Tom Cruise, Brooke Shields, Matt Lauer, Scientology and Pseudo-Science

Isn't it a tad ironic that Tom Cruise, the scientologist who believes in space aliens believes that psychiatry is a pseudo science.  Tom has made this very clear in his recent criticisms of Brooke Shields and in his little confrontation with Matt Lauer.  Psychiatry is a pseudo science.  I didn't see the Matt Lauer interview, but have read some who think he got the better of Lauer in their little argument over psychiatry.  While it may be true that Lauer didn't know enough to argue intelligently with Cruise about psychiatry, how is it that Cruise gets away calling anyone or anything a pseudo science.

He has confessed to believing in aliens and the religion of scientology which believes in “body thetans” — aliens who inhabit the earth from a nuclear explosion 75 million years ago.  And this is the guy talking about "pseudo-science."  And with all of the media attention he has gotten out of this recently it appears that there are many who take him seriously

Oh well, the good news is that the rest of us don't take celebrities as seriously as they take themselves.

Comments

[The Dane]

I haven't really noticed so much people taking Cruise seriously as they are finding it ironic that someone who appears to be suffering the mood swings inherent in manic depression is saying that psychiatry is bunk. He's a zealot for his faith, that's for sure. I've read that he may have reached the secretive top rank of Scientology, OT-VII.

[Jack]

I saw the interview, and Cruise came off as a closed-minded fanatic. But I must agree with David, nuclear explosions killing aliens 75 million (that's 7.5*10^7 for those of you who million means something different to) years ago? Where's the evidence?

[Ken]

Poor little clam,
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Poor little clam,
Snap! Snap! Snap!

See Operation Clambake at http://www.xenu.net/ for a comprehensive outside view about Scientology.

[Shaun Nolan]

" I've read that he may have reached the secretive top rank of Scientology, OT-VII."

...and it's all down hill from there.

[David Wayne]

Shaun, and the Dane and I are earnestly reaching for the secretive top rank of Presbyterianism - TULIP-007

[Brian]

David,

The transcript can be seen here:

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3tc.htm

I saw the interview with Cruise and Lauer. The entire interview consisted of Tom telling Lauer that he didn't know anything. If I was Lauer, I would have just asked questions to "educate" myself since Tom apparently knows everything.

Lauer needs a lesson in asking questions not on the script.

- Brian

[Josh Buice]

It is a sad day when people will believe in such wild things as Scientology.

Hitler once said, "The bigger the lie, the more people that will believe it."

I belive Hitler got it right. We need to expose these outrageous teachings now before they attack away at the minds of others tomorrow!

Josh Buice
Practical Theology Discussions
http://www.joshbuice.blogspot.com

[Louise]

Let's look at the key words of what Tom Cruise was aiming at:drugging of children and adults by psychologists and psychiatrists. The drugging he is referring to is Ritalin (speed) and SSRI antidepressants. The two key words of the effects of these drugs are: "mind altering".

I encourage everyone to "forget" about the person Tom Cruise and his religion, and please just research and inform ourselves as to what he is encouraging us to do: INFORM! Please please please begin by studying the effects of taking LSD/Cocaine (illegal) and then compare those effects with antidepressants (legal). You can begin by studying Dr Ann Tracy (psychiatrist) and her books; her websites, namely the "International Coalition for Drug Awareness" . ORG., and Dr Healy, Breggin, Glenmullen and others who have proven the devasting mind-altering and many other biological "side effects". The pharmaceuticals are pushing their drugs by using psychiatrists as the front pushers, by intentionally keeping them in the dark and surpressing their own data; you can read about their "clinical trials" and suicides from healthy volunteers, you can read about the FDA and fraud and bribery, you can read about one company making SIX MILLION per day pushing just ONE of their schedule II (same as cocaine) antidepressants (mind altering) LSD mimickers on innocent depressed people because these companies INTENTIONALLY withheld data from the treating physicians. You can read why the UK has BANNED all but one of these 'legal' drugs on under 18's.

This is what Tom is talking about.

No matter what we may think of anything, we owe it to ourselves to FULLY investigate and my three years of full time research now has the scales tipped only one way. I understand completely that depression exists - it is recorded many times in the Old Testament! I also had post natal with my second child but I ask you this: if you had a person under stress or in a depressed state, would you go out onto the streets and buy him a round of cocaine or LSD? If you did, it may 'work' temporarily, but after a while, side effects emerge, and if you try to withdraw, it is living hell (see thousands of testimonies on the net). So please, examine Dr Tracy's evidence of why mental health is in crisis, and READ and inform from her evidence (and others) that will leave you, the juror with no doubt that all Tom is trying to warn us about is the power in these mind altering chemicals.

If a drug like Ritalin (speed) is supposed to be "ok", then why aren't users able to join the US armed forces? Ask Bush. He should know - read into his history and interest in Eli Lilly. Research his budget man, and you will find too that he has "interests" in Eli Lilly. Then research why he is pushing for the compulsory "assessment" of all school aged children. I bet he knows that 9 out of 10 will be recommended for "treatment" - i.e. begin with Ritalin (speed) and by the time they're 15, they will have progressed onto mixing it (LSD) with Luvox, Prozac, Zoloft etc. Then read why Dr Tracy can show that the school shootings were committed by students on these drugs. She explains exactly how they alter minds and "numb" them into a dream like state. This is what Tom is trying to warn the world about. Finally, when these poor innocent drugged victims reach adulthood, they have progressed onto more serious conditions and must then be institutionalised with more "medication" and "therapy".

Our forefathers suffered two world wars, and a great depression; their "treatment" was: love, family and support.

The other doctors' names I have mentioned are not scientologists. Let's be careful and not do to Tom what Australia did to Lindy Chamberlain. (Lindy was jailed after being found guilty of murdering her baby near Ayers Rock but the press had already found her guilty because she belonged to a church group).

[Tyler]

Tom snooze is closet case fag. He is an absolute, irrelevant bore in pop culture. He has the personality of a shriveled garbonzo bean. He is meaningless, and nobody really gives a flying fuck what he has to say. So shutup, go have your fake, contractual marriage, AGAIN. Go make your bad, cheesy movies, AGAIN. Stop preaching to us all about your weird ass religion, and perhaps we'll be nice enough to let you stay around for another 10 years, ya FREAK. Personally, I think Michael Jackson and Tom Cruise should have daily tea. Seems like a match made in hell.

[recon77]

Cruise religion is a pseudoreligion and psychiatry is a pseudoscience...

clearly!

[kimg]

I cannot and will not believe the words from someone's mouth who treat science fiction as a religion. I do happen to believe in alternate life out there in our vast space (kind of self-centered not to) but to treat a man's fictional writings as some sort of religious documents is just weird. Brooke Shields is crazy and Matt Lauer doesn't know anything but Tom Cruise is normal??? His main supporters are all scientologists for crying out loud. Until now, I had no real argument with these people. Live and let live but he went over the line attacking Brooke Shields for no reason. I don't recall her asking for his "expert" opinion.

Hey, wasn't Charles Manson a Scientologist? Coincidence? I think not.

[Deek]

Let's just say I'm somewhat of an expert in Scientology, or at least more of an expert than you fine people, and I have never heard of anything about space aliens, nuclear explosions or body inhabitations. The only thing close to that is you are an immortal thetan in a body, so how can "you" have many thetans in your body? It's contradictory because you are the thetan, not the body and you can't be more than one thetan.

I'd also like to add that that bit that xenu.net and the rest like to bring up so much is not at all what Scientology is centered around. Even if it is true, so what? What makes that so bad? I'd like to know the theory of man's beginning of all you posters' religions and make fun of that. I mean, I could go on for hours about Jesus alone. Even if that's what Scientology is centered around, why can't you leave that alone? Why is that wrong? That idiot Jack asks for evidence. It's a religion! You should no better than to ask for scientific evidence. It's hypocritical to attack that one point and leave the rest of the religions of this world alone.

kimg claims he had no qualms with Tom Cruise and his religion before his "Today Show" interview, but right off the bat he calls Scientology science fiction taken as a religion. WTF??? I really see he had nothing against Tom before with that slam. But let's look at this fact: the governments of many countries including the U.S. as well as other countries that were once strongly against Scientology have legally recognized it as a valid religion. Now, are all you saying that the government was wrong in this? It's a legally recognized religion but not to you. Is that what you're saying? Let's be clear on this. I see a lot of comments and malevolent attacks here with no facts to back them up, even going so far as to contradict themselves.

I would like to say that Louise made a reasonable and unbiased comment though, so thumbs up to him for that. To the rest of you, please stop giving contradictory/hypocritical comments with no facts to back them up.

As for the actual interview, I feel Tom could have handled it better. I think he just lost his cool. Not like a normal person would and throw a fit and yell and curse and whatnot, but you could tell his adrenaline was pumping then. Call it over-zealouness if you want but to call him crazy, like I said before, show me your facts. And you make fun of him for pretending to be a doctor yet you feel you can confidently label someone as mentally ill. That's crap. But I think if he had answered some points more thoroughly he wouldn't be getting as much flack. But, hey, he's bound to get some backlash from SOME people. Just look at the commenters here.

[Shay]

How about people stop pretending that they know best about everything such as a majority of the comments above. I am appalled to see how cruel people truly are with the comments above. Mason a Scientologist? Like come on! Obviously the person who wrote that comment doesn’t know anything at all. Are we back in Nazi Germany? Aren’t most of these comments about Scientology the same as was said about the Jews? What is or obsessions with attacking religions, why cant we just leave it alone? What exactly has Scientology done to anyone? but promote NON drugging our children and helping people get off drugs and live better lives, is this really something to attack? I’m not even a Scientologist yet I have never seen anything negative from this religion other then what the media and idiots like above choose to make up and write... And Tom Cruise, I don't blame him for losing his cool, Matt Lauer new what he was doing and obviously was trying to aggravate Tom and put him on the spot. Ya Tom lost his cool, BIG DEAL! Everyone does. He believes in something and is constantly attacked for it, anyone would blow at one point. What I notice is Tom is always saying nice things about everyone, he cares and wants to help people, he is happy with his life, is in love, has his beliefs and so what if he wants to share them. Just like Matt Lauer said if you are happy about something you want to tell people about it. So people think we can grow up here and stop trying to beat down a man who only wants to help and live his life and a religion which truly has done nothing to hurt anyone? and lets stop making up stories here about things we know nothing of, unless you are prepared to present factual proof? And also look where you get your information from, are you sure it is a source that should be trusted? If there was something about you that needed to be know, where would you want someone to learn about it from, your self, or another person who is there to create controversy (such as the media). If you want to know what Scientlogy is why not ask a Scientologist. This is what I intend to do.

[Deek]

Nice comment, Shay. Thank you. It's nice to see someone intelligent on these boards for once (besides Louise).

[Graham Giles]

If Tom Cruise has done OT-VII, he's got OTVIII still to do at least (has the Church released OT IX yet?).

Scientology has a lot to offer the world IMO but its adherents aren't the experts on life, the universe and everything (including post partum depression) that they often think they are. Nevertheless, though most psychiatrists are well intentioned (contrary to the Church's view), I believe a good Class IV auditor would stand your average clinical psychologist on his or her head.

P.S. If you must do Scientology, try the freezone; they're a lot cheaper, more ethical, usually nicer and don't invent enemies wherever they look.

[wonkavisioneyecare]

Jeez...everybody on my planet schnazbot knows that scientology has got it right. Sorry, all the rest of you are wrong. Now the rest of you will spend eternity in hell misusing antidepressants.

[Deek]

I don't believe Tom has ever told, at least the press, his level. I'm sure one could easily find out if they wanted to.

By the way, Graham, they have a chart you can look at that shows all the training and auditing levels in Scientology, and which ones are released as well as not released yet.

One thing I still don't understand is why do people say Tom isn't an expert on psychiatry, yet those very people act as though they're an expert on Scientology. It just doesn't make sense.

[glenn hunsucker]

for those of you who say cruises comments have a grain of truth, how do you know? Tom says he is an expert on scientology and everyone should listen to him about the religion. I agree.

However, He should listen to the experts on ADD (the disorder for which ritalin is prescribed). They know more than him.

Tom, studying history is not studying biology and chemistry. Perhaps you should not have dropped out of high school.
by the way, tom was diagnosed as having add as a chil and placed on medication. He seems to leave that out.
a personal vendetta?

[Deek]

Glenn, though you are by no means stupid as most of the commentors here are, you are either very ignorant or did not pay attention. Tom DID mention he was diagnosed as a child as ADD but did NOT take medication. His mother wouldn't allow it. He has mentioned this repeatedly.

And even if he did take medication, a vendetta? That's unbelievably stupid! You're saying since he took medication he is somehow biased against it. Well, there are plenty of people out there who went through something terrible and go on a campaign against it. Does that mean they're somehow wrong to do it? Ridiculous.

To Graham: I did a little looking into Freezone and I've some stories on them that were just as bad if not worse than those of Scientology Church members, such as saying someone or some people dressed like a bum and had terrible hygiene and smelled, were arrested repeatedly for DUI, made up stuff about Scientology's teachings, took their money and delivered no services, etc. Some of these were from ex-Freezone members too. Apparently even Freezone makes enemies and not just from the Church of Scientology. I even saw a video of a guy drinking coffee during an autiding session which is a VERY big no-no according to auditing rules. The best I could equate it to is a surgeon eating a burger while operating.