Picket Report - San Francisco Org 83 Mcallister Street, Sunday Sept 29, 96

Hi Everyone,

I've been disturbed ever since that one public member a couple weeks back came up to me and started asking questions and then was told by a staff member that he was NOT allowed to talk to me. The look on that guys' face that he gave me as he was walking away has been eating away at me ever since. Partly because of that one incident I've finally decided to get a little more "aggressive" with my picketing.

For one thing I've now decided to carry a second sign. This new sign reads, "you have a RIGHT to talk to me. Call me at (510) -449-0332." I keep this sign down at my side always facing toward the Org so that all members in there can read it. For this sign I use plain white posterboard backed by regular cardboard to give it extra strength. I cut out a little handle for me because I figured keeping a sign squeezed between my fingers for several hours at a time might make my fingers fatigued. It works beautifully.

While I picket I've noticed that most staff members have now pretty much settled in to their reactions towards me. Jim (one course supervisor) always purposely avoids looking at me. He always looks straight ahead with his chin held up in the air, sometimes shaking his head with a smirk on his face. My other former course supervisor always looks at me with an expression on his face as if he still can't believe it's ME out there doing this. Janet Meinsma (the registrar), the queen bee of that hive, always struts her stuff as if saying to herself, "Wayne YOU TRAITOR - and after ALL I've done for YOU." The ethics officer has always managed to look like she REALLY doesn't even see me. Damn she's good at it, but then she's ALWAYS been talking to someone when she passes me so maybe that's why she can pull it off. THEN - there are some of the paying public who keep looking at me like they are just DYING to ask me SOMETHING. Unfortunately as far as I know they may be just trying to let me know that I am not affecting them in the slightest. I can't really tell WHAT they are thinking unless I can actually talk to them to find out.

This is the purpose of my second sign, to give them a channel to discuss what's REALLY on their minds if they want to. My new sign accomplishes this purpose without anyone being able to accuse me of harassing them. I need to feel that I am doing everything possible to give them all the chance to make an INFORMED decision about what they are doing in Scientology. I feel like I really let that one guy down when I remained silent as he was forced to walk away from me. I need to make up for my failure. I'm hoping my additional sign will give me the chance to do that.

One thing I found surprising and very encouraging was that this weekend I WAS able to talk to several of their members. Unfortunately I didn't know they were members when I was talking with them. They seemed like regular pedestrians who were just curious about my sign and why I was out there. It wasn't until they walked into the building that I realized who they were. If only I had known I would have held on to them a little bit longer and also supplied them with some of my hand-outs. I'm pleasantly surprised because I thought for sure that the staff would have already warned everyone by now that they were not allowed to talk to me. Apparently not. Maybe they're trying to keep me a secret. Cool! Hopefully if I just keep showing up that I'll continue to get lucky like this.

Besides my new sign there's one more thing that I'm doing differently. I've noticed that almost every week one of their recruiters comes out a little before 3:00 and goes around the building to the plaza in front of the subway station. As much as I would like to stay out in front of THEIR building I've decided that I could probably do more good by following this guy and picketing right where he is. It's times like this that I wish I could clone myself so that I could be in several places at once.

When I started pacing in front of the subway I quickly discover that I got A LOT more attention than out front. In front of the subway there is a lot more foot traffic. Out in front of the Org I 'd sometimes have to wait perhaps 10 - 15 minutes before someone would approach me to ask questions or make a comment. Drivers or passengers in cars would sometimes fill in the gaps. Out in front of the subway, however, it only took at most 30 seconds between each encounter.

It was interesting to observe that not one person went up to this recruiter to ask him what HE was doing there. He was always the one to choose who he talked to. On the other hand my sign seemed to attract people to me like a magnet. In front of the subway I got a rapid succession of people coming up to me. Out back I got few responses from people in cars but a lot more direct personal interactions - A LOT MORE.

With so many more interactions I've also encountered many more who have gotten hostile to me. Some seemed so friendly for the first few minutes and then suddenly turned on me. They'd suddenly became antagonistic and started grilling me with all kinds of hostile questions, comments or gestures. I guess I should expect this since the subway is so much closer to the seedier part of town than the mission was.

The more I picket the more I've noticed that I'm slowly changing inside. I'm learning what my buttons are. When I first started picketing I was so afraid to encounter hostility from ANYONE. When I first started picketing I was so unsure of myself, I had no idea what to say or how I should handle ANY situation, let alone a hostile one. The S.F. mission was a good training ground for learning to deal with strangers and staff members. Because of the neighborhood at Sutter and Stockton most people were receptive and friendly to me. In front of the subway on Market Street I've lost that safety net. If I am to keep informing potential victims about the dangers of Scientology then I need to learn to be able to deal with all types of situations out there on the street.

In a strange kind of way the more I picket the more of a "thrill" I get from hostile encounters. All the positive responses I get certainly encourage me but it's all my successful dealings with hostile people that are building my confidence and are giving me a feeling of immense satisfaction. I walk away feeling like, "Hey, I CAN do this picketing thing." It's so satisfying to have some stranger suddenly turn hostile on me and then within 5 - 10 minutes for me to be able to get them to calm down enough so that they just walk away. Even if they're still cursing at me I know that I've successfully dealt with the situation and that now I can continue my picket. People still need to be informed about Scientology. This shouldn't preclude me from having fun while doing it.

Over the months I've learned a few things about picketing. When dealing with a hostile person NEVER PANIC. To panic could invite disaster. The last thing I'm prepared to deal with is a disaster. Also, I ALWAYS maintain direct eye contact with the person no matter how hostile they become. If the situation seems to be getting out of control I always IMMEDIATELY lower my sign. Not only does this allow ME to concentrate more on them but, strangely enough, it seems to have a calming affect on them. I've also learned to try to never listen to my internal reactions but to always put my FULL attention on the other person. I can always deal with my reactions later. Most of the time the "hostile" person just wants to feel heard. As soon as I give them THAT they just turn around and walk away. It is SO COOL watching this happen. This approach has served me very well every time so far.

Other people have E-mailed me additional advice which I ALWAYS keep in my "tool belt" just in case these usual methods don't work. Thank you everyone for your input. I'm always looking for good ideas to use during my picketing. I want to be an EFFECTIVE picketer not a public nuisance.

When I'm out there on the street I have a VERY specific agenda. My purpose is to inform as many people as possible about Scientology so that they can make an informed decision about it. I see myself as sort of a "truth in advertising" label. People who agree with me already certainly give me encouragement but it doesn't accomplish my purpose. People who become hostile may help me develop confidence but still it doesn't achieve my purpose. When someone walks away from me knowing more than they did before then THAT DOES achieve my purpose and gives me a lot of satisfaction. This Sunday was certainly informative, thrilling, productive, and satisfying. I'm gonna have to do this again soon. Say next weekend. Hey, I'm there!

Wayne Whitney