26. What is an SP?
Description
This article is from the New Readers Scientology FAQ, by rkeller@netaxs.com (Rod Keller) with numerous contributions by others.
26. What is an SP?
Answer By: Elizabeth McCoy <emccoy@jade.mv.net>
A Suppressive Person is someone who, at some point, was in a REALLY nasty
situation that was so bad that they decided, "I must control and crush
everyone else! Only that way will I be safe!" After this decision has been
forgotten, it still affects the person so that he or she is always subtly
trying to gain control by stabbing other people in the back. This can
manifest as a "caring mother" who plys her overweight daughter with candy to
"make her feel better" after all the other kids teased her about her weight;
maneuvering others to be dependent on the SP for self-esteem is one of the
ways that an SP can be dangerous. It can manifest as a co-worker who twists
what everyone says so that it comes out looking like what *he* wants said.
It can be the boss who sexually harasses his/her employees.
Since there's an underlying certainty that everyone else is just out to
"get" the SP, it's very hard to help them. Most of the time, the safest
thing to do is "disconnect," get out of their field of influence so that
they don't mess up your life. It's possible to be Suppressive to a
narrower subject,one person, or one group, for instance. This sort of
person is still hard to help, but it's possible.
People who have been suppressed for a long time (say, is in an abusive
family) can become suppressive themselves, because they've learned that
the only way to be safe is to hurt everyone else around them.
Answer By: Mark Adams <adams@psilink.com>
One potential view of the world is two poles, labeled "Good" and "Evil".
A continuum may exist between these two poles. More difficult to
conceive, both "Good" and "Evil" depend on one's viewpoint.
Individuals may commit suppressive acts during the course of their
existence. Such an act would, in my mind, be defined as "inhibiting the
determinism, actualization, or survival of another entity".
As a concrete example, I offer the act of removing an insect's legs.
Most of the free zone bristle at the idea of "declaring" an individual
suppressive. (Oddly, some jostle to be first in line to be declared!)
This probably stems from an inner knowledge that choosing "Black Hats"
is the first step on the path of reduced rights then persecution for
those so labeled.
As two concrete examples, I offer Hitler & the Jews, and the witches of
Salem MA, USA. LRH did indicate this risk in (HCOB 27 Sep 1966)
"All one has to do is designate 'people wearing black caps' as the
villains and one can start a slaughter..." "... therefore it is even
more important to identify the social personality than the
antisocial..."
Answer By: Chris Schafmeister <schaf@cgl.ucsf.edu>
I really don't know how Scientology defines a SP or "Suppressive Person".
I have a few working definitions though that I have developed after
talking to Scientologists for three years. The first definition is "pretty
much anybody who doesn't like Scientology and says so publicly".
Scientologists appear to believe that if you don't like something you
should ignore it and leave it alone. Non-scientologists who take the time
to point out shortcomings within the beliefs and organization of
Scientology are quickly labeled as SP's by Scientologists. I have been
labeled as such by several members of Scientology. The second definition
is "whoever is on the official Scientology Suppressive Person list".
Scientology maintains a LONG list of people and organizations that it
officially considers to be "Suppressive". These are people and
organizations that have been "declared", meaning that paperwork has been
generated that officially labels them as "Suppressive". I believe the list
can be downloaded from FACTNET. Scientologists are instructed to cease
interactions with "Suppressive Persons" lest the Scientologist become
infected or something. Also within Scientology is the rather enlightened
principle that SP's may be lied to, cheated, harassed, and "destroyed"; it
is what used to be called the "fair game" policy.
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