June 16, 1998
Picket report; Atlanta, Georgia
Subject: Picket Report, Atlanta; forwarded message
From: wynot@mindspring.com
Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 03:52:58 GMT
Message-ID: <3585ea7b.86237709@news.mindspring.com>
Well Met! Another very successful picket of the Atlanta Dianetics
Center was
conducted on June 12, 1998, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.. Wynot and myself
did the picketing, the scientologists did the non-confronting. I had
my trusty video camera, and a little pocket voice recorder (to catch
those little bits of scieno-wit that seem to spew forth on
occasion). Being in town for the weekend,
I had accidentally left my Xenu flyer in my hotel room, so all I had
was 25 copies of "In Hubbard's Words….". That turned out to be
enough for this event.
My picket signs went as follows:
Scientology - No Science Allowed!
No Science in Scientology!
Scientology Harasses Its Critics!
Dianetics - 48 Years of FRAUD!
A "church" with an ENEMIES LIST???
and of course:
Dianetics, Where's the BEEF?!?
As we began to picket (again across the street from the borg), we
noticed a banner drapped above the door with (I think it was) a Tom
Cruise' picture on it, promoting the Dianetics book. I thought the
print was too small to be seen by passing motorists. Also, I was
surprised to see a "Now Hiring" sign pasted
to the front glass of the entryway. Oh oh, that can't be
good news .
In general, during the picket we got two honks and several thumbs
up, with quite a few drivers slowing down to read our signs. I'm
glad I my signs say FRAUD and ENEMIES LIST in eight-inch letters. We
also gave out around a dozen flyers.
Since I had a tape recorder strapped to my picket pole recording
everything that was said, it makes it very easy to list the events
of the picket in the order they occurred. Like so……
A fellow in a white truck pulled up to find out what we were
picketing. He was from Germany and already knew why HE didn't like
the organization, and found out we had the same concerns. Gave him a
flyer and told him about www.xenu.net.
Two employees from the mexican restaurant (across the street from
the org) stopped by for a flyer and to talk for a bit. Two more
flyers.
Meanwhile, back at the Borg, one young lady goes in, another comes
out. A third in a blue dress comes out and goes across to eat at the
mexican restaurant. She is later joined by two other folks. I
noticed she really didnt eat anything, just sat there on the patio,
watching us.
One man jaywalked (oh geesh) across the street to ask "its a cult,
right?" After a brief discussion he sums it up with "Personality
Test, my ass!"
Another man stopped to thank us for picketing. No flyer, he already
knew about 'em
It was almost noon when Wynot heads for the dentist to make sure his
wisdom teeth are not trying to grow back in.
An ex-scieno stops by to say thanks. He was in the Atlanta Borg for
about 2 years. He was subjected to a sec-check when he wanted to go
to a family function instead of "classes". When they unlocked the
door to get someone to physically restrain him from leaving, he ran
out the door and never looked back. He also gave me his name for
future reference (a new picketer? Kewl).
Another gentlemen stopped to ask about scientology because he knew
practically nothing about 'em. I told him about xenu, mind-control,
the e-meter, the harassment, and the $$$. he went away laughing
Fifteen minutes after he left, Wynot returns from the dentist, much
to my surprise because I wasn't expecting him back. I tell him we
got a spy up at the restaurant patio. Oh, he already knew. That's SP
Tech at work, folks!
One lady, a resident of the area, stopped and asked me about
dianetics. I told her how dianetics was scientology, I also told her
we were being watched by a scientologist on the restaurant patio, I
pointed to our "watcher", waved and smiled. Then I told the lady
about the $$$ it takes for auditing. Its amazing how wide some
peoples eyes can get.
About 12:30, about 6 scientologists left the building, among them
was our ever-lovely Suzie Scieno. She didnt seem to recognize me at
first. I waved and yelled hello from across the street. She waved
back but wasnt inclined to cross the street to talk (on her way to
lunch?) so I yelled congrats on her new promotion (southeastern rep,
community affairs department) and hoped she was finally getting paid
what she was worth. She waved again and went on her way.
My new ex-scientologist friend reappears and I introduced him to
Wynot, and they spend several minutes together talking.
Noticed a younger girl (about 12) that came out of the org earlier.
She was trying to see my signs, and an older man was trying to keep
her around the corner of the building so she couldn't read them. He
went back inside, and I made sure the young lady saw my "No Science
in Scientology" and "a church with an enemies list?" signs.
A young lady came up and said "I just know you guys have a story to
tell and I'm just dying to here it!". So Wynot and I told her about
the scieno-spam on the internet, our sec-checked friend we met
early, and Lisa McPherson. Gave her a handout. She knew something
about scientology. Told her about the e-meter. During this
discussion, a man came up to get more information as well. Wynot
talked with him while I talked with the lady. More wide eyes on the
Xenu story. Lots of laughter and good humor. This kind of stuff is
what makes these events worthwhile.
With Wynot holding my picket signs, I took some video of the NOW
HIRING sign, and the Dianetics banner. Then I quickly swung around
and got some video of our spy at the restaurant. Zoomed in real
good. When she saw me pointing the camera right at her, she quickly
pretended not to notice, yet kept glancing out of the corner of her
eye at me while I was recording (about 15 seconds).
Saw the owner of a business next to the parking lot drive up as we
were picketing, he rolled down his window and said for us to picket
in front of the org and not in front of his business. I said it was
a public sidewalk and if he had a problem with that he should call
the police. His response, "FU" (come on now, don't make me
spell it). Apparently, scientologists are some of his regular
customers, and he said he was just protecting his business (no doubt
from the mean ol' suppressives practicing their first-amendment
right of free-speech). I said he should find another line of work.
When our "observer" went back into the org, we called it a day. We
made sure to return to the car by a different route. The scienos did
not follow us to our disappointment.
Mad_Cow (Grrrr Mooooo!)
