From elrond1@home.com Sun May 20 13:06:29 2001
From: elrond1@home.com (Gregg)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: So Glad:  A message from Arel (Keith Henson's wife)
Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 17:06:29 GMT
Organization: Temple of At'L'An
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Arel wrote this email to Tory over a month ago and sent it to me to
post.  I never got to it in the mad press of other things going on.  

Incidentally, Arel has been picketing somewhere, orgs, missions,
government buildings, and lawyer offices every day since my
conviction.  She is always open to someone doing a proxie picket for
her.  Send her email if you can take a day.  Keith Henson

Subject: Re: So Glad!
To: arel.lucas@stanfordalumni.org
From: Mistmagoo55@aol.com
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2001 06:24:04 EDT

Hi Tory,

My life is insane as usual.  I was just thinking that I know what you
mean about walking through the wall of losing friends.  It happens to
critics too.

I've finally learned to call it "Blaming the victim" when friends and
family think there must be something wrong with the person who is
being attacked by $-ology.  "Well, you must have done something," is a
typical response.  It must be a character flaw, something wrong with
the person who is engaged in litigation with them.  Many people just
shun the critic, won't talk with us or get angry or amused or change
the subject whenever we mention $-ology and OSA tricks, litigation,
etc.  I did this when Keith was first sued, and have definitely lived
to regret it.  Neither of our families has been supportive, and few
friends whom we knew before $-ology litigation.  Our lives are divided
into B.L. (before litigation) and A.L. (after litigation) or B.S. and
A.S.  

I think of the typical response of friends and family to OSA
persecution as the "chicken response."  If you've ever had chickens,
you know that if a chicken is pecked by one higher in the hierarchy,
or if a human inadvertently steps on or purposely brushes away or
strikes a chicken that is part of a flock, all the other chickens,
even those subordinate to it in ordinary social intercourse, start
pecking at it.  Chickens are commonly killed this way.  This is the
"If some strong and recognized organization is pecking you, there must
be something wrong with you!" response.  It still hurts coming from
friends and family, but we've learned to recognize and survive it.

So we have come to value our friends made A.L. in a very special way,
and to admire the bravery of people like you who have left what is
actually programmed to be an all-encompassing social and emotional
life.  Many of us have had our lives profoundly changed by our
encounter with OSA.  I know I have.  I have had to give up much
(including my world view), and have done what I can to prepare myself
to give up everything in what I now regard as a struggle for
liberation--liberation not only of members as you were, but especially
of Sea Org staff who (according to accounts) are kept as virtual
slaves at "Gold" and "Flag."

I no longer expect justice, sympathy, understanding, public
involvement, press indignation, political action, or any of the other
things I assumed should happen with injustice of the magnitude we've
encountered.  Remember the old saying, "Be careful what you ask for.
Because you might get it"?  I now remember asking to understand what
happened to Nazi Germany--how the Gestapo and Hitler could just take
over and people could live with concentration camps practically in
their back yards.  Now I understand.

The people of Hemet live with "Gold" in their backyard.  The people of
Clearwater live with "Flag" in theirs.  It's possible because
generation after generation we "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no
evil," and in fact are trained to ignore evil so it doesn't come after
us personally.  As an evolutionary strategy, it doesn't pay to get
involved in our neighbors' fights.  

Except that sometimes if we don't get involved people die.  We are ill
prepared by nature or nurture to make the decision when to intervene,
when to give up personal peace and comfort to step in and try to make
a difference.

I appreciate your bravery and possibly can understand some of what
you've been through and are going through even though I'm an outsider.
You're free.

That's great.  Now, if only . . .

Love,
Arel

[Tory wrote back very supportive and suggested Arel post--Keith]