Subject: picket report, San Francisco, 11/7/98
From: humanrights@racerrecords.com (Kristi Wachter)
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 1998 23:54:13 -0800
Message-ID: <humanrights-0911982354130001@racer.vip.best.com>

Picket Report, Saturday, November 7, 1998
San Francisco

SUMMARY:

Suppressives: phr and me
Date/Time: 11/7/98, noon to 1 pm or so
Handouts: fliers (mint/law, "Why I Picket", criminal allegations, Lisa, Xenu, mini-fliers), suckers, mints, Attorney General postcards
Tools: sign, disposable camera, tape recorder, bag-o-suckers-n-mints, "I'm NOT a Scientologist" headband
Weather: partly cloudy but nice
Foot Traffic: surprisingly steady
Street Traffic: steady
Scn Response: no Stress Test table or body routers; revenge picket on 11/8
General Passerby Response: very favorable
Stats: 101 mint/law fliers; 2 "Why" fliers; 5 Lisa fliers; 6 Xenu fliers (given out by phr); 1 "is $cn breaking the law" flier - plus a bunch of uncounted "$cientology hurts people" mini-fliers. Total: 115 fliers/postcards.

Note: as I do NOT have perfect memory and I don't check everything against my tape recording, any quotes below are very close paraphrases. I apologize for any inadvertent inaccuracies and will try to correct any errors that are pointed out to me.

OVERLONG NARRATIVE:

It had been entirely too long since I last picketed, so I was completely psyched (to coin a phrase <grin>). I've been working a LOT, which has made it a little harder to picket. I've also been enjoying San Francisco cultural life, which has also cut into my picketing time - in the last two weeks, I saw Tish Hinojosa and Bruce Hornsby, went to the Calder and Diebenkorn exhibits at SF MOMA (if you're in the Bay Area, you MUST go see the Calder show - it's AMAZING), and watched a bunch of movies.

But as much fun as all those things were, there's nothing quite like the picketing experience, so I set aside time on a rare day off to pay a visit to the local org.

THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND

The weather reports all week had been predicting massive rain for this weekend ("the first big storm of the season"), so I made sure to postulate nice weather. Sure enough, a drizzly morning turned into a lovely afternoon, with the clouds clearing and several pieces of blue sky appearing. (Later on, phr and I wondered whether it was my Gnarly SP Oat Tee Powerz or whether it was simply the grace of Xenu.)

Overcast days can make it hard to disseminate fliers, but the clearing weather may have actually HELPED - there were a fair number of people on the street, and many accepted fliers.

THE PRE-PICKET PICKET

As usual, I called the police station that's just around the corner from the org to tell them we would be picketing. I rattled off my usual "we haven't had any trouble in the past and aren't expecting any today." The sergeant I spoke with must not have gotten one of my calls before, because he immediately became alert. "What kind of trouble? What kind of protest?" I assured him that, as I said, we'd never had trouble before, that there were rarely more than 5 of us, and that it was just the standard walking around on the sidewalk with picket signs, and he calmed right down. During the picket, a police car drove by with three officers in it and the windows rolled down. They called over and asked how I was doing, and I smiled and said "fine!"

After the phone call, I assembled all my gear (including my NEW flier-holder - it's red, and has multiple pockets for different fliers) and headed out the door. I walked to the org, occasionally handing out fliers along the way. I had some takers among a group taking a walking tour of the city. A couple of gentlemen on their way to an anti-abortion rally took fliers, as well; I told them about the affidavits alleging coerced abortions.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS ...

The scene at the org was pretty typical for a Saturday picket. There were no body-routers and no stress-test table. I saw three of the regulars I usually see there, including Burly Guy and OSA-Boy, who was sporting a smart new beard.

Shortly after I arrived, one of the Scientologists standing around talking outside the org noticed my sign ("Is $cientology breaking the law? There's evidence that they are: ...") She called over to me, "The answer is 'no'!" I didn't get the impression she wanted to engage in an actual conversation and refute the specific allegations I'd seen, so I just thanked her for the information and went about my merry picket.

... AND A NEW ACQUAINTANCE

One of the highlights of this picket was a conversation with a very nice, polite Scientologist. She approached me and told me she was a student at the org and wanted to know more about why I was protesting. I introduced myself, and she gave her name as Cheryl. I told her about my concerns over Scn's illegal activities and mentioned Lisa McPherson. She said she'd never heard about anything like that happening in Scn, and I gave her my (mostly) complete list of alleged crimes. I mentioned the LRH quote about how, if a manager tries to suppress or pervert a reality, he's working for the destruction of the group. (I didn't have it verbatim, but I've printed it up for future pickets.)

She said she would ordinarily encourage me to read a book, but that it sounded like I'd already done a lot of reading. I confirmed that, and told her I'd read Dianetics and several HCOPLs and HCOBs. She said she would look over my information. I encouraged her to check out the Internet (she said she didn't have net access, and I mentioned the terminals at the library). I gave her my phone number and told her I'd be happy to talk further with her, and emphatically told her that if she came across any information that contradicts any of the info I have, that I'd LOVE to see it. I thanked her for her interest and wished her luck with her studies. She went inside, and I continued my picket.

She seemed very nice. I hope I'll get to talk with her some more.

IS CHOCOLATE A PSYCH DRUG?

Right around the time I was wrapping up my chat with Cheryl, Phr arrived. We hugged and chatted and caught up a bit. He broke out a big bar of chocolate and broke off a hunk for me. As I told him, I have a strict policy against eating while picketing, but I keep breaking it. <grin> Thanks again for the chocolate, phr!

VERBAL TECH

As usual, I was utilizing my standard trade-show tech, telling passersby why I was there and trying to interest them in a flier. On a whim, I kept count while listening to my picket tape. Here are my verbal tech stats - the number of times I used each of my standard phrases during this picket:

"I think Scientology's breaking the law" - over 160
"Would you like some info?" - 28
"Tell your friends/your congresspeople" - 57

100% STANDARD PICKET

Most of this picket was very routine. We got lots of acks and theta from passersby. Of those who gave a reason for declining my fliers, about 4 said they were Scientologists; two or three times as many said something like "I already know they're a scam."

I gave suckers and mints to a few of the homeless folks hanging out nearby. I also offered candy to the parents of small children. I'm giving out far less candy these days, though, and more fliers.

One message I think we need to get out more is that $cn is shrinking. One woman declined a flier, saying, "they've got so many lawyers it won't do any good. They won against the GOVERNMENT." I pointed out that they were shrinking, and that it seemed likely that the pickets and other attempts at raising public awareness were having an effect. She replied, "Oh really?" and took a flier. I think people need to know that $cn is not the omnipotent monolith they want people to believe they are.

I am definitely raising awareness about $cn generally. At least three of the people who took my fliers responded to my "I think $cn's breaking the law" by saying "Who?" - "Scientology." - "Who's that?" - "This organization in that building right behind you." Lots of people don't even notice them as they walk past, in spite of the big sign.

A somewhat more observant gentleman asked me about the "Now Hiring" sign and asked me what they were hiring for. I commented that one thing they WEREN'T hiring for was minimum wage, and explained the pay structure to him. He laughed and said, "No wonder the sign's been there so long!"

Other pedestrians demonstrated their existing knowledge about $cn (one woman said she didn't like their anti-gay stance, and a gentleman recalled seeing Hubbard's son on TV, denouncing LRH). A few, though, STILL can't see me as anything other than a $cn recruiter; one gentleman declined a flier, saying "Thanks, I have a great personality." <grin>

It was a great picket - fun and productive. I was very pleased to have given out over 100 fliers in about an hour on a day with iffy weather.

I'm planning at least one more picket before Dec. 5, and I think I'll make up a special handout letting people know about the San Francisco Lisa McPherson memorial. At least one regular passerby has already promised to be there.

This picket was dedicated to an a.r.s. lurker who's been emailing me and trying to find a good anonymous way to engage in some activism, and to whom I have only this to say: "Save the Flim!"

The next picket's dedicated to my very own Scientology revenge picketer, Ben.

<grin>

Kristi

--
Kristi Wachter
the activist formerly known as "Jour" (before $cientology outed me)

I think $cientology is hurting people and breaking the law, and I
want them to stop it. See http://members.aol.com/jour0 for more.
Can you say "Xenu?" --- I knew that you could.

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