December 7, 1997
Picket Report: Hit and run in Atlanta
Subject: Picket Report: Hit and run in Atlanta
From: wynot@mindspring.com (wynot)
Date: Sun, 07 Dec 1997 01:11:02 GMT
This afternoon I put on my number one suit, my crispest white shirt,
and the black tie with the little Xemu heads all over it. ($10 at
Target; it was given to me as a birthday present by a fellow critic.)
I made a sign from two pieces of posterboard and an old stretch of
trim wood. One side read: Scientology Killed Lisa McPherson, and on
the other side: Hubbard Tech Hurts People. I went to an Office Depot
and had two hundred Lisa Flyers printed. I was let out in a hidden
parking lot near the Dianetics/Scientology building, and walked over
to a side street which crosses West Peachtree beside the org. With my
sign and about seventy five Lisa flyers, I began picketing on the
sidewalk directly across the street from them. As I approached the
picket site, two men came out of the org and crossed the street
walking toward me. One turned around and went back, while the other
got in a silver minivan and drove off. As I began walking back and
forth, I saw a child, about six or seven, entering the front door, and
looking back at me. There were other people going in and out, but I
was concentrating on keeping my sign pointed so that the Lisa side
pointed toward the traffic on the one-way street, and the Hubbard Tech
side was visible to the scienos. A few minutes later I saw a familiar
looking minivan come around the corner and pass me.
After a little while (it felt like only a few seconds, but I was told
later that it was about five minutes), two women came out of the front
door and crossed the street toward where I was picketing. The blonde
one had a little green camera, and began taking pictures of me. I
smiled the friendliest smile I could conjure up for her, while the one
in the red coat began asking me questions; Who are you, what's your
name, why are you doing this? I said nothing, and when she asked me
why I was doing this, I handed her a Lisa flyer (the one with the
NYTimes story; thanks Roland!). She continued asking questions, but I
just walked back and forth. She asked me if I had a permit, and said
that what I was doing was illegal. I just kept walking. I don't know
how long this lasted, but the other woman kept taking pictures. Then
she asked me why I was not talking to her. She asked this several
times, in different ways. I kept walking back and forth, never
stopping, just smiling.
Aside: Neither of the scienos attempted to interfere with me, or block
my path or my picket sign (which was about eight feet high).
Finally she said that she had accepted my flyer, would I accept some
material from her? Did I want to know the truth? Of course, I said
nothing. Then she and the picture taker went back across the street.
The camera woman never said word one to me.
I continued picketing for a little while, and received one wave and
thumbs-up from a passing car. Then, using secret SP technology, the
person hidden in the bushes nearby let me know that the camera was out
of film, and it was time to go, before I had to do any serious
non-confronting without a photographic back-up. So I walked back
through the parking lot, through the copse of trees to where the
escape pod was waiting. The sign was rapidly dissasembled, the Lisa
flyers tucked in their folder, and away we went. I saw another silver
minivan that seemed to be watching us, but I could have been mistaken,
and we were soon out into the football game traffic, and heading
toward our local one hour photo lab. ( The pictures should be ready
for the scanner soon, and will be posted to alt.binaries.scientology
as soon as possible.)
This was my first picket of scientology, and a most interesting and
entertaining experience it was. I just might do it again!
'Til next time; wynot
