Picket Update - San Francisco Org 83 McAllister Street - PART 1

Hi Everyone,

I thought I'd drop you all a line to let you know what's been happening outside the San Francisco Org these passed couple of months. In PART 1 I'd like to describe some of the highlights and lowlights I've encountered out there. In PART 2 I'd like to describe some of the more common types of situations I run into and how I've tried to deal with them.

PART 1:

INTERVIEWED BY ANOTHER REPORTER

This Saturday I was interview by another newspaper journalist out in front of the Org. I believe he was from Finland. We talked for a bit with him taking notes. He then took some pictures of me standing on each side the Org's front door. We then backed away and started talking some more. Janet Meinsma (the salesperson) was leaving the building when she suddenly realized that I was talking to a journalist. She immediately turned around and hustled back inside to sound the alarm. Sure enough, in less than 30 seconds there was someone out there to handle him.

The first thing the handler said to him was, "You know there's another side to the story than Wayne's." He then asked for his name and who he worked for. The journalist gave him his card and then asked to see Jeff Quiros. He was informed that Jeff was not available right then but that he would get back to him as soon as possible. The journalist informed him that he was leaving for LA around 7:30A the next morning. He then asked to see if someone on staff could arrange a tour of Scientology's facility in LA for him since he was heading that way anyway. He was once again told that Jeff would get in touch with him as soon as possible.

With this little "arrangement" agreed upon the journalist left. As he was walking away the handler turned to me and said, "I'm going to have to ask you to step back out on the sidewalk." Since I get so much more visibility out by the street anyway I didn't have a problem with his request.

It was interesting to observe that THIS journalist had no hesitation in giving his name and address to this staff member. This was in stark contrast to the one that interviewed me several months ago. As far as I know that one refused to give out any information. By the way, THAT reporter finally got back to me. He didn't send me actual copies of the pictures that he took like I thought he would. He did, however, send Xerox copies of them, along with a message. I'll bring his letter with me to my next couple of pickets so if anyone wants to see it just stop on by and ask. I know it's just a simple letter but at least it lets me know that I'm maintaining a presence out front and that the media is still kind of interested in what I am trying to do. I'll let you know if I can get anything more significant to come from this.

TODAY THEY WANTED MY FLIERS

The flood of requests for more information about Scientology this year caught me unprepared so it took me awhile too get my act together on this. Fortunately, this weekend I'd finally gotten enough flier material downloaded, formatted, edited, and printed to start passing them out with confidence. I now have a number of fliers I keep with me. I have Roland's Zemu flier, an excellent list of reference material, a flier of juicy Hubbard quotes (so that people can see what he was REALLY like) and a few others.

Today after I had been picketing for a number of hours this young couple approached me. They had just moved to San Francisco and were out exploring their new environment. This was definitely an interesting couple. The guy looked totally stoned while she, in contrast, was this effervescent little spitfire. They looked a bit odd together because the contrast was so great.

Anyway, the woman had a lot of questions for me and asked me if I'd mind spending a little time with her answering them all. Naturally I didn't, that's why I'm out there. It was a perfect opportunity to sit down on the grass, give my feet and back a much needed break, and go into quite a bit of detail about Scientology. When the timing was right I gave her the Zemu flier. We ended up spending about 20 minutes together.

After we parted company I got up and continued my picket. About ten minutes later this staff member comes out and asks if he can have a copy of my fliers. I was a bit surprised by this request. Needing a few seconds to think of a response the first thing I said was, "How do you know I have fliers?" He replied, "I saw you give one to that girl over there."

I was encouraged by his response because it let me know that they are STILL interested in me after a whole year. I hadn't become boring to them yet. It also let me know that they were keeping an eye on me even when I wandered way off to the side and out of view from the main lobby area.

This short exchange gave me the time that I needed to quickly evaluate my possible responses. The one I chose was, "NO! These fliers are for the people out here on the street (me motioning towards the street). They are for those who really can use them, the ones who need to know what is REALLY going on in there. They cost money to print up and I'm not going to just throw them away". The ball was now in his court and I waited for a return volley. Instead he just got this embarrassed look on his face, turned around and went back inside.

Hopefully this little exchange has cleared up any confusion they may have had concerning my fliers. If they ask me again they'll get the same kind of response.

THIS WEEKEND THEY WERE UPBEAT WHEN I ARRIVED

This weekend staff and public seemed more upbeat then usual when I arrived. There also seemed to be more activity than usual out front. I figured that they had an "event" coming up that they were all excited about.

One guy when he first saw me started shaking his head and laughing to himself as if to say, "What a real jerk that guy (me) must be." A short while later another member who had been out front eating his lunch came right up to me and said, "You know, the more you picket the more people come in to sign up for services. Even BAD publicity gets more people in our front door. People see you out here and they become interested in Scientology. You're doing us a favor by giving us free publicity". I responded with, "Well they're free to go in there then."

A short while later a guy in a pickup truck backed right up to their front door. He almost ran into me doing it. They started unloading all kinds of tables and things. When they were almost done the driver walks up to me and says in a hostile tone of voice, "I really hate to see you taking a loss like this. The longer you stand out here the more people become involved in Scientology. You just keep coming out here week after week and more and more people keep coming in". Once again I just motioned to the front door and said, "The door is wide open over there. They're all perfectly free to go inside if they want. I'm certainly not going to try to stop or harass them." With that he just turned around and went back to unloading his truck.

About ten minutes later I just happened to be talking to someone by the traffic light when this truck guy started to drive off. When he got right in front of us (half on the sidewalk and half in the street) he stopped, looked right at the guy I was talking to and said, "You know, Scientology REALLY IS all a scam." Having said that he drove away.

Later in the afternoon while I was talking to someone a guy in a car drove by and as soon as he saw me he quickly pulled over and stopped. He came up from behind and stepped right in front of me. The first thing he said was, "You must be really stupid to get involved in a cult like this." He then takes some change out of his pocket, sorts through it, and then gives me a penny saying, "Here, maybe this will help you ". He then turns and walks away. He surprised me because I was already talking to someone when he suddenly butted in unexpectedly. Because of that when I saw the change in his hand I immediately just assumed he was going to give me a small donation like several others have done in the past. However, when I looked down and saw that it was just a penny I realized that he had been sarcastic the whole time. Unfortunately, I still get upset whenever someone says or implies that I'm stupid just because I got taken by this cult.

It was this very incident that finally made me realize that sooner or later I was going to have to come to terms with this fact. I've certainly beaten myself up enough because I was ripped-offed by them . The last thing I need is for others to do it to me without me at least being able to defend myself or trying to get them to be a little more understanding towards those of us who HAVE been victimized.

Because of this I went home that night and asked myself, "If it wasn't 'stupidity' that got me involved -- then WHAT?" I finally came up with a SHORT, SIMPLE answer that I now use quite frequently out there. My immediate response to situations like this is to explain to the person, "The people who get entangled in this organization are (A) The ones who don't know ahead of time that it's just a big money making scam and (B) Get hit on by their sales staff at just the right time".

The first couple of times I was confronted with situations like this I'd immediately try to defend myself by trying to explain what Scientology's "reg cycles" (crush sell sale sessions) were like. This never seemed to work very well though. I guess out in the safe, low-key environment of the sidewalk the high pressure "reg scene" wasn't something the person could relate to very well. Besides, becoming defensive probably just made me appear weak-minded and helped reinforce their existing ideas about cult members.

Now after this one incident, instead of instantly becoming overwhelmed and frustrated by all the things I suddenly want to say to the person, I start out with this simpler, more rational approach. Making this simple change has certainly gone A LONG WAY towards me being able to defuse the situation, at least for myself. Sometimes, however, in the heat of the moment I still have to remind myself that if I was truly stupid I'd still be involved DESPITE knowing all I now know about Hubbard and his organization. Realizing that I NEVER would have gotten involved if I had had the facts ahead of time is certainly enough to convince me that I am NOT a stupid person.

From this frame of mind I can then explain further.

I tell them that I had made rational, intelligent decisions based on outright lies and deception and that what they are doing in there is considered "consumer fraud" and that everywhere else and that kind of thing is illegal. I tell them that the main reason they are getting away with it is because they've labeled themselves a "church". I point out that IF I had known all this ahead of time I definitely would NOT have gotten involved. I then tell them that what happened to me CAN happen to ANYONE and that I'm out there trying prevent it as best as I can.

At this point I can usually get back to my regular agenda and go into the WAYS the cult lures people in and then tries to KEEP them in. Here is where I can more effectively describe the high pressure sale sessions, indoctrination courses, and the thought-reforming procedures members are put through.

This new approach has certainly taken the sting out of comments like the one above. I don't think anything will ever take it away completely but at least now I'm more able to pull myself out of the nose-dive faster and get back to my own agenda in a reasonable amount of time.

Some people however, no matter what I say, just have to stay up on their pedestals (like the guy in this incident.) At some point I just have to accept it and realize that I'm just wasting my time with them so I just give in and let them have the last word.

Fortunately most people out on the street aren't as judgmental as he was and become sincerely interested in learning how someone like me can get lured into a cult like Scientology.

THEY ARE PASSING "RUMORS" AROUND TRYING TO DISCREDIT ME

Today as I was picketing during their lunch hour a member came out of the bakery next door and asked me why I was picketing them. I told him that I thought Hubbard's "tech" was ALL crap, that I got defrauded and that I wanted as many people as possible to know about it so that the same thing does not happen to them. I then tried to give him a few specific examples of some of the tech that I thought was total garbage.

We then went round and round, him saying how great the "tech" was and how wonderfully it was working for him and then accusing me of just not applying it correctly. Some of the examples of the great wins he described were so off the wall and had nothing to do with what I thought we talking about that he gave me the impression of someone who was reading a script , lost his place, and was now just reading at random. One thing about most Scientologists I've met or know about, they rarely (if ever) give SPECIFIC examples of their wins, much less evidence, let alone proof. Then didn't Hubbard once say, "You can have any reality you want as long as you don't have to prove it to anyone." I guess they live by that motto, Hubbard certainly did. This guy was just one more example of this.

It's so rare that a public member approaches me like this that when it happens I quickly forget that these guy's, once indoctrinated, are not capable (or at least willing) to carrying on a rational discussion. A rational person, even if they totally disagree with me, are at least able to give me specific examples from life HOW they disagree with me and then WHY. Scientologists, for the most part, just assume the attitude, "I'm wrong, Hubbard's right and that's that." No rational thought anywhere to be found.

In my eagerness to let them know what I know about Hubbard and his organization I've forgotten that they are operating with Hubbard's implanted fixed ideas and for the most part are not capable of even considering another point of view. I simply must remember this next time and not waste time trying to reason with them. Hubbard advertises that Scientology clears a person of fixed ideas allowing the person to be more themselves. From what I've experienced myself and observed in others Hubbard certainly CAN clear a person of THEIR long held beliefs but then he turns right around and implants HIS twisted, fixed ideas in their place. That's false advertising if you ask me.

Anyway, back to my point about "rumors". This staff member finally comes out, pats the guy on the back and then kind of leads him back inside saying, "Don't waste your time on this guy, he's just a pervert. Let's go inside and I'll let (I forget the name he said) tell you all about him. When he said THAT I immediately decided that I was going to cancel all my plans for the next day and picket them AGAIN instead. I've discovered that it's SO much easier to KEEP people out of the cult than it is to GET them out. This little incident certainly reminded me of one of the reasons I am out there and added quite a bit of fuel to my fire.

A short while later several teams of recruiters came out and started hitting on new marks around the neighborhood. This is the first time in a long time that I've seen them make a serious attempt at recruiting WHILE I've been out there. I wonder what this means.

One team had hit on a couple and were leading them back to the Org. When they were about half a block away I saw one of the recruiters point directly at me and then say something to them and then look back at me. I suspect he was saying something to them to discredit me so that they wouldn't believe anything I said in the event I got the chance to talk to them.

These two incidents remind me of the time when I was still picketing the mission. Tim (the barker they positioned out front to counter my efforts) managed to snag in a new mark as he was passing by. As he was trying to get him to nibble on his bait the guy points to me and says, "Well what's with this guy here? Whey's he picketing you?" Tim responded with, "You know, Wayne's a great guy and all but he just doesn't understand Scientology so he has to attack it." That was one of those times that I REALLY had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. When I heard that I became furious. It just bugs the hell out of me whenever I hear them lie and twist the facts in an attempt to manipulate and exploit someone like that. They did it to me now I have to watch them doing the exact same thing to others. That time I had to say to myself quite a few times, "Wayne chill out, just stick with your plan, just stick with your plan".

Because of incidence like these (and a few others) I not only suspect, but I know for a fact, that they are spreading "rumors" about me and starting the indoctrination process even BEFORE they get their marks inside the door. Not to worry though, I've got another plan up my sleeve. Ted Mayett was right about the effectiveness of mentioning the cost of their services. There's been a number of times when I thought I'd have to go running down the sidewalk to catch somebody's eyeballs after they popped out of their head when I mentioned the price. If they start successfully keeping people from talking to me then I am going to start carrying another sign with the price tag on it. I'll let "sticker shock" do the talking for me.

One more thing, I must keep in mind that these are professional con artists so I shouldn't take it too personally if they get to someone first and manage to lure them inside. I'm at somewhat of a disadvantage because recruiters feel free to lie and say anything they want to a mark just to get them in that front door while I try to stay as close to the facts as possible and let the person make up their own minds whether they want to get involved or not. I get frustrated sometimes though. I can, however, take comfort knowing that I took part in getting the San Francisco mission to finally shrivel up and blow down the street, despite all their fraudulent hard sell sales tactics. I'll have to stop by their new location to see how downstat they've become. Won't they be glad to see me again? I can also take comfort in the fact that, as far as I know, not one person that I've talked to has gone in to buy their services, not even the ones who walked away leaving me wondering whether I convinced them to stay out or not.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST