On 5 May 2001 21:27:01 -0400, Kristi Wachter <humanrights@racerrecords.com> wrote: >preliminary picket report (to be in time for Week In Review)
>
>Date: Saturday, May 5, 2001
>Start and End Times: 11:45 - 4:30 pm, minus break from 2-3
>Location: San Francisco
>Picketers: Peaches, Phil Scott, Keith Henson, Arel Lucas, Phr, Kristi -
>oh, and No-Longer-(As)-Nasty Mark, Bill Crawford, Robin, and a couple of
>other Scientologists
>Handlers: Jeff, Craig, Robin, No-Longer-(As)-Nasty Mark
>Weather: GORGEOUS - sunny, windy toward the end
>Number of Handouts given away: well over 250 - includes all of us
On the way home, waiting for BART and the train, I got rid of the last of my Xenu flyers, at least 200 of them. Close to one in two of the random people taking the flyers have a bad to very bad opinion of scientology. >Comments: 4-5 Scientologists join us in picketing the org with their
>anti-psychiatry signs
>
>
>We had an EXCELLENT picket, starting with me and Peaches at the org. I had
>a loaner video camera, so I took some video as well as getting some
>pictures. Shortly after we arrived, No-Longer-(As)-Nasty Mark came over to
>me for a chat. All he wanted to talk about, though, was psychiatry, which
>I have declined to talk about at pickets, as I consider it a distraction.
>I told him I didn't want to discuss that, and he responded by talking
>about only that, with no response from me, for about 15 minutes. After a
>while, he tried talking to Peaches, who told him loudly and unmistakably
>that she didn't want to talk to him at all about anything. He persisted,
>so she said at the top of her lungs, "Get away from me! This Scientologist
>is harassing me! He won't leave me alone!" - which pretty much put a stop
>to his hassling her.
>
>I told him I thought it was rude to keep trying to talk to someone who'd
>said she didn't want to talk to him, and he said "Oh, you think you're
>polite, bitch?" - so alas, I can't honestly call him No-Longer-Nasty Mark.
>
>A bit later he went inside, and Peaches and I picketed on our own. Then he
>re-emerged, wearing a Psychiatry Kills t-shirt, and he and 3-4 other
>Scientologists picketed the org with big Psychiatry Kills and Psychiatry
>Destroys Lives signs. Peaches and I figured we'd let them have the picket
>to themselves for a bit, so we took a half-hour break (12:20-12:50),
>sitting on the curb, chatting, taking video, and handing out occasional
>fliers. Jeff came over at one point and asked what the strategy was, us
>sitting around, and I said "We thought we'd let you guys do the picket."
Jeff has shaved, and I didn't recognize him. Jeff and Aaron Mason were the very first scientologists I met in 1995. If someone finds that posting in the dusty archives, I complemented them on lying. Jeff tried to get the San Francisco police to arrest me telling them the story of recent events in Hemet. The cops had their hand full with a large but peaceful street demonstration on pot about a block away and were not the slightest bit interested. Besides, they could see nasty Mark and me talking and walking back and forth like long lost buddies. I must give the SF org a much higher tone scale reading then gold base. Gold base goes into hiding (-8 on the tone scale) when I show up, where these people, who know all the same information, come out and talk. >Phil Scott showed up around then and hung out with us, chatting up the
>Scientologists and handing out copies of Rev. Bagley's classic letter to
>passersby.
>
>I had come to picket, though, so after a nice leisurely break, we got up
>and continued. Shortly thereafter, Keith Henson and Arel Lucas appeared! I
>was so thrilled to see them! The two of them joined us, and each had
>conversations with their Scientology handlers. Arel's conversation with
>Craig was rather heated, as he kept goading her about hating him and she
>kept saying she didn't hate him or any Scientologist, she hated the
>organization they belong to. Keith had a big long chat with Mark, as well
>as with some other folks.
Some of it was ok. Mark was under orders to be as nasty as he could, but he kept slipping into ordinary conversation. A homeless street hustler (with a cell phone!) who claimed to be a former speed freak commented on us talking together for an hour or more. He figured out we were on opposite sides, but couldn't figure out why we were peacefully talking. Mark was in a heavy anti psych mode, talking about lobotomies, of which I don't think one has been done for decades. We discussed the difference between scientology's treatments and those of the medical profession. Mark tried to defend CoS not changing a bit when something like the introspection rundown was found to injure or kill in contrast to the psychology profession where a treatment (like analysis) which is found to be ineffective falls out of favor (even if it took a long time). Robin and Mark claimed that people have seen me picketing and decided they just had to join up. Heh, that being the case they should *pay* me to picket them! I told Mark the story of the first scientologist who blew as a result of talking to me. I was talking to scientologist BH at a Hacker's conference some years ago. BH was spending about $20k/year in those days on scn. We had just agreed to disagree about the subject when Tim May, one of my more famous friends, came by and tossed a newspaper down between us. That was the day the French convicted several scientologists in the death of Pat Vic. The news story went into details about the heavy sales pressure Pat Vic had been put under before he jumped, i.e., regging. I left BH reading the story with a *very* thoughtful look on his face. Not too long after that, I heard through mutual friends that BH had decided not to take more scientology courses for a while, and as far as I know he has never been back. Regging seems to be the most unpleasant aspect of scientology. Perhaps we should push this angle to scientologists we talk to. According to Michael Pattinson, avoiding regging was a perk for people investing with Slatkin. Jeff knew about it (from Phil's faxes?) but Mark was utterly ignorant of the Reed Slatkin story. He was a bit shaken when I mentioned that there had been another recent multi million dollar fraud by a scientologist in Arizona and said he would look up these stories on the net, claiming not to have installed the censor program. (Anyone know if he has a spam web page?) >Interestingly, none of the Scientologists fled at the sight of Keith, and
>NL(A)N Mark strolled with him for perhaps an hour, maybe longer. Clearly
>Keith's presence wasn't interfering with the San Francisco Scientologists'
>religion or terrorizing them in any way.
>
>Among the Scientologists holding anti-psychiatry signs were Robin (whom I
>first met at Mountain View) and my old friend Bill Crawford, with whom I
>had a very nice brief chat.
This time I got a close look at Robin. I have commented about this before, she has an untreated medical condition (lazy eye). Sigh. It is such a drag to see the effects of scientology on their health! >Craig tried to engage me in conversation. I told him I didn't like talking
>to him because he keeps talking over me. He said "Okay go ahead,"
>indicating he was willing to listen while I replied, but then he kept
>talking over me, so I gave up and went back to ignoring him (after making
>a loud comment to Peaches about how it was almost like he was trying to
>deliberately cause an ARC Break).
>
>I did have an excellent, brief conversation with a young Sea Org
>gentleman, Jamie. He asked what I had read that made me think Scientology
>was breaking the law, and I said "A lot of things, but mostly my own
>reading of Scientology's own policies and my own reading of the law." He
>asked what laws, and I explained how I believe presenting the OCA test and
>its evaluation as scientific was fraudulent. He asked how I knew it wasn't
>scientific, and I explained both the investigations that had been done and
>the fact that there was no research available for people to evaluate. He
>asked about the investigations, and I asked if he had access to the net.
>He said yes (I didn't think Sea Orgers had net access???) and I gave him a
>flier with my e-mail address on it so he could e-mail me and I could point
>him to the studies on the net. He excused himself and showed the flier to
>Jeff Quiros, who slowly and gently got it away from him. I called over to
>Jamie that if he "lost" my e-mail address he could always write me at
>info@scientology-lies.com (pointing to the URL on my sign).
>
>He was polite, able to confront, willing to listen, and personable - and
>even willing to give me his name - so I am delighted to award Jamie the
>coveted Kristi's Favorite Scientologist of the Month award.
If they read this you won't see him again. But it is interesting that they are running so short of people to "handle" us that they using people who will talk. Keith Henson >We took a break from 2-3 for beverages and sandwiches, then went back out
>from 3 until about 4:30. Due to the various Cinco de Mayo festivities, a
>big hemp rally on Market Street, and general city traffic on a sunny
>Saturday, the busses were slow, so I walked home, handing out several
>fliers on the way.
>
>
>I really will try to post a more extensive picket report this week, and
>I'll definitely get photos posted, including photos from last month.
>
>
>For now, though, I'm having me a big ol' pizza and watching "American in
>Paris" and "Brigadoon" on PBS.
>
>
>
>Thinking about "Brigadoon" but hearing only songs from "Finian's Rainbow"
>in my head (and probably Scientology can help me with that),
>
>
>Kristi
>
>Feliz Cinco de Mayo!