Fair Game: Barb covers Scientology's Fair Game or El Queso Allstars, 18 Oct 2002

barb <bwarr1@cox.net>
queso banned, response from indielaunch.com
18 Oct 2002

I posted my initial complaint to indielaunch here. What follows is a comm exchange. Isn't it amusing, they're pretense at the horror of a picture of a tube of anal lube"Won't somebody think of the children!" while the very real damage the cult does to young lives seems to faze them not a bit. Ignorance is bliss, no?

"IndieLaunch.com Artist Services" wrote:
>
> We appreciate your comments.
>
> It is our against our policies to have explicit
> graphics on our pages. We gave warning in the
> past to the mentioned band you are referring to
> however after further review months later we
> have decided it is in our best interest to
> remove the mentioned bands page.

El Queso has publicly stated a willingness to alter the page to your satisfaction. Apparently, you initially had to approve the content. Suddenly, it's not acceptable. Makes me go 'hmmmm.'

> We are sorry you feel the way you do.
> This has nothing to do with the Church of
> Scientology. It has everything to do with
> what we have built our site into over the
> last 3 years.

No, of course the "Church" of Scientology had nothing to do with it. As if they're going to call up and tell you they're the "Church" of Scientology!

Duh! They get individual members to pose as outraged parents and make complaints. This isn't the first time it's happened. It's called an All Hands, and cult members, willing to "strike a blow to the enemy" as Hubbard said, will comply with orders and send out dozens of emails. Do you have any bands which are offensive to some people? Is the El Queso Allstars the only band with undue attention to the content of the site?

> Let me ask you this. Do you have kids? Do
> you show them pictures of anal lube and
> characters giving the middle finger? Is
> this what you want your children or
> teenagers looking at?

Well... I showed them, just to get their feedback. The anal lube made them all break out in unseemly fits of immature giggling. Worse, they came up with a new nickname for poor little Albert across the street. Al... get it?

Apparently they are all quite familiar with the stiff middle finger, having learned it at the school bus stop early in life. Of the three, the oldest and middle kid can execute it properly, the little one still has to hold his other fingers down with his thumb. It was pretty cute.

Later, after watching the tube for a while, the middle one said, "Hey...So far tonight, we've seen ads for hemhorroid cream, feminine hygiene products, stiffy pills, and absorbent pads with wings. What's the deal with butt lube being offensive? If I wanted to get offended, I'd go to rotten.com!"

Well, there you have it. Three unbiased opinions on ass lube and the stiff middle finger. Doesn't sound like much to me. But, if you want to pretend to be the Barney Music Channel while Scientology plays you like a puppet, I guess you'll go with that thing.

Know what? I suspect that every single complaint came directly from an actual member of the "Church" of Scientology! Perhaps you're not aware of the fact that El Queso has been targetted by Scientology. You should ask him about the FBI contact he made when threatening emails were forged in his name. The emails mentioned the "Church" of Scientology. Do you think that a group which would do that is beneath ordering its members to call in complaints against one of their "enemies?"

> After you build a site, spend hundreds of
> thousands of dollars of your own money
> to support Indie Music, and host thousands
> of artists, let me come to your site and
> post explicit material. We have to draw
> a line somewhere.

Oh, please! You approved the site in the first place. Following a number of complaints which were "NOT" from the "Church" of Scientology, you change your standards to somehow exclude the El Queso Allstars. It used to be about the music, man. Remember? Indie, my well lubed ass! You're being another tool wielded by the "Church" of Scientology. We see this a lot.

> Thank you for taking the time to express
> your opinions to us.
>
> IndieLaunch Support
> Artistservices@indielaunch.com

This was round one. In round two, they quit denying that Scientology had no influence on their decision to ban Queso. Now they admit, they're shivering over the possibility of lawsuits from our favorite litigious cult:

"IndieLaunch.com Artist Services" wrote:
>
> And if and when we get a lawsuit (which we
> haven't yet) you are going to be the first
> person to step up and pay our legal fees?
>
> El Queso is not the first account we have
> deactivated because of certain issues and
> it won't be the last.

You're saying the fear of a lawsuit has you whipped. What possible grounds would they have to sue over an image of anal lube? I wonder what your other artists would think of this cult-whipped stance you're taking?

Have you not heard the quote, "The only way for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing?" I hope it makes you proud to gutlessly support a destructive cult. Ironic, in a way, since many indie musicians are passionate about social issues and reform, which is why they're relegated to the fringes of the music world.

It's of no import. You've shown your lack of spine, and El Queso has found another home with your competition. You can continue to invoke "the children" as your defense in banning an artist targetted by Scientology, but it will reflect badly on you in the future, as you and the Scientology cult have unwittingly provided him with some excellent and intriguing promotional material.

However, if any of your kids get sucked into the cult, you'll gain a better perspective on issues of importance. Anal lube vs. a totalitarian cult... they actively troll college campusses, preying on naive youngsters. Many of them wind up wasting years inside, quitting school, suffering abuse and deprivation.

Anal lube just makes them snicker. Having a friend or family member fall for this fraud that walks like a church will put things into a better perspective for you. I hope that never happens to you. If it ever does, people like El Queso and I will still be willing to help you understand the dynamics and ways to deal with it. Critics of Scientology are often called upon to clean up the damage the cult inflicts upon innocent victims.

While it's true that Scientology is litigious as hell, responses like yours merely enable them to continue in their quest to crush freedom of speech.

If you have a week, I suggest you have a look at http://www.xenu.net to gain a better understanding of this group and its history. There, you'll find an on-line copy of Time Magazine's excellent article exposing Scientology's actions. The cult sued Time for libel, but the well-researched and documented information was irrefutably true, and the cult lost the case. As more people become aware of the true nature of Scientology, it becomes more difficult for them to continue preying on society unopposed.

And guess what...they're starting to lose court cases these days. We are slowly winning the information war. Should you ever decide to turn your back on the Dark Side and stand up, you'll be welcomed. Although the position you've currently chosen disgusts me, I very much understand why you've taken it.