Narconon Exposed

The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology

On August 19, 2009, Tommy Davis, the chief spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International, received a letter from the film director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. “For ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego,” Haggis wrote. Before the 2008 elections, a staff member at Scientology’s San Diego church had signed its name to an online petition supporting Proposition 8, which asserted that the State of California should sanction marriage only “between a man and a woman.” The proposition passed. As Haggis saw it, the San Diego church’s “public sponsorship of Proposition 8, which succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens of California—rights that were granted them by the Supreme Court of our state—is a stain on the integrity of our organization and a stain on us personally. Our public association with that hate-filled legislation shames us.” Haggis wrote, “Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.” He concluded, “I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology.”
Haggis was prominent in both Scientology and Hollywood, two communities that often converge. Although he is less famous than certain other Scientologists, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, he had been in the organization for nearly thirty-five years. Haggis wrote the screenplay for “Million Dollar Baby,” which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2004, and he wrote and directed “Crash,” which won Best Picture the next year—the only time in Academy history that that has happened.
Davis, too, is part of Hollywood society; his mother is Anne Archer, who starred in “Fatal Attraction” and “Patriot Games,” among other films. Before becoming Scientology’s spokesperson, Davis was a senior vice-president of the church’s Celebrity Centre International network.
In previous correspondence with Davis, Haggis had demanded that the church publicly renounce Proposition 8. “I feel strongly about this for a number of reasons,” he wrote. “You and I both know there has been a hidden anti-gay sentiment in the church for a long time. I have been shocked on too many occasions to hear Scientologists make derogatory remarks about gay people, and then quote L.R.H. in their defense.” The initials stand for L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, whose extensive writings and lectures form the church’s scripture. Haggis related a story about Katy, the youngest of three daughters from his first marriage, who lost the friendship of a fellow-Scientologist after revealing that she was gay. The friend began warning others, “Katy is ‘1.1.’ ” The number refers to a sliding Tone Scale of emotional states that Hubbard published in a 1951 book, “The Science of Survival.” A person classified “1.1” was, Hubbard said, “Covertly Hostile”—“the most dangerous and wicked level”—and he noted that people in this state engaged in such things as casual sex, sadism, and homosexual activity. Hubbard’s Tone Scale, Haggis wrote, equated “homosexuality with being a pervert.” (Such remarks don’t appear in recent editions of the book...)

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Health risks take the gloss off enamel artworks

Changing tack ... Hazel Dooney at work. Photo: Hazel Dooney

Hazel Dooney has long savoured the creamy texture of high-gloss enamel paint and the ''perfect veneer'' that emerges after she sands it back. Collectors also like the glossy, Manga-style characters she paints on large boards.
But it's a toxic love affair and after almost 15 years of a range of nasty side-effects, Dooney is ditching the medium. Other than already commissioned works, she will no longer produce enamel paintings.
Dooney is not the first artist to abandon enamel paint after suffering rashes, blisters and nosebleeds. But gallery owners say it could make enamel works more sought-after.
The death of Dooney's father, Thomas Dooney, in January, from cancer, was the catalyst for the change, making her think about the health risks of long exposure to the paint and its fumes. Wearing gloves and a face mask helped but did not eradicate all symptoms, she says.
''I would get a red, blotchy rash on my chest and neck, my skin would break out in itchy sores, [the paint fumes] dried out the inside of my nose'', causing nosebleeds.
Exposure to paints and solvents, especially when ventilation is poor, can cause nausea and irritate skin, according to WorkCover NSW. Longer-term effects include asthma and lung cancer.
Safety sheets provided by paint suppliers advise people to wear eye protection and gloves when using high-gloss enamel paint. Some brands warn that prolonged skin contact may lead to dermatitis. Inhaling paint fumes may irritate airways and cause headaches and dizziness, among other things.
One artist, Jeremy Kibel, recognised for the use of enamel in his landscapes and backgrounds, has also suffered serious side effects from the paint and uses it only in small amounts.
''I used to use it because it was cheap,'' Kibel says. ''The stuff is horrid. I was getting smoker's cough from the fumes. When you use it all the time you get blistering in your nose.''
Kibel's GP advised him to stop using the paint but the artist says it has not affected him professionally.
''People did love those enamel paintings but most people are under-standing about why I flicked it.''
Big enamel works by the likes of Dooney and Kibel will remain popular, according to the owner of Melbourne's MARS Gallery, Andy Dinan. Dinan says Dooney's decision to quit the medium won't hurt her reputation.
''Hazel has worked across several mediums - photography, pen and ink drawings, watercolours - but the big collectors have always wanted the enamels,'' she says.
''[Her work] is so glossy it just pops off the wall.''
Wendy Frew @'SMH'