I wanted to be THE ONE to stir up the hornets' nest at the San Francisco ORG so I got there early, at 10:30 A.M. before anyone else. As soon as they saw me it took them less than two minutes to scramble outside with all their picket signs and cameras and professional videographer. One of their signs said, "Grady Ward is a copyright terrorist." Another said, "Grady Ward can't keep a secret." I heard some pedestrians say how the $cientologists' signs seemed like propaganda to them and that it made them feel uneasy and distrustful. I'm thinking, "Great, exactly the kind of comments I like to hear." Some ability to communicate those signs turned out to be.

Eventually about half a dozen protesters showed up and we all stayed until about 2:30. About the same number of $cientologists came out and counter-demonstrated so it made the whole demonstration look twice as large. Grady Ward took pictures of the festivities and posted them on his web site at:

http://www.humboldt1.com/~gw/index.html

If you happen to be browsing the net, take a look. My picture is near the end. I'm the one holding the sign that says, "Stop the Harassment." The other side said, "Scientology suppresses free speech."

I consider the demonstration a success in a number of ways.

For one thing they now KNOW (once again) that we're out here, we've just given them a little more "mass" to add to their reality.

For another, I saw my former "Key To Life" course supervisor "Jim" videotaping us from the second story window. I showed him my sign and he immediately put down his camera and flipped me off. IT WAS SO COOL! I MADE AN IMPACT! Does this count as a "response" toward my "SPness" merit badge?

And finally, there were actually a handful of people who stopped and were genuinely interested in learning what the fuss was all about. I got a chance to inform some potential victims what REALLY goes on inside that building. PEACEFULLY PROTESTING REALLY DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Even if it's just contacting one person at a time.

I consider March the 9th a day of my life well spent.

I did leave San Francisco with mixed feelings however. On one hand it felt so good to openly defy the organization, me standing there with my bright green fluorescent sign right outside their front door. I was able to silently vent my anger in a non-destructive way and at the same time start to restore some of my dignity that had been so ruthlessly stripped from me in that building.

On the other hand I saw some public and staff members that I knew while I was still going there. Deep down they seemed like lovable, caring human beings to me and I knew that my actions might seem hurtful to them. But I KNOW what $cientology really is. I KNOW where it all leads. I wished more than anything that I could just go up and TELL THEM. In the end I knew that I would have to remain silent and just walk away.