More Scientology Censoring: Amazon.com Review Guidelines Disallows Critiques Of Authors Or Their Intentions
I slept poorly last evening thinking about how a small, secretive, dangerous "religious" sect has hijacked this country's values, beliefs and its rich history of free speech.
We are free to criticize our President, our Famous and Wealthy, CEO's of powerful businesses, the Pope, World Leaders from around the globe, heck we (as a nation, not individuals) are even allowed to invade countries and dispose of their leaders, but the one thing apparently citizens of the U.S. are not allowed to do: express anything negative about a science fiction writer who created a religion for the sole purpose of generating money and controlling people.
I am genuinely concerned with the path the internet has taken, which by most people's standards is the last bastion for the exercise of free speech.
A book reviewer and concerned citizen has been working on a story with me about Amazon.com's policy of censoring negative reviews on all books by Scientology found L. Ron Hubbard.
We wrote about this is brief a few days ago, but now there have been more developments. And I must admit, I am shocked and disturbed by the heavy-handed manner in which those who run Amazon are willing to side with the Church of Scientology. Not only is it alarming, but it serves to eat away at the fabric of our most closely held doctrine for which this country was founded on: free speech.
This is long, but I saw no way to edit it without altering the whole picture of what has happened:
Greetings from Amazon.com.originally had two different reviews of Dianetics on amazon.com’s website.
The first:
If You Are of African Descent
Dianetics makes laughable attempts to sound "scientific" by using obscure words to express mundane ideas while at the same time completely ignoring the basics of scientific method. The book also contains several frightening examples of cultural bias. Potential readers should be aware of them.
Perhaps the most disturbing example is on page 195, wherein Mr. Hubbard discusses the Zulu tribe of Africa. According to Mr. Hubbard, the Zulu would escape his "reactive data" if he were moved out of his "restimulative" area and taught English. But left in his native habitat, a "Zulu is only outside the bars of a madhouse because there are no madhouses provided by his tribe."
The book is ludicrous scientifically, and a nightmare as a piece of social commentary. Avoid.
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