December 19, 1997
LA Weekly
Scientology Decoded

LA WEEKLY
Scientology Decoded

OffBeat readers, take heart. The cryptic Scientology notation described here last week has been decoded.

The notation, “1.1”, was in a fax - mistakenly sent to our machine - from an employee of Scientology-affiliated textbook publisher Applied Scholastics to a Santa Ana merchant, directing her on what to write in a letter to the Weekly's editor. (We've been flooded with pro-Scientology mail since we published an article critical of a series of five textbooks inspired by the teachings of church founder L. Ron Hubbard [“The Learning Cure” by Sara Catania, November 14-20].) The fax warns: “Be careful of typos, etc. This is a 1.1 publication and you know they'll nail us for any boo boos.”

The notation, as many readers kindly alerted us, comes from the late L. Ron Hubbard's mental Tone Scale, which ranges from 40 (serenity of beingness) to negative 40 (total failure). According to the online Scientology handbook (www.scientologyhandbook.org/full.htm), 1.1, “the most dangerous and wicked level,” means “covert hostility” - a common designation bestowed on the Church's perceived enemies. Applied Scholastics president Ian Lyons confirmed the notation's meaning, saying, “There is no secret about it.”

Also, due to an editing error, OffBeat last week stated that the Church of Scientology won a Supreme Court case limiting the right of critics to reprint internal Church documents (on the Internet, for instance). In fact, the ruling came from a Federal District Court Judge in Alexandria, Virginia.

Back at the Weekly, we are holding out for an upgrade to 1.9, just plain “hostility.”

Other articles from LA Weekly:

L. RON HUBBARD STRIKES BACK - Dec. 12, 1997
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - December 12-18, 1997
THE LEARNING CURE - Nov. 14, 1997

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