As I have mentioned in a number of posts recently, there has been a remarkable groundswell of response to Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.

It goes beyond the show trending on Twitter every week, many, many emails and messages on Facebook and handshakes in the supermarket from complete strangers. Most heartening is the number of people who are reaching out to tell their stories. Many have not been heard from before, and the stories are utterly devastating. Perhaps it is a measure of the level of devastation inflicted on people how long it takes for them to be able to talk about it. It is both heartening and heartbreaking to see how many have come forward, and continue to come forward. And it is my hope that many more will come forward.

It got me to thinking Why Now? Why have so many stepped into the light and why should everyone take the opportunity to do so now.

What is different? Because it IS different…

There has been media coverage of scientology and its abuses before. Joe Childs and Tom Tobin did masterful work in the “Truth Rundown” series in the St Petersburg Times back in 2009 (which was really my “coming out”). Janet Reitman wrote in Rolling Stone and then her book Inside Scientology. Lawrence Wright wrote a piece for the New Yorker which then evolved into his masterpiece Going Clear and ultimately the Alex Gibney film of the same name. Bryan Seymour and Steve Cannane have done brilliant work exposing scientology abuses in Australia. So too John Sweeney on the BBC and then in his book Church of Fear.

But none of this groundbreaking journalism has resulted in the atmosphere we see today.

I think there are a number of factors that have accrued into a “perfect storm” for scientology.

+ Social media. Today Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are how a LOT of people track what is going on in the world. Leah is social media savvy, so is A&E. There has been a growing tide of people talking about the show and making it clear to everyone the tremendous support for the victims of scientology abuse and the level of anger directed at the perpetrators. It is palpable. There is a virtual mob with pitchforks and torches and they are not going to quiet down til things change.

+ Leah is truly a champion for those who have been damaged. People trust her. They know she will fight for them. They know she understands them. They know she CARES about them and has gone to pains to explain to the world that those who have been abused are victims and there is nothing wrong with that (“victim” is a bad word in scientology). People listen to her and she has proven she is doing exactly what she said she was going to do — give a voice to those who otherwise would not be heard. Scientology claims Leah Remini is a “washed up actress” with no career. Social media and ratings say otherwise. It used to be that scientology’s big gun, Tom Cruise, would be out pitching for the S and double triangle. Today he is quiet as a doped up dormouse. So, who is the biggest voice on earth speaking about scientology? Leah Remini. And she is on the side of good.

+ Scientology has lost its mojo. They are truly the boy who cried wolf. They make groundless threats and never follow them up. All of the people and media mentioned above, and many others, have had their inboxes collapsed with an apparently endless stream of scientology legal threat letters. And not once since scientology had its butt kicked by Time Inc has scientology proceeded to sue. Their threats are empty and everyone knows it. Nowadays it is no longer considered dangerous to make jokes about or report on scientology. In fact, everyone is doing it.

+ The smears scientology have created on people for so long have been exposed as lame lies. Repeatedly. So much so that it has been turned on them to demonstrate that they do and say anything to destroy “critics” just as everyone says they do. Aaron Smith-Levin’s response on Tony Ortega’s blog to the smear website they put up on him two hours after the show aired is a perfect example. If some had been worried about stepping out for fear of how they might be smeared, it is pretty clear now that there isn’t anyone who is not already a scientologist that buys a word they say. It is laughed off at best, treated with utter scorn and derision at worst.

+ There is strength in numbers. The more others speaking out, the safer it is for everyone else. It is a snowball gathering size and speed as it rolls downhill and becomes an avalanche that will bury everything in its path.

+ This show, and Leah in particular speaks to people emotionally. And this is perhaps the single most important point. It is virtually impossible to adequately portray the pain of experience on the printed page. The Going Clear film was a more analytical and in some ways sterile approach to scientology. Of course, that was also dictated by the limited amount of time and massive scope of the material that was covered. With a LOT more time, and the focus on real people’s experiences and pain, I believe this series is reaching people in a different way. It is speaking to their hearts, not just their brains.

Now IS the time to speak. If you have a story to tell, and you are willing to speak up and speak out, send us an email at [email protected] And please respect the fact that we don’t have a staff of people to read and respond to the emails. Don’t use this email to simply write a note of thanks, put that on this blog or Facebook or Twitter. And don’t write about stories you heard that someone else experienced. Or with advice on how to deal with PTSD. Or any of the other very well meaning communications that have come in. We want to reserve this email address for those who have personal stories of abuse and pain in scientology that there are willing to come forward and tell.

I hope if you have been worried about stepping forward in the past, you will have the courage to do so now. It’s important your voice is heard and your story is told too. Many have told me that the action of simply writing and explaining your story can be incredibly cathartic. I hope you find it so.

Update: