It’s good to see so many people now recognize scientology for the dangerous and manipulative cult it is and hope this starts to extend to the others like Falun Gong who are objectively worse in many regards but their propaganda tools like Epoch Times and their show Shen Yun are bizarrely popular in the US and much of Europe with hardly anyone ever commenting on the torture, rape, murder, and all the typical evil cult stuff they do.
That’s cool and all, but this story is about Scientology.
In a discussion about a cult
Brings up other, equally bad if not worse cults - specifically a Chinese cult
Whoa whoa guys, let’s not get crazy - this is about Scientology, remember? America bad, amirite?
Hmm
Brings up other, equally bad if not worse cults - specifically a Chinese cult
Whoa whoa guys, let’s not get crazy - this is about Scientology, remember? America bad, amirite?
The Chinese government hates Falun Gong, so if anybody has a pro-China bias, it’s the person agitating against Falun Gong in an unrelated thread.
And I’m saying it’s weird to try to shut down conversations about cults in a conversation about cults.
lol gatekeeping which cults we can talk about in a thread.
Stupid twat. RIP Chester and LP. That name shouldn’t be continued.
Hmmm, is she still a scientologist? Seems like a weird choice if she is, although a cult is a cult and that one is brutally hard to get out of. I think I can forgive people who sided with Masterson initially if their cult told them to (maybe not at much post-conviction) but I think it’s problematic having anyone like that as the front to LP because of the suicide.
That said, if she renounced the cult at part of this gig (and ideally Masterson too) I think I’d be ok with her. I think what LP is trying to do is ultimately as good thing, especially since they’re not trying to find someone exactly like Chester.
Yes she still is. She apologized for supporting Masterson (I think, she didn’t name him in the post). But she seems to be OK with her cult terrorizing Masterson’s victims, among many others.
To be fair she was born into it, it’s not easy breaking free from this kind of brainwashing.
Didn’t know she was born into it, that is especially difficult. Thanks for the info, though.
I don’t think she’s very good.
People that have reservations over her Scientology situation, I understand. People that are upset that LP got a new singer, regardless of who it is, I believe are selfish morons. When band members die or leave, the band should be allowed to move on. Chester was one one of a kind, and it’s super sad that he’s not still here, but when the lead singer in your band not only dies, but kills themselves and fucks over the band, then replacing that person should not be controversial at all. Mental health issues are real, and I have empathy, but Chester’s actions were ultimately selfish and the closest victims are now under fire for continuing forward.
Imo joy division becoming new order was the right way to handle such tragedy, it’s different because Linkin park were a record company manufactured band but he was in from the start and pretty much the only person anyone recognized plus he wrote a lot of the songs.
Otherwise you get record companies selling you tickets to black flag thirty years later who might as well be a cover band, it’ll get to the point recognized names are still topping festivals a hundred years after the first original member died of old age. It benefits no one but corporate copyright holders.
Why the fuck am I supposed to care about the religion of a performer?
Or am I now allowed to bash on all the christian performers out there too?
And I don’t give a flying fuck about masterson either. You have a friend, you fucking back them until you have solid proof in front of you. Which, she did. Once she saw the proof, she stopped backing him. End of fucking story.
People are fucking idiots about this kind of shit.
Or am I now allowed to bash on all the christian performers out there too?
Who the fuck is stopping you dumbass? Go right ahead.
No one asked you to care or asked your opinion.
If you don’t know the history behind Scientology and what happened to Chester, and why it matters. Sit the fuck down and stop acting like a fucking moron.
The only one who believes scientology is a religion is the IRS lol
They treat it as one.
Cult, scam, whatever. They suck, but that isn’t the point.
Idk i think the only thing religion has going for it is tradition. Scientology is missing the tradition component which makes me think followers are just really dumb ir desparate for connection. Scientologist celebs are trying to cash in their influence by selling it to the church and lying to dumb people to try to get them caught up in a cult.
I dont see a defensible position for someone like that. I would want to know who is doing that and not buy their stuff, personally.
The previous singer died from suicide and scientologists are very anti mental health treatment. I can’t blame anyone for being bothered by that.
It’s fucking dumb.
The only thing that matters is if she can do the job.
I’m not blaming anyone, I’m just saying they should use their brain for something useful.
The whole thing is beyond stupid and into absurdity at this point.
“Listen I’m not blaming anyone, but if you think a white guy shouldn’t be president of the NAACP, you’re just fucking dumb morons. All that matters is if they can do the literal job* (*not including the messaging or morals, just the literal job functions”)
It’s a fucking band
Are you deliberately missing the point?
no, I’m disagreeing with it.
It’s not the same thing as the NAACP at all.
It isn’t some kind of organization dedicated to anti-cult endeavor, nor even a band dedicated to anything other than making music. That’s it. That’s the entirety of what linkin park is. They’re an amazing fucking band that makes amazing fucking music.
Nothing about making music is predicated on the beliefs of the members unless they’re making music about those beliefs, and even then it doesn’t mean they have to do it all the time.
Are we going to flip out on Garth Brooks and Chance the rapper now? Both of them are openly supporters of a religion that has caused or condoned wars, genocide, and even today actively seek to crush the rights of other people. Christianity is just a big cult that demands loyalty and money and strict adherence to the rules of whichever sect of the cult you belong to, and nobody is up their ass for the actions of the rest of their religion.
Or is it only the cults we like that get a pass? Is that what it is? Sammy Davis Jr is cool, what with being a Satanist and jewish (at the same time, which is actually pretty damn cool), and Reba Macentire gets a pass because reasons, but not this woman that grew up in a cult we don’t like as much?
It’s bullshit. It’s empty headed drek.
Now, if Armstrong gets up on stage and starts trying to convert people that didn’t show up for that, that’s a different issue. If she starts writing songs with LP that tear down what they’ve always claimed to believe, that’s a different issue.
I simply do not give a fuck about what fiction a person believes in. It has nothing to do with the music unless they make it about that.
Anyone wanna tear Scientology down? Go for it! It’s a giant scam as well as a cult. Tear down all of them as far as I’m concerned. Make it illegal, remove all non profit status from all of the brain washing cults that get called religion. But that’s still a separate issue from some band making music.
It’s the old art vs artist argument, only in this case, all the artist did was get raised in a disliked religion, and then take part in a truly fucking stupid show of support for a fellow church member. That’s it. That’s all she has done, unless there’s something I’m missing that she’s been accused of personally doing? Is there, was she actively involved in any of the bullshit the cult did? Did she know about it happening at the time at all?
It’s a fucking nothing burger, and if anyone tried saying the same shit about someone that was wiccan, or muslim, or christian that did the exact same thing, it would be a shitstorm against the person trying to do so.
Shit, nobody can even point to her doing anything after she discovered the details of the shitstain to support him.
That’s the fucking point, it’s a witch hunt.
See, by your logic, it’s okay if I am a anti-semite for example, just quietly.
So long as I’m only funding and supporting my Anton Jew crusade off stage and off screen, and never writing a song that says “kill the Jews”, it’s okay to take all my money from those concerts and funnel it into my organization that manufactures gas chambers “just in case”.
A quiet tolerance of racism, bigotry, and abuse, leads to its proliferation. Period.
It’s not a witch hunt. Her organization is directly responsible for funding hate and attacks on innocent people. The money she earns from the band will fund this. It is perfectly reasonable to object to her being able to jump onto this band’s good reputation and use it to fund such efforts.
On Saturday Carnell-Bixler condemned Armstrong and Linkin Park in a statement, writing:
Dear Emily, If you’re not going to speak out against the human and child trafficking cult in which you are apart of and in which you enable by remaining silent on the crimes you know about then you have no right to fill the shoes of Chester Bennington, a true advocate. I don’t give a fuck that you are very close to the serial rapist. I don’t give a fuck that you lied in your “apology” instagram story. I do care that you participated, after being asked, in the cruel intimidation of Jane Doe 1 with your cult pals at court. I do care that you didn’t once mention that you are a member of a child and human trafficking cult that covers up the abuses and rapes of CHILDREN and adults. I do care that your parents work for OSA (the office of special affairs) of the cult of Scientology which have been ordering attacks on me and my family which includes murdering my dogs in the most inhumane and evil ways. I do care that they have been attacking and harassing my fellow sister survivors. You don’t speak out against Scientology not because you’re terrified of them. You don’t speak out because you are one of them. Shame on Linkin Park. Fuck you.
“Scientology P.I.’s outside our house all day,” she also wrote in an earlier Story. “Stole our trash… And other things. Documented.” Bixler-Zavala shared his wife’s statement, adding additional context and telling Linkin Park, “You should fire your entire team for not thoroughly vetting your choice. You’re a Disney level brand trying to make a comeback and you didn’t think to spend a little money on looking into her? Stop playing at the drive in’s music on your pre show playlist.”
