Toronto Picket Report - April 6, 2001
07 Apr 2002
Christopher Wood <cwood@NOSPAMxenu.ca>

Picketers: Me, Gregg Hagglund, Keith Henson, and The Unknown Picketer

Leaflets: We passed out approximately 500. My No Science/Scn Founder Con Man, Gregg's Xenu/crimes, a couple of Kirsti Wachter's "Scientology Hurts People", and some about the Children's Sec Check.

The picket went for about three hours (not including lunch). Thankfully the Scientologists who do the picket handling stayed quiescent (probably because of all the non-OT Scientologists around, see later on in this picket report), so we managed to picket unmolested. The weather was warm in the sun, but the sidewalk next to the org is in the shadow in the afternoon.

Amazingly, I ran out of the approx. 50 leaflets that I started out with. A few people wanted to know more; I ended up reading to one couple this paragraph from P.38 of my copy of the August 13 1977 printing of "Scientology: A History of Man", which clearly illustrates L. Ron Hubbard's disturbing attitude towards the world:

"This universe is a rough universe. It is a terrible and deadly universe. Only the strong survive it, only the ruthless can own it. Given one weak spot a being cannot long endure it for this universe will search it out and enlarge it and fester and probe it unti lthat weak spot is a festering wound so large that the being is engulfed by his own sores."

Hubbard goes on like this for a number of paragraphs, but this brief excerpt is useful to communicate the point that Scientology teaches things that are different from what appears on the PR posters. Albeit that the run-on sentence is a bit hard on my lungs.

Of note: There will be a "What is Scientology?" exhibition in Toronto. There was some kind of meeting in the former Brothers Restaurant area - fairly well attended though by no means packed. Apart from an, um, artistically rendered bust of Hubbard, there was a sign with the title "WIS Org Chart Toronto" (clearly visible from across the sidewalk, in case anybody's wondering if I was putting nose prints on the glass). I think I'm game to show up and answer the parts of the "What is Scientology?" question that the cult won't. (So could anybody passing the org kindly take note of any posters mentioning location and date, and email them to me? Thanks.)

Naturally, with many the non-OT Scientologists in attendance, the cult staff were hyperactive about making sure that lower level members didn't get an opportunity to actually communicate with picketers. One evocative incident: A group of three Scientologists came out the front door after the meeting, and Mario (Dianetics franchise holder) rushed over, saying "Go out the back! Go out the back!" - and what do you know, they did as he said. Another incident, just for illustrative purposes: A line of non-OT Scientologists, moving out the back door of the org, getting waved along by OT Scientologists, and serenaded by Gregg's "Doubt is not a crime" spiel. Gregg reports that the herdees appreciated this more than the herders.

Anyhow, I couldn't be a Scientologist. I couldn't accept being herded like a sheep just to avoid seeing/hearing picketers. Of course, maybe there's a different value judgement in operation at the Toronto org. (Can you hear my heavy sarcasm?)

Finally, it seems fairly certain that we were followed home on the drive back. A white car stayed pretty close right from leaving the parking lot near the org. Didn't get the licence plate, although there is always a next time with Scientology stalking.

Here's to another picket, with warmer weather.

--

** Scientology's gate is down. **
Canadian Scientology information is now at:
http://xenu.ca