Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Travolta Helps Haiti with One Hand, while Molesting It With The Other

When I read that John Travolta was flying planeloads of food and supplies to Haiti, I some of my hate slide away. I mean, that was an awesome thing to do.

But then, well, another part of that story started to come out. You see, in addition to the food, Travolta is also flying Scientologists into the area. I wish I was making that up.

Quoting a recent piece from The Guardian, "The Church of Scientology has dispatched several hundred "volunteer ministers" in yellow T-shirts to other disasters, including September 11. They use a process called "assist" in which the power of touch purportedly reconnects nervous systems shaken by trauma. Since last week several hundred have fanned across Port-au-Prince."

Even if Scientologists weren't involved, the idea that there is an army of men and women running around a disaster area laying hands on people is sort of creepy. The fact that the Volunteer Ministry of the church is really a sinister way of preventing people from receiving professional psychological help after a tragedy (there is a paper trail to prove that too) and another way promoting the church to people who are in a state that makes them more susceptible to that kind of influence.

The fact that these people are using a humanitarian disaster in one of the poorest countries on earth to advance their money making scheme is truly despicable. Basically, their presence undercuts a lot of the good that Travolta is doing in Haiti.

So again, Travolta should be lauded for bring literally tons of food to that ailing nation, but the entourage he is bringing with him is really taking the edge off his generosity. Haiti needs food and supplies, but it certainly doesn't need the kind of "spiritual help".

No comments:

Post a Comment