a few vodka shots with Misha, the owner....
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Religious Freedom
June 12, 2017
Intolerance Takes Center Stage in Austria
The Austrian Parliament recently passed a law banning women from wearing garments that cover their face s. As is the norm...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 10, 2017
In Spite of Everything
The defacing of a public monument is a despicable crime in and of itself. But when the target is a beloved figure like Anne...
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Religious Freedom
June 8, 2017
It’s Your Right, But Is It Right?
I believe in the power of speech. I believe in freedom of speech. I believe in my First Amendment rights. I believe in our...
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Religious Freedom
June 7, 2017
Pray-o-mat: Humble Photo Booth Becomes a Place of Worship
So now you can sit in a booth at Stuttgart airport and access 300 audio prayers from a variety of world religions. The seed...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 6, 2017
The Big Lie
I was watching the game show Jeopardy the other night when the host, Alex Trebek, presented the clue, “The most secretive...
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Religious Diversity
June 5, 2017
President Trump’s Trip
I’ve been following the President’s current overseas trip with interest. Whatever people think of the man (and I haven’t...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
June 4, 2017
When Belief is a Crime
In a May meeting with the Turkish prime minister, President Trump made a special appeal for the release of Andrew Brunson....
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Religious Freedom
June 3, 2017
Humanity vs. a Higher Power and the Arizona Invocation
An atheist member of the Arizona legislature caused a small stir recently when she offered up a humanist invocation calling...
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Scientology Religion
May 29, 2017
A Face to Go With a Faith
Growing up in a new religion can be an interesting experience. As a child I was completely uninhibited about my beliefs. But...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 29, 2017
How to Make a Monster
I came across an article the other day that was so outrageous my mind locked up on it for some time. Here’s what it said:...
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Scientology Religion
May 26, 2017
Science and Religion
When I was a kid I asked a lot of questions. That wouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me now. I can be a little obsessive...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 25, 2017
A Story about Rocks, Inspired by Rolling Stone
“The pen is mightier than the sword,” as the saying goes. If you give an idiot a sword he’ll end up hurting innocent...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 24, 2017
Raising Our Voices—What it Means to be a STAND Member
Scientologists are, almost without exception, really nice people. That’s something you could say of most people and groups...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 23, 2017
A Different Perspective on “Cults”
All new religions before being “established” are or were considered “cults” (definition 3). That would include Christianity...
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Religious Freedom
May 22, 2017
That Joke Ain’t Funny
There are times I feel like complaining and this is one of those times. I was looking through Facebook the other day and saw...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 22, 2017
Where Do You Stand on Taking a Stand?
People are social creatures, and this is one of our greatest strengths and one of our greatest weaknesses, all at the same...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 21, 2017
Freedom of Thought: Infinitely Valuable and Incessantly Attacked
In the wake of the 1960’s, my father and mother began studying Dianetics and Scientology in New York and San Francisco....
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 21, 2017
The Accidental Bigot
A bigot’s a bad thing to be. But, theoretically, it could happen to any one of us. For many years (and in what feels like...
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Religious Freedom
May 20, 2017
The Only Ones That Can Save Us
Time and again, whole peoples have put their trust and hope in their leaders, to their lasting regret. An individual from...
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Scientology Religion
May 18, 2017
What? Scientology?!
If you have ever read or watched some media panic piece on Scientology, you may have wondered why anyone in their right mind...
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Religious Freedom
May 17, 2017
Tell Someone. And Get Them to Tell Someone Else.
It has been said that if one person told someone about something, and then the next day that second person told someone else,...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 16, 2017
Today’s “Journalism”—Now That’s Entertainment
Who cares if Brian Williams is a stone cold liar? Do we really care about honest journalism? It’s boring to watch all these...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 14, 2017
How it Felt to Be Treated Like a Nazi
When I was in third grade, I had a teacher who despised me. It wasn't because of anything I'd done to her, and it wasn't that...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 12, 2017
Haters Gonna Hate
Overly tall, olive-skinned, with full lips and unmanageable curly hair I looked odd among both the children of German refugees...
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Religious Freedom
May 11, 2017
The Good, the Bad and the Judgment
I was told many times growing up that I needed to use a little judgment. This was usually after I had brought about a disaster...
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Scientology Religion
May 10, 2017
Know What You’re Objecting To
It’s fine if you object, but at least know what it is you’re objecting to. As a Scientologist of 36 years, I’ve read...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 10, 2017
Impulse to Attack the Unknown
I recall an incident from many years ago where a couple of misguided radio personalities in my city decided it would be a...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 9, 2017
The Urban Redneck
There is no other way to put this: If you believe and repeat the corporate-owned media narrative on Scientology (and pretty...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 9, 2017
The “Cult” Label
I'm a Scientologist who has studied Scientology for years. Decades actually. I know a lot of other Scientologists and, while...
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Scientology Religion
May 8, 2017
One of Those Scientologists
A few years back my husband and I took in a family member who was having a rough time. She’d been on and off drugs for decades—yes...
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Scientology Religion
May 7, 2017
I’m “Secretive” About My Religion?
My religion has a lot that gets said about it in the media. But one of the most laughable and irksome myths about Scientology...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
May 6, 2017
Why Scientology Jokes Fall Flat
The comedian is a rare and powerful breed. He can point out what's wrong with the world through the use of humor and be poignant...
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Religious Freedom
May 3, 2017
How I Judge
Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Buddhist, Lama, Muslim, Baptist, Scientologist and on and on and on the list goes. I...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
April 28, 2017
Sympathy for the Devil
If I were the devil I would strike up the band and throw a party. I’d be scrubbing my hands in glee right now as I watched...
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Religious Freedom
April 27, 2017
Remembering the Holocaust, and a Remarkable Story of Survival
Joe was a brilliant, hard-working man who, because he was Jewish, found himself a prisoner in a concentration camp in Poland...
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Religious Freedom
April 27, 2017
What the News Media Will Never Tell You About Scientology
I have been in Scientology since 1980. At the age of 24 my life had become consumed by alcohol and drug abuse. I was on the...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
April 26, 2017
Leah Remini and a Friender Bender
I was always looking for “my” religion. Since I was a little girl. My parents didn’t follow any one faith and allowed...
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Scientology Religion
April 26, 2017
To Share or Not to Share, That is the Question
When my husband and I eloped nearly 28 years ago, we had no idea what we were doing. But we were so distracted by the butterflies...
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Scientology Religion
April 25, 2017
Coming Out
Ok, admittedly, that title is somewhat deceiving—I am a happily married heterosexual woman. But here’s the thing: the...
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Religious Literacy
April 25, 2017
Don’t Be Stupid
To me stupidity is not knowing about something, but then acting or speaking as if you do. Let’s say you start criticizing...
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Combating Bigotry & Hate
April 24, 2017
Why Religions Aren’t Like Football Teams
Is it too far-fetched to conceive that “football” could be a religion? Well, if you are ever in Knoxville during football...
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& DISINFORMATION
If you have encountered hate speech and disinformation online, in the media, or in any public venue, take action by reporting it here.
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FREEDOM OF RELIGION
Urge adoption of the Charter on Journalistic Ethics in Relation to Respect for Religion or Belief. Make your voice heard.
ABOLISH DISCRIMINATION
OF ANY KIND
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