Letter to the Editor, St. Petersburg Times
Thursday, August 21, 1997

"The Scientology Attack"

Re: Scientology launches massive PR campaign, Aug. 10

The latest advertising blitz from the so-called "church" of Scientology is only one half of their public relations attack. The other half consists of a vicious, ongoing campaign to suppress any critical information, including negative media coverage, high-level "scriptures", and administrative documents.

Scientology’s unethical and often illegal tactics, including harassment, intimidation, and spurious lawsuits, have been well-documented in the courts and the media. Their targets have included the St. Petersburg Times, former Clearwater mayor Gabe Cazares, and the U.S. government, among others.

The cult has even attempted to crush opposition in cyberspace with a flood of lawsuits, including legal threats against anyone who carried the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology. But the Internet has proved to be a difficult adversary, as anyone who reads this news group knows well. Formerly secret church documents appear on dozens of web sites, along with massive archives of media coverage.

Netizens all over the globe use the newsgroups and chat rooms to organize pickets of Scientology offices, such as the next protest in Clearwater, planned for Dec. 5 and 6.

Local residents who want to know more about Clearwater’s most infamous cult or participate in the December protest should take a look at web sites such as Operation Clambake (http://home.sol.no/heldal/CoS/). Then they’ll understand why Scientology’s disinformation campaign is so aggressive and malicious: the more people know about this corporate con game, the less likely they are to fall for it.

Mark Dallara, Tampa
mdallara@kcii.com