The Scientology Parishioner's League (SPL) was established in 2000 "to defend and protect the Scientology religion and its members from hatred, threats and defamation." Given the Church of Scientology's penchant for attracting severe criticism the need for such an anti-defamation league should be clear, yet the SPL has been almost invisible in recent years, especially since the departure of their first editor, Tory Christman.
Until now. Apparently alarmed by a "press release" from the non-existent "National Coalition of Human Rights Activists" (an ersatz organization invented by Church of Scientology critic David Rice) the long moribund SPL—in an attempt to set the record straight—issued its own press release.
August 5, 2005
PRESS RELEASE
For more information contact:
Scientology Parishioners League
Parishioners League Supports Stolen Valor Act
The Scientology Parishioners League fully supports the “Stolen Valor Act”, introduced by U.S. Congressman John T. Salazar of Colorado.
The proposed legislation would penalize distributors of phony medals and those who fraudulently claim to be decorated veterans.
The League also condemns anyone who would abuse the purpose of the congressman’s bill by trying to incite hatred against actual veterans who earned their decorations in the service of their country.
One such abuser is David Rice, who recently posted a press release about the “Stolen Valor Act” in which he made gratuitous and false statements about L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion.
Mr. Hubbard’s Notice of Separation from the U.S. Navy shows that he was awarded 21 medals and palms for service during World War II. The document lists, among others, the Purple Heart (palm), a distinction awarded only to those wounded in combat. The palm is awarded in lieu of a second Purple Heart and indicates that the recipient was wounded in action at least twice.
There is plenty of additional documentation evidencing Mr. Hubbard’s combat record, including the statements of those who served under him and who held him in the highest regard.
Rice’s outburst is not unexpected, as he has been making hateful attacks against our religion and its founder for many years. He has posted the global positioning system readings of churches of Scientology on the Internet, along with a photo and coordinates of one of the buildings. Rice has called this “target data.”
We concur with Congressman Salazar’s description of the purpose of the Act, which is “to protect the honor and integrity of our veterans, to make sure the memory of their heroism is not tarnished” and we wish him success in enacting this legislation.
One thing that should be clear from this statement by the SPL is that they have not done any research outside of checking their own official L. Ron Hubbard Hagiography. When writing apologetics one does not like to mention the arguments of one's detractors, but it is usually necessary if you want to convince anyone outside the choir. Unfortunately this piece does nothing to refute the specific claims of David Rice and cites no sources that any reader could have access to. Hubbard's performance during the war is a matter of public record, so the SPL's statement amounts to little more than claim of "is not," or even "I know you are but what am I?" In effect, by executing a feckless attack on David Rice and his remarks, the SPL has transformed an ignorable attack into something greater.
In fact, an informed examination of Hubbard's military record (a necessity for checking the facts of this case) shows that his "DD-214"—the final summary of the salient features of serviceman's career— was badly forged, as most any American military veteran could tell with even a casual reading.
Fortunately the DD-214, which is handed to servicemen when they return to civilian life (yours truly has one, someplace) is only a summary and can be compared to the original military service records when available. Church of Scientology (CoS) critic Karin Spaink did just that, refuting the official Cos claim. Unfortunately for the CoS, Hubbard's actual service record, held in the U.S. Navy's documented custody since the 1950's, trumps a document of lesser provenance which is replete with obvious inaccuracies of just the sort that would appear if a careless person was simply making things up.
National Coalition of Human Rights Activists Applauds 'Stolen Valor' Act.
The Act, if made into law, will allow prosecutors to seek fines and imprisonment for those who claim in print or in speech to have received military awards and honors they have not actually received.
Distribution Source : PRWeb
Date : Monday, August 01, 2005
(PRWEB) July 30, 2005 -- The NCHRA applauds and supports Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.) and his "The Stolen Valor Act of 2005," the initiative that will help preserve the honor of men and women who have fought for the United States of America.
The Act, if made into law, will allow prosecutors to seek fines and imprisonment for those who claim in print or in speech to have received military awards and honors they have not actually received.
"Awards usually come at the expense of personal sacrifice," said David Rice (42), President of the Coalition. "When a person seeks honor and recognition for acts of valor she or he has not performed, that person insults and diminishes the sacrifices real heroes have made, and disparages the nation's defenders. Every act of stolen valor belittles the country's true heroes."
It is already against the law in the United States for people to wear specific military medals (such as the Purple Heart) they have not been awarded and have not earned. The issue came into widespread public notice two weeks ago when the official web site for the movie "Wedding Crashers" offered viewers the option of printing out a paper "Purple Heart." Activists for veterans did not find the attempt at humor at all amusing.
"It is a matter of simple respect," Mr. Rice said. "Too many people have been falsely granted attention and respect they have not earned by claiming to be war heroes. One fine example was L. Ron Hubbard. His business, Scientology Incorporated, still promotes the lies he told about his Navy career. Under the proposed law, we hope to see Scientology Inc. forced to remove Hubbard's lies from their web site, or have them pay a fine and sent to prison if they refuse."
L. Ron Hubbard, who founded the Scientology self-help business in 1954, claimed to be a war hero who was awarded from 21 to 27 medals, including two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. In reality, L. Ron Hubbard never saw combat and was relieved of duty three times for incompetence. Hubbard was awarded the four basic medals that every Navy serviceman earned in the Pacific Theater (the four medals: American Theater, American Defense, Asiatic-Pacific, and Victory).
"Hubbard's fraudulent claims are just the tip of the iceberg," said Rice. "At the law in the United States currently stands, anyone may claim military awards and honors they have not earned. With the proposed law, honor to the nation's legitimate heroes and defenders will be restored."
National Coalition of Human Rights Activists
http://www.stopscientology.com/stolenvalor.html
Could Rice's statements have been better countered? Not directly, for his facts seem unassailable. For a more readable summary of L. Ron Hubbard's career see the appropriate chapter of Bare-Faced Messiah.
Rice's selected venue, Pressbox.co.uk, is one step above a public bathroom wall in the blogosphere. The law, if enacted, would have no effect on Hubbard, who is dead. Rice's attack on Hubbard was entirely gratuitous and was rightly ignored by serious media outlets. The SPL's best course would have been to ignore it as well, but they didn't, and being an officially-sanctioned organ of the Church of Scientology (this would be more impressive if they had not mis-spelled "The Genus[sic] of Dianetics and Scientology" on their home page in large letters) their opinion certainly carries more weight than Rice's.
It can only be supposed that this is a result of Hubbard's "attack" philosophy. No Black Propaganda can ever go unanswered, even if it must be answered with more Black PR. The hazard of this is that it forces CoS apologists to either mount a meaningless and distractive attack—an ineffective ploy against a skeptcal audience—or it leads them to research the truth in order to be more effective, thus cultivating critical thinking. If you don't understand what effect that can have on an apologists then consider Jon Atack, who began as a Hubbard hagiographer, tried to become his biographer and in the process left the CoS as one of its strongest critics. Tory Christman, mentioned previously, admitted becoming disenchanted with the CoS in part due to her work for the SPL.
The SPL is by its nature a Potential Trouble Source for the CoS. If it maintains any activity level at all it deserves watching.
—John Vreeland