Subject: picket report, 4/3/99, San Francisco - police handle Nasty Mark
From: humanrights@racerrecords.com (Kristi Wachter)
Date: Sun, 04 Apr 1999 00:32:58 -0800

Date: Saturday, April 3, 1999
Start and End Times: 11:45 - 1:35
Location: San Francisco
Picketers: Peaches, Kristi Wachter, phr, Administrati
Handlers: Jeff Quiros, Bill Crawford, Nasty Mark
Number of Handouts given away: 62
Comments: VERY windy; police tell Mark to leave us alone

flier stats:

half-page:
40 Felony Charges/Scientology Hurts People
5 Rodney
2 Questions for Scientologys

full-page:
3 Xenu
3 Lisa
2 Scientology Attacks Freedom of Religion

postcards:
7 Attorney General

Note: Quotes may not be exact, since I only listened to my tape recording once. Also, I occasionally rearrange the chronology slightly to enhance the narrative flow.

Four of us picketed the San Francisco org today, in our inaugural first-Saturday-of-every-month picket.

YOU CAN READ IT IN THE SUNDAY PAPERS

For a change, we actually knew in advance when this picket would be, so I was able to send announcements in to some of the event calendars. Since San Francisco is a pretty liberal, activist town, the local papers regularly carry information about upcoming protest actions and similar events - especially the two major weeklies, the Bay Guardian and the SF Weekly. I missed the deadline for the SF Weekly, but the Bay Guardian carried my announcement:

Picket Scientology

Saturday, April 3, join a peaceful demonstration to protest Scientology's human rights violations, criminal acts, and attacks on free speech. Noon - 2 pm, Church of Scientology, SF, (my phone number) or info@scientology-lies.com.

Hopefully, next month I'll be a little better organized and I'll get the announcement in to both papers in plenty of time to be listed.

As usual, I called the police before the picket to let them know we'd be out there. The lieutenant answering the phone asked, "So, just the usual group?" It's good to know we've become familiar faces to them.

YOU'RE SO SQUARE

I have SO many messages I want to get across, I'm always looking for ways to get more messages out to passersby. Today I tried rigging my sandwich sign (front and back) to two more panels, turning me into a walking square.

My sign was the usual "Scientology hurts people" backed with "Does Scientology cause liver damage" and "Why does Scientology lie about their founder", and I supplemented my front ("Scientology charged with felonies") and back ("L. Ron Hubbard was a convict") sandwich panels with side panels saying "Scientology attacks religious freedom" and "Scientology: RICO religion".

Although the ensemble was a little awkward to wear, I was pleased to be able to make so many messages visible (Peaches said they were all readable). However, the wind battered me around mercilessly, and about an hour into the picket, I detached the side panels and wore them underneath the front panels.

The ARSCC-SF(wdne) R&D Div will continue researching picket sign tech.

(If I'm not careful, I'll completely obliterate my red jammies. We can't have that.)

EVERYONE KNOWS IT'S WINDY

It was EXCEEDINGLY windy throughout the picket. I had to stop several times to repair and readjust my signage, and I had a little trouble keeping my picket sign under control. I warned my handler, Bill, to stay a short distance away from me and my unruly sign, and I bonked myself on the head once or twice when the wind gusted against my sign.

The ARSCC-SF did an excellent job of postulating sunshine, but we'll have to work on postulating only light breezes for future pickets.

FROM THE BEGINNING

I battled the wind down Van Ness Street, where I waved at the passersby, handed out fliers, and got a lot of support from a group waiting for the bus. One lady told me she had gotten a friend out of Scientology. They responded enthusiastically to my suggestions that they contact their congresspersons and the IRS.

When I arrived, at about 11:50 or 11:55, Peaches was already there, looking lovely and sporting her fabulous pair of signs. (She had been smart enough to tie her hair back, as she usually does; I had to constantly push mine out of my face, and I spent the day with a decidedly tousled look.)

One of the regulars was chatting with Peaches. I've come to suspect he's a Scientologist, although I don't know that for sure. He has a fairly heavy accent and strikes me as a Spanish or Greek fisherman. When I arrived, he greeted me heartily, and made some comment about Peaches in his lovely accent: "she's a beautiful smart girl!" Peaches kindly said that I was, too, and we joked about being the Beautiful Smart Girl Coalition of the ARSCC.

To validate our beautiful smartness, FreshFace came out of the org to snap a picture, and I obligingly waved at him.

THE LUNATICS ARE IN THE HALL

Shortly after noon, Jeff Quiros (OSA and My Official Scientology Pal) arrived. I told him I was delighted to see him and offered my hand, but he disdained the offer and replied that every time he sees me I look like more of a lunatic. I laughed at the lovely compliment and called after him, "It's very nice to see you, Jeff."

(I can't help myself - now that I know he's not consistently creepy, I like the guy.)

We continued on with the usual picket. Phr arrived, to my utter delight. Foot traffic was on the light side. One gentleman asked about Scientology and drinking - curious about my liver damage sign - and I explained that Scientology discouraged heavy drinking but didn't ban it, but then got to explain the Purif and its potentially toxic levels of niacin. A lady inquired about the "Scientology attacks religious freedom" sign, and I explained Scientology's attacks on splinter groups, as well as Scientology's lies about compatibility with Christianity and other belief systems.

THE BILL ANTHEM

Bill Crawford and Nasty Mark arrived. Were our friends at San Francisco responding to my repeated requests for a handler for Administrati? Alas, Administrati was only present for a small portion of the picket, so Bill latched on to me, and Nasty Mark went to work on Peaches.

Bill and I started with a bit of catching up; he told me he didn't much enjoy his Alabama vacation, and mentioned that he's taking the Nuances course.

And then we were off, retreading long-exhausted conversational territory. He tried the tired old "wouldn't you lock up a family member if you thought they might hurt themselves" routine. I pointed out, again, that even with family, it is only legal to hold someone until the authorities can be contacted, and I pointed out that that is WHY the types of deprogramming tactics common in years gone by were illegal - because, even if your family thinks you're destroying yourself, they can't hold you against your will.

I tried to point out that the eval script claiming a scientific basis for the OCA (the "personality test") was fraudulent; Bill tried to prove to me that it DID have a scientific basis by saying that it had accurately reflected a drop in "happiness" for him once when he was having a really bad year. I pointed out that his individual experience was not scientific proof, and he said, "I don't care whether it's scientific," and I reminded him that whether he cares or not, it's still a lie, and fraud, for Scientology to be representing it as if it were.

Bill said several times that he didn't understand my "fervor."

After my umpteenth repetition that locking people up was against the law, Bill asked me what exactly the statute says and why Scientology isn't being busted for it. I noted that it HAS been alleged in lawsuits filed by individuals; as to why law enforcement wasn't going after them, I said I thought they felt it was politically risky to go after a group that claimed to be religious, and that Scientology had infiltrated the Attorney General's office in California - another action that was directed by Scientology policy.

I went on to say that we don't know how many lawsuits have alleged false imprisonment, because Scientology is so fond of imposing gag orders on people they settle with. Bill agreed with me that gag orders suck and Scientology shouldn't impose them, since part of Scientology's creed is the right to speak freely - he said, "I think gag orders suck."

Bill says he likes me, even though "technically we're enemies." I tell him I don't believe in enemies, and that I don't consider him, or the Scientology organization, to be my enemies. He says that one of the abilities he's gained from being Clear is being able to deal with enmity, and not feel like he has to hate me or kill me or anything just because we're enemies. I point out that many Christians (depending on the leanings of their denomination) have also overcome that, and daily practice the teaching to love their enemies.

(One ability Bill has NOT gained from going Clear is perfect memory; I had to correct him on my name, which he kept mispronouncing as "Kristin" or "Christine.")

A gentleman I don't recall seeing before today comes by; Bill recognizes him and says, "I'll see you tonight." The gentleman asks me what SP level I am, and I tell him I'm not sure - I THINK SP 4, but I really don't keep track of these things. I ask if he's a Scientologist, and he affirms that he is. He asks my name, and I give it; he asks my last name, and I give it; he tries to confirm the spelling, and I spell it for him and tell him Jeff and Craig know how to spell it. He does not offer his own name.

Bill tells me that he thinks that people who "got into trouble" in Scientology - by which he means people who died or were hurt in some way - would have ended up in similar trouble even if they hadn't gotten into Scientology. Obviously, I disagree with him on that.

We go on to discuss whether Scientology can be harmful to people (Bill says that he thinks Scientology processes can trigger problems in people, but he doesn't equate that with being harmful to them). I ask Bill why Scientology doesn't tell people that harm may occur; he says he doesn't tell people because he doesn't think it happens that often - certainly not as often as it happens in psychiatry. I point out that psychiatrists are required to inform patients of side effects, even very rare ones. He says he would tell someone if they asked, but only then.

I mention LRH's statement that Self-Analysis can make people insane, and Bill doesn't believe such a statement exists.

Hey Bill, if you're reading this:

If you are fairly stable mentally there is no real danger. But I will not mislead you. A man could go mad simply reading this book. If you see somebody who isn't as stable as he thinks he is working with _Self Analysis_, coax it away from him.

LRH, Introduction, _Self Analysis_, 1982, p. 6.

Throughout our discussion, Bill asks for specifics, which I provide when I have them. Unfortunately, there are many specifics I don't have at my fingertips. I repeatedly offer to email them to Bill, but he does not give me his email address.

PICTURES TO PROVE IT

Peaches called me over to meet a photographer from the Bay Guardian. (Apparently a listing in the Events section gets more attention than a press release.)

He assembled us in front of the org and snapped a few pictures. (He positioned us on the sometimes-disputed triangle of sidewalk that the org may or may not have jurisdiction over, but no one from the org tried to chase us off.)

A bit later, the photographer interrupted my conversation with Bill to ask if I had any fliers, and I loaded him up. He mentioned that he had covered Wayne's pickets when he used to picket SF Org. Bill jumped in to ask if he had ever gotten Scientology's side of the story, and the photographer told us that, when he had been photographing Wayne, someone from the org had come out and started hassling him (the photographer), so he began walking toward the police station, and as they reached the station, the Scientologist finally laid off. It hadn't exactly left him with a warm and fuzzy feeling about Scientology.

NASTY HABITS

When Nasty Mark showed up, I said, "Nice to see you!" and offered my hand; he was kind enough to shake hands with me and return a greeting.

For a moment there, I thought he wasn't going to live up to his name, but sure enough -

He approached Peaches, who promptly told him she didn't want to talk to him. He continued to verbally harass her, calling her a bitch and a loser, asking what was wrong with her life, asking her about her psychiatric history. She pulled out her tape recorder and showed him she was turning it on - a tactic which had gotten Bill to leave her alone in the past - but it didn't faze Nasty Mark. He became more aggressive, actively walking in front of her and jostling her and asking her things like, "Who are you going to get to protect you this time?"

Phr, that's who. Peaches called him over to help fend off Nasty Mark. Mark starts hassling Phr, baiting him, trying to provoke a fight, getting in his face and saying things like, "Come on - show me your manhood!"

Phr says, "OK" - and whips out his cel phone, on which he dials the number for the police. He told them it wasn't an emergency, but this guy was bothering them, and could they please send an officer over?

A moment later, an officer arrived. He was more concerned with the large anti-war protest happening elsewhere in the city and told everyone that he didn't want to waste a squad car of five officers on this. He told Mark to leave us alone for the rest of the day and went on his way.

Shortly thereafter, Jeff beckoned Bill away from me and informed him that they weren't going to talk to us any more today.

A few minutes after that, Mark and Bill came out of the org with the "Kristi Wachter is a religious bigot" signs and headed off to (I assume) picket me. I was a bit surprised to see Bill - my buddy, my pal - heading off to picket my home, but I guess they all genuinely think that they're not creating bad PR for themselves when they picket residences.

<sigh> Oh well.

Message to Jeff, Nasty Mark, and any and all other Scientologists:

It's not going to happen. We are not going to fall for Offman-style provocation. I have given a lot of thought and rehearsal to the possibility of assault - I, personally, will drop and curl up until help arrives. And don't imagine help will be slow to come. Even when I appear to be picketing alone, you can never be sure how many witnesses I have, whether arranged or spontaneous. And remember when I said that if ANYTHING remotely suspicious happens, I WILL file a police report, and I WILL mention Fair Game? Well, I meant what I said. The last time I filed a police report about Scientology's dirty little tricks, it only took about 20 minutes - and the officer was very supportive.

It's your job to maintain friendly relations with the environment. Please word-clear "friendly" and "environment" before our next picket.

Thank you.

TWO LITTLE HITLERS

While Mark and Bill were ostensibly off picketing me, Jeff came out for MORE pictures. As he was snapping shots of me, he said, loudly, "Liver damage - that's a lie." (Actually, Jeff, it's a QUESTION - my sign says, "Does Scientology cause liver damage? Ask Scientology about the Purification Rundown.") "LRH was a convict - that's a lie." I retorted, "He was convicted in France. He was a convict." - and Jeff made a face indicating that doesn't COUNT. He says LRH had never been to France - how could he have broken the law in France? (Easy, Jeff - by supervising and directing illegal activities.)

Jeff then said to me, "You must be friends with Hitler." "No, I'm not." I decided to just ignore Jeff, if he was going to be patently silly (he's a smart guy - he can do better than that), but Administrati got cheesed off and started handling Jeff. (I didn't hear a lot of it - maybe Administrati will send in a report of his own - but I hope Administrati made Jeff think a LITTLE bit about how offensive and distasteful remarks like that sound to uninvolved passersby.)

(The ultimate effect of Jeff's comment on me was that, for about half an hour, I had Elvis Costello's "Two Little Hitlers" running through my head.)

LEAVING HERE

The wind was making me chilly, and Phr wanted to go have some coffee, so we wimped out and quit early at about 1:35.

We encountered Jeff at the corner as we went to the cafe, and I gave him a big grin and told him Scientology had outpostulated us, and we were quitting early. He smiled slightly, perhaps in spite of himself, and made me like him all over again. It'll sure be nice when Scientology stops breaking the law and hurting people, and I can hang out with Jeff and Bill and Craig without them needing to feel animosity toward me.

We sat in the cafe and chatted about the afternoon's events - Phr and Peaches told me all about Mark's bullbaiting, since I had largely been occupied by Bill. I loved the bit where Phr showed Mark his "manhood," and we had quite a giggle as I asked to see it - and even TOUCH it. Ooh!

Several Scientology spies came in while we were there (actually probably just customers like ourselves ... but you never can tell, can you?), including Mr. "Lady, I Work Here." Peaches pointed out a poster for an upcoming folk music performance by Our Lady of the Stress Test Table. We gabbed about events in our lives (I hadn't seen either of them since, I think, February) and plans for the weekend (laundry for two of us) and plans for our next picket. Administrati joined us for a bit, which was lovely.

MASTERS OF REVENGE?

When I got home at about 2:15 or 2:30, there were no revenge picketers in sight, and no DA fliers stuck in the gate. Perhaps they decided to go for coffee instead.

It was a kick and a half to see everybody again, and I can't wait till next time. I'll keep an eye on the weather reports, so everybody - keep an ear tuned to the ARSCC Pirate Radio station. Spontaneous pickets can be suggested at any time.

And don't forget, the next regularly scheduled first-Saturday-of-every-month picket is May 1. May Day! May Day!

See you then!

And now, it's back to work for me,

Kristi

-- Kristi Wachter
the activist formerly known as "Jour" (before $cientology outed me)

I think $cientology is hurting people and breaking the law, and I want them to stop it. See http://www.scientology-lies.com for more.

Can you say "Xenu?" ... I knew that you could.

Click here for some additional truth about the Scientology crime syndicate: XENU.NET

Further facts about this criminal empire may be found at Operation Clambake and FACTNet.