Ahh, do you smell that, citizen? Scientology’s in the air! The Citizens Commission on Human Rights is a Scientology-funded organization and I’d been meaning to investigate their ominous Psychiatry Kills exhibit for years. A sunny Friday morning one day past L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday seemed as good a day as any for this mission. My roommate, who happens to be 2 quarters away from an M.A. in Clinical Psychology came along.
The lobby felt like a movie set - huge CCHR emblem above a reception desk, lots of white, another CCHR crest inlaid into the floor. We were greeted by an unblinking curly-mopped cherub, signed in with fake names and explained we brought no purses when asked if we minded a bag inspection. The entrance to the exhibit itself was special-effects-rusty with random metal chunks protruding and overall very Silent Hill. The “Abandon all hope…” quote from Dante’s Inferno above completed the look, which the cherub politely asked us to read while thinking about entering the final level of hell. Charming.
Through the doors, a padded room and introductory video featuring doctors and professors, edited in the same sensationalist Fox network style as other Scientology media, statistics and numbers flashing in a rusty and blood-stained font, culminating in the words “Psychiatry - an industry of DEATH”. A wave of blood washed over the screen and it went black. The mood was set.
The museum past the padded room has several sections, each with LCD screens showing 15 minute videos, which I will describe in an almost entirely opinion-free virtual mini-tour beyond the jump.
1. Medieval medicine, which I thought was rather sexy with its displays of antique bloodletting tools, drills and restraint-equipped chairs. The video here focused on medieval treatment of the mentally ill, lots of old-looking engravings and paintings displaying people languishing in horrid conditions.
2. Behaviorism, complete with Skinner Box. The video here talks about how psychiatrists reduced humans to animals and stole their soul. Skinner and Pavlov, shots of adorable monkeys having their skulls drilled, children with holes punched in their cheeks to monitor salivation during Pavlovian tests, Skinner’s daughter whom he kept in a human-size box for a year, etc. Good stuff.
3. The Holocaust. Wallpapered with life-sized photos of starved children behind razor wire and factoids about Eugenics. The overall angle thus far is that the Behaviorists spawned Eugenics and Eugenics spawned the Holocaust. Slogans like “Psychiatrists: the men behind Hitler”. Some Nazi books and memorabilia on display.
4. Racism through Eugenics. This section covered the KKK, segregation, the American Eugenics movement.
5. Electroshock therapy and Lobotomy. I could actually hear one of the displays in this room while watching the Eugenics video. This had a steel bed [upon which I gazed longingly], a large glass head with attached electrodes, and a dial you could turn to an age to see the amount of electricity used in ECT. Kind of like those magic spheres at Halloween shops. Much disturbing footage in the video, including ice picks shoved in patient’s eye sockets and Walter Freeman’s “Lobotomobile” - a name so hilarious it may enter my regular lexicon. And a bonus - in the corner, a door with a TV behind it showing children playing with their own feces in a Greek mental health facility which was later shut down.
6. Inpatient abuse. On display, a full-body straitjacket, a bed with institutional restraints, another straitjacket. Photos and stories of children who died while in psychiatric care.
7. Drugs. Let me preface the next two sections by saying that I already think the pharmaceutical industry is evil and corrupt, so I didn’t need convincing in that department. Here were papers documenting various mind-control drug testing, records about programming Manchurian candidates, video about people being diagnosed with new disorders and how it’s directly related to release of new drugs, dangers of drugs, Thorazine in the 60s and how it’s side effects weren’t properly researched and turned people into vegetables as a result, etc.
8. Schools and Ritalin. We entered through a metal-detector gate to a classroom with school desks, lockers and photos of hallways. Video about ADD being fake, overprescription of drugs to kids and people in general.
The final video was basically about psychiatrists being child molesters and sex offenders. By this point the roommate and I were both zoning out, restless and eying the exit. But it wasn’t over yet, no.
Through the exit we entered a bright room - quite a contrast to the murky spook of the museum. Here we were faced with the biggest screen yet under a sign declaring “You’re safe as long as we’re here” below a circle that ever so vaguely resembled an enticingly illuminated spaceship door in the ceiling. Here was a sort of summary video glorifying the CCHR and letting us know that now that we’ve been enlightened by their exhibit, we had to act. The video ended by saying “With knowledge comes responsibility”. We were spent and left through a back door under the guise of using a restroom after being asked to fill out surveys. Mmm, the smell of freedom!
- enormous Scientology entry on Apologetics Index - a cult information website
- CCHR on Psychassault.org
- Interesting
March 17th, 2008 at 6:52 am
I went to that exhibit last September when my friend was visiting me from London. He also happened to be a psychiatric nurse, so we truly couldn’t give this attraction a miss.
Although it said nothing about Scientology on our ticket, or on the building that we could find, it was fairly easy to assess that it was one of their operations from even the pointlessly inflammatory title. I was actually a bit surprised that our host fessed up in his intro that they were an organizations run by the COS, I’d expected them to dodge that fact until at least the end. Points for honesty.
My accolades end there.
It was fairly embarrassing, and I echo your Fox News reference. While we were walking through the exhibit, my nurse friend was vocally debunking much of what they were presenting between fits of laughter.
The ‘lobotomobile’ was just too much, we couldn’t even see clearly we were laughing so hard. The smiling old man waving from his van set to a spooky sountrack was certainly memorable.
When we got home, we set about finding info on said lobotomobile, and the internet had nothing forthcoming. But it’s not as though the COS would lie to you, or anything.
It’s free! Go and see it if you can.
March 17th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Grr. Of course there have been many fucked-up things in the world of psychology– it’s been around for centuries, and anything that’s been around for centuries will have fucked upedness in its history. And while sure, there is plenty of abuse in psychiatry and medicine, that doesn’t mean people who are bipolar or schizophrenic or severely depressed shouldn’t be getting actual medical treatment for an actual illness. Physical, chemical problems cannot be corrected with fucking vitamins and jogging.
Sorry. Preaching to the choir.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Milly, the Lobotomobile is real! Ah, history, what fun secrets you hold. I’m very surprized your guide confirmed the COS link - the only clue we had was a room with all the plaques of CCHR supporters’ names - most were high profile celebrity Scientologists.
Eev, yes yes.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I really must go down there for this exhibit one day. They’re such a fascinating subculture it seems almost wrong to ignore their bizarre ways. If only for pure entertainment.
March 17th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Gaddamn. I think I need to buy you a drink, Zoe, for suffering through that….
March 17th, 2008 at 11:18 am
It’s actually written Lobotomy, so that can explain why you didn’t find anything..
If I remember right In europe to be excact in my neighbour country Eesti, there has been lobotomies in such little time, that those people still live their disabled wrongly ruined lives as old persons.
Life sucks, but I think that would be very intresting exhibition to see.
March 17th, 2008 at 11:54 am
James - yes, drink donations are accepted, especially on Modays. Please.
Jani - to explain, The Lobotomobile is an actual van in which Walter Freeman drive around and conducted on the spot lobotomies. Some Google results.
Pinkdeviant - you must. Just don’t sign anything, please. And I think you meant subCULTure ;)
March 17th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Oh nice or actually pretty weird stuff. I guess I misread something wrong in Milly’s comment..
But yeah, keep the good stuff flowing here. I can also buy you a drink if you ever come to Finland! :)
March 17th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Quick Robin, to ze Lobotomobile!!!
March 17th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Did you read about John Scalzi’s visit to the Creationism museum? This reminds me of that.
March 18th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Man, if they moved the shindig to Fisherman’s Wharf, started charging admission prices, maybe even added a “This coupon good for 10% off a lobster dinner” with each ticket purchase… They could really be onto something!
March 18th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
It’s a lot like those Hellhouse displays Christian fundamentalists put together on Halloween. Only in this case it’s taken to a beautifully campy extreme by the sounds of it. They take some pretty amazing liberties with the truth though…rebuilding history and events to serve their own aims. How delightfully evil of them!
It all seems to be coming from this notion that science should be perfect and all experiments should be safe. While this is all typical scare tactics it makes sense they would invest in something like this…what the COS really is when you break it down is a giant self help pyramid scheme. The self help world can’t abide having people seek help outside their guru and cult circles.
A shame really because the amount of money pouring into Scientology could actually do some good if it wasn’t all going to lawyers and celebrity brown nosing.
Wouldn’t mind doing a “Scientology Kills!!!!” virtual display using a 3D program then rendering it out as a lil movie or better still interactive environment using an available game engine. Could prove interesting…
March 20th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
[…] Coilhouse, “Inside Scientology’s ‘Psychiatry Kills’ Exhibit” […]
March 25th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I used to live across the street from that place, I never went in since those IQ Test station people are always trying to brainwash tourists around Hollywood as it is. Good call leaving out the back door; it always starts with those surveys, haha.