30 Sep 2000

John Ritson <john@jritson.demon.co.uk>

A fine day, ideal for a trip to the seaside, so a contingent of suppressives arrived in Brighton to picket the 'org'. Apparently it is currently run by the 'Sea Org' and there was indeed a sighting of a woman in uniform peeking from an upper window, but it is still 'downstat' and 'non-confront'. All we saw, apart from the woman in the window, were four or five staff members. We had the boom-box in full operation again, apart from a dodgy wheel, and we dominated the 'org's' end of the shopping centre with our leafletting, slogans and recorded excerpts of L Ron Hubbard's lunacy.

Nobody got body-routed, no students were seen, no members of the public had any sympathy for the Scientologists (not even at the 'But are you saying that John Travolta isn't a nice guy?' level). Many people thanked us and some told us of their close encounters with the cult, such as the guy who took a 'Personality Test' and was told he had communications problems and needed to take a 'Communications Course' by someone who appeared positively tongue-tied.