English transcript/translation


News item NOVA 12 april 1997 - Nederland 3 - Dutch national TV




The scientology church promises happiness, freedom and a positive attitude in life. Opponents of the scientology church, that originated in America say that the the scientology organistation is a cult that brainwashes their membership and takes advantage of them. The scientology leadership would have but one goal: to enrich themselves.

Pleun Snoek knows from personal experience what it is all about. 2 years ago she joined the scientology movement, and she was promised happiness, but poverty and social isolation was what she ended up with.

Jan Eikeboom reports:

- - - intro Dianetics promotion film: the exploding vulcano -

(soundtrack of the video) 'Dianetics! you've heard about it. it's today's most popular and successful study of the mind...'

- - - fade to Pleun Snoek-

Pleun Snoek:'It's all just one gigantic joke, I just fell for a biggest joke of all times.

- - - fade to dianetics video-

'it's been translated into 22 languages and published in 60 countries'

- - - fade to Pleun Snoek-

PS: 'and they are laughing themselves silly, be cause they also know, and all the suckers fall for it.'

- - - Camera zooms in on the cover of Dianetics-

Voice over: 'Dianetics - the doctrine of L Ron Hubbard. Pleun Snoek didn't really get better from it. Two years ago she joined scn, she lost everything. All her money is gone, friends and family don't won't have anything to do with her anymore, and she's one illusion poorer. Pleun Snoek thought she would find happiness within scn, but as she went along, the shells fell off her eyes.'

PS: 'My suspicion began whith ... look, it is being said that you become very uptone, which means that you become more happy all the time - uptone. and in the organisation you meet such downtone people, so the people who are doing that there, but they pretend to be very uptone. But they are not. And then I thought, "My God, something's wrong here", because when you bring out a philosophy, and say, you will become more joyfull and you'll stand ever more positive in life, but within the oranisation are all these very downtone people, then something is not in order: they say something, and they pretend to be something, what they are not. So it's just one big lie.'

- - - we see LRH talking in slow motion, looking ugly -

voice over: 'Lafayette Ron Hubbard: in the 50s he established the scn chrch. Ron Hubbard is not just anyone: he had contact with higher powers, The Haagse Post [a residential newspaper] once cited a scn brochure:'

- - - a woman's voice reads the text, while the text als appears on screen.
Photo of LRH holding his chin in the top left corner, superinposed over a still shot of the org in Amsterdam -

"Ron Hubbard already visited heaven twice: the first time 34.891.832.611.177 year, 344 days, 10 hours and 20 minutes ago."

"Back then, it all looked quite orderly in heaven, on his second visit however, one billion years later, there was already a lot of decay."

- - -camera pans over a complicated looking tonescale chart - voice over: 'Scn in the Netherlands states that it doesn't know the brochure, fact is that the teachings is overflowing with intergalactic jargon.

PS points at the tone scale chart on the wall and explains: 'look, these are all different states of being, of you as a spiritual being, so you are a Thetan ...'

- - - another chart, the cartoon-style version of the emotional tone scale -

PS: '... these are the emotions, states in which every human can find themselves. and than you have a state of being called 'postulating', which means that when you think of something, it's instantly there. You understand?'

Interviewer:'No.'

PS:'Oh.'

- - - camera zooms in on the chart - fade over to Julia Rijnvis -

Julia Rijnvis, PR-spokesperson for Scn-Nederland: 'It can be best compaired to Buddhism, it is the bringing to a higher consciousness of person, as a spiritual being, we assume that man is a spiritual being, and that he posesses many capabalities that he could unfold as a spiritual being.'

PS:'you think, and that's what's being said, that you.. that heaven comes on earth, that's what's being suggested, that through scientology, heaven will come to earth. All people will be liberated and free, all people will be in a state of enlightenment. Many are not ready for that yet.'

interviewer:'and then you just go for it totally?'

PS: 'Yes, you just go for it. Isn't that what you want, too?'

- - - shot of scn building in Amsterdam -

voice over: 'Enlightenment may be close at hand, it does cost a lot of money. "Who wants to become a millionaire, should start his own religion", Hubbard once said'

- - - fragment TV program 'De Ombudsman' by Frits Bom, 1980 - Frits Bom: 'Ladies and gentlemen, since a long time I've been receiving complaints from people that thought they had become members of a church, but after some time it turned out that this 'church' is nothing but a very clever fraud.'

voice over: "In 1980 ombudsman Frits Bom did an investigation into scn. With a hidden camera his team recorded many wrongs. The course fees for instance, are astronomical. 18.000 guilders cash money for the first 100 hours. The conclusion of this program left little to be desired in terms of clarity.'

Frits Bom:'When you get to do with the scientology church, avoid that contact. It is not good. See you in two weeks time, good evening.'

- - - shots of amsterdam org again -

voice over: 'The stories are not new, but time and again people feel attracted in the salvation teachings of L Ron Hubbard, and are often prepared to give up everything for it. Pleun Snoek for example, became highly enthousiastic after a special purification cure.

PS: 'I was so high, that I, yes, I was in a couple of days time... I said, guys, even if you would take all my money, it works so great, it's fantastic.'

interviewer: 'Did you give them your money?'

PS: 'Yes, I gave them 100.000 guilders at once, I thought: you can have everything. This is so fantastic, I feel so fantastic, this is paradise on earth, that's how I felt.

I stood completely behind it, and it is also okay now, it has been my responsibility, and I have done this.'

interviewer: 'But how do you look at it now?'

PS: Well, still, I have done it myself, I don't blame anybody, but I find this is wrong: look, Hubbard talks about pan-determinism, that you also feel responsible for others. Well, nobody felt responsible for me when I did this, while they could see I was completely high and just... they could see, they knew; "when we ask her 'give us all your money', that she will do that."'

Julia Rijnvis: 'Well, if she was in an euphorical mood, I cannot determine that now, but I think that someone is responsible for their own acts in the first place, and how she presented herself, was that she could afford it easily. And also wanted to do that very much. And, yes, one thing that I remember very clearly about Pleun Snoek is, that when she made up her mind, then don't try to chnange that, because she'll not be thankful for that.'

voice over: 'But, when it gets known in scientology that Pleun Snoek is in serious financial trouble, it isn't considered for a moment to give her the money back. A member told us literaly: "given is given".'

PS: 'look, if you say, "I help everybody, and I'm here to help people, and you don't feel responisble for a mother with two childeren who are on the verge of losing their home, you only think about how to get the money in as fast as possible, then there is something not right.

[reads from legal document] "the confiscated goods will be sold on april 24th 1997 in Haarlem, Gasthuissingel 16. The sale will start at 11 o'clock" So my things will be sold.'

voice over: 'Pleun Snoek may have quit scientology, she still has to suffer the consequenses of her joviality. She had unpaid taxes, and now she doesn't have the money to pay. In two weeks time all her posessions will be sold by auction.'

Julia Rijnvis: 'The question that comes up in me, the situation with the taxes, does that really have to do with her donation to the International Association of Scientologists, or is it based on all the other 100.000's of guilders that she perhaps spent and that she would have better done something else with, maybe?'

interviewer:' yes, but you could also reason, that if she hadn't given al this money to scn, she would have had a little more left?'

JR:'but if she hadn't spent all this money on banks, on an expensive car, you could say that also.'

PS:'I'm in the gutter, but I will come over it, always, everything, I've come on top of things again, so I'll come on top of this also. And I'm so happy, that I discovered the joke. Do you understand? Because no one discovers that they are all getting conned. And they all fall for it. And at the same time, there are a lot of them, they slap their thighs and laugh themselves silly. I'm am through with it, and because of that I'm very happy. I now feel totally free. '

presentator: 'And the latest news is that Pleun Snoek will get some extra time from the tax office. The auction of her posessions will be postponed for half a year.'


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