Toronto Picket Report, Wednesday, December 27 2000
01 Jan 2001
Christopher Wood - xenu.ca <cwood@NOSPAMxenu.ca>

Picketers: Me (Christopher Wood) and Gregg Hagglund. Kaeli & Zeratulcat came by for a few minutes every now and then as well.

Leaflets: 100. Gregg passed out his Xenu/crimes leaflet (60), and I passed out combinations of the usual (40). Get my leaflets here:

http://xenu.ca/pickets/leaflets.html

My sign: (first side was) $cientology Info: http://xenu.ca http://xenu.net (and the second side was) Consumer Hazard: $cientology Bait and Switch Zone

Background:

I was in town for a while over the holiday break, and of course I wanted to picket, not having had the opportunity to do so since May 2000. I organized me up a fellow picketer (Gregg) and then we went out to picket.

How it went:

I hadn't filed a Notice of Demonstration with the police (who would have had to be sporting and inform the cult that we were coming, thus giving me handler BT's), so the day started out with a call to 52 Division. As it happened, I got Foot Patrol's voice mail. I left my name, and contact details, but never heard back from them.

So, after feeding the parking meter and grabbing signs and leaflets, I scooped up Gregg and headed for the front of the Toronto org. The whole place was pretty dead - one person manning (thetaning??) the front desk, and the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation was dark (no lights on!) with nobody in evidence. Naturally, the receptionist was on the phone as soon as we showed up.

Of course, after a few leaflets, guess who showed up? Brian (note: not Brian Levman, a name familiar to people aware of Scientology's Canadian history) and alt.religion.scientology's very own Velcro kitty, who is exactly as sweet and angelic in person as she is on ars. Apparently they said they just happened to be passing, but given how moribund the org is when there are no picketers present, I do wonder. Oh, and did I mention how the receptionist got on the phone in a hurry when we first got there?

Over the next few hours, the Dianetics Foundation actually came to life. The lights came on, and actual people were sitting inside. It's rather pathetic when only the presence of some picketers brings an org to life.

Velcro Kitty and Brian stuck to Gregg like BT's on L. Ron Hubbard, getting *thisclose* to him and doing the usual BlackPR/intimidation routine. Of course, what this meant (as always) is that while they're dogging Gregg, other picketers give out more leaflets. This period was my most productive in leafleting.

Both Scientologists also tried the intimidation bit on me. Part of my conversation with Brian went something like this (iirc, my memory isn't perfect so yymv, but the fundamentals are here if not the exact quotes):

Brian: Let's talk about your job, Chris.
Me: Don't you want to talk about my new website or my leaflets?
Brian: No.
Me: Then let's not talk.

Velcro Kitty also tried the job, etc. line, but for some reason didn't want to pursue that line of intimidation when Gregg pointed his camera her way. I wonder why? It's instructive to note that both Scientology handlers didn't actually discuss our signs and leaflets, but instead resorted to the usual "we know who you are and we know where you live" tech. I vaguely get the ghost of the impression that this is supposed to make me shudder into silence and stop picketing the cult.

Lunch happened at 12:00, and was very instructive. When we got back around 1:00, guess who was there? Peter Ramsay, famed doorknob rattler and man-about-other-people's-premises. Apparently more Scientologists were called to deal with *two picketers* (my mind boggles).

A little while later, a police car pulled up at the side of the org. Gregg went over to see what they wanted, but he was waved off. Apparently we're pretty harmless, or we'd have gotten a "behave, you lot" lecture (imo). The rest of the day went quietly, with a quick run to the parking meter to sacrifice another toonie to the parking authority god. The police car had vanished after that, but nobody's perfect. =)

The next time I'm in Toronto, I hope to have another similar picket.

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-- Scientology's gate is down. --

Canadian Scientology information is now at:
http://xenu.ca/
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