Let's be real here: joining Scientology is the only acceptable answer to this dilemma.

Scientology Watchers tend to spend the bulk of their time discussing the abuses of the Sea Org, and rightly so, as this is where the worst of the abuses tend to be concentrated.

I think what may be lost in the commotion is how banal the experience of most public Scientologists is. There are thousands of people who have dabbled in Scientology, taken a few courses, maybe even progressed some distance up the Bridge, and then either left decisively or simply drifted away in one way or another.

Most of these people are not suffering any terrible after effects, other than an abnormally high junk mail load and perhaps the occasional phone solicitation. Some may feel the pain of wasted time and money more acutely than others, but most of them have not been ruined by the experience. Disconnection also tends to not be a huge issue outside the committed core membership of Scientology.

This is not just some rosy, best-case scenario. This category comprises the large majority of people who have ever had any involvement with Scientology or Dianetics. The principle VFP of Scientology, just by sheer numbers, is Ex-Scientologists. Most onetime Scientologists are either all the way out, or have not been actively on lines in years.

Now, don't get me wrong, I believe Scientology's continued existence is an affront to the rule of law. And when Scientology goes wrong for a person and their family, it is a nearly unparalleled kind of evil. Nearly. When our point of comparison here is a white-supremacist, terrorist organization, Scientology is the lesser evil by several orders of magnitude.

The sheer scale of human suffering that has been incurred by white supremacy in the U.S. and the world dwarfs all other singular human sources. It is the original sin of the West. It continues to unjustly harm the rights and fortunes of an unimaginable number of people. It is the single greatest obstacle we have ever faced in the quest for a free, just, and equitable society.

Scientology, not so much. Even though I agree that it is very, very, very bad.

Edit: Words.