27 Aug 2000

bwarr@pacbell.net

Picket Report, San Diego 26 August 2000

Another link was forged in the chain of protest yesterday, when Xenubat and I met BlueXenu in San Diego.

While I was waiting for Xenubat to call, my neighbor came out and told me that the cult had been distributing fliers to people outside the front door of my building last weekend. He said it had my picture on it, and got a copy, but he has to find it. Two DA fliers in one year! The cult loves me!

I had some 'Cult in your Neighborhood?' and Xenu fliers. Bats brought a bunch of 'Insane Cult' fliers, featuring choice quotes from L. Wrong. I printed up a new sign in light of recent cult activities, "Scientology Hates Free Speech!' and the 'Scientology: $360,000 Space Alien Cult' sign for bluexenu. Due to a structural failure in my sign tech down down on the street, we had to stop by Bluexenu's vehicle to retrieve some tape for repairs. His vanity plate says Xenu. When we arrived, there was a woman checking it out, but she didn't ask.

There was a gaggle of clams outside the door of the org as we walked up, also a fellow on a cell phone pacing on the sidewalk. I had posted to ARS that we'd be picketing some time Saturday afternoon, I hope we didn't keep them waiting too long! It must be annoying to the regular staff having OSA underfoot all day. No sooner had we reached the corner of 4th and Ash than we acquired a handler with a camera. Bluexenu got some pictures of him, which I'll add to my collection of 'clams who have taken my picture' when I get it. He was a kind of Latino looking fellow, who didn't seem to like my toying with him as he was trying to do his job.

"Why are you hiding from me?" he asked, trying to angle for a shot of me as I hid behind my sign.

"Because you bug me," I replied. I told him that I'd let him take my picture if he asked nicely and said 'Please,' but I guess manners aren't part of the TRs.

I'm not one to talk, I said, "Take a picture of THIS!" and flipped him off. He was too slow on the shutter, alas, but Frank Petty already has a nice one of me offering a finger to (*) so that's okay.

He probably got some great shots of Xenubat in her "Who Is Xenu?" tee shirt, and some of Bluexenu with his digital camera taking his picture.

After getting the shots he wanted, he left us to our corner, where we received the usual barrage of honks, and thumbs up from passing motorists.

The only passerby we spoke to was a gentleman who said he had a degree in Theology, and had studied various cults in the course of his academic pursuits. He thanked us for being there, and wished us luck.

When nobody else came out of the org to play after a half hour, we went into stealth mode and headed back downtown.

Stopping at a local restaurant, (our guest was starving) we arranged our signs on the patio and staked out a table. We gave out eight fliers there to passersby, and chatted with one group who had a bit of knowledge about the cult. When they left, they had even more! One woman said the cult was frightening, and thanked us for our efforts. Another group of young men came by and refused fliers because, "We're from LA." 'Nuff said! Actually, two groups of Angelinos refused fliers due to their exposure to the cult's presence in that city!

While we were eating, I noticed a guy take the table next to us. The only reason I noticed him, besides the fact that his face sort of reminded me of a fish, was because he had brought out two beers with his meal, and I thought we'd have to move our signs to accommodate his companion. Turns out he was alone.

After chatting for a while on the patio, we walked Xenubat to the trolley station. Our signs attracted a few curious people waiting for the trolley. One man refused a flier at first, saying he didn't like to read, so we spoke with him at length about the cult. He had read Dianetics, but didn't like to spend money, and thought the book was a load of bull. We told him he was fortunate that he didn't get sucked in. He finally confessed that he liked to read, but wanted to talk, and xenubat gave him a couple of fliers.

At this point the trolley arrived, and Xenubat was on her way home. A street person came up and joined the conversation, he thought Hubbard was the greatest thing since crunchy peanut butter due to the evilness of his nature and the success of his scam. I could see this was going nowhere, and suggested to Bluexenu that we leave. He agreed, and we headed back downtown.

As we were walking, we noticed the fishy guy from the restaurant on the corner of Broadway. Bluexenu pointed out that he was following us about a half-block behind.

He kept up with us for a block or so, then we lost him by crossing the street. There are huge crowds on the sidewalks on Saturday night, so no surprise there. We took a roundabout way back to pick up his stuff. I gave him directions to the freeway, and he hit the road after an excellent afternoon.

Next weekend is Street Scene. Last year, 80,000 people flooded into the Gaslamp Quarter for this $30 music fest. An excellent opportunity for a stealth picket, I'd say!

This is true,

--
barb

"Car salesmen are after your money, Christians are after your soul, but the Church of Scientology wants both." --Hartley Patterson

"Every week, every month, every year, every decade and now every century, Scientology does weird and stupid things to damage its own reputation." -Steve Zadarnowski

http://www.xenu.net
http://www.xenutv.com (see live Scientologists in their natural state!)