Picket reports

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(multiple reports)
Pictures here: http://www.enteract.com/~colette/picket/chipicket.html
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Subject: Chicago Picket - Dec 5 1998
From: saint@prairienet.org
Date: Sun, 06 Dec 1998 18:12:31 GMT

Hi all.Posting from dejanews, since my this is of my own accord and I can be solely responsible for it's content.The Chicago picket was a "big win", I would say. There were a total of five of us there, some of which have already posted reports.To their reports, I would add that it was a good thing to have Chicago's Best on hand to watch over things. The picket started promptly at 1pm and ended promptly at 3pm, and the Org was severly ticked off.There was some bull-bait going on: Ms. OT8 (or so she claimed; blonde woman in her late 30's, I'd say) was the official body router, trying to hand out booklets to those who passed by our signs, talking to those who were interested. I encouraged people who asked about it to talk to her, to get her side of the story, while I continued my march and filling in the details as necessary. ("Why don't you explain why [Lisa] was locked up for 17 days?"] The official answer she kept giving is that Lisa was "ill" and Scientology was trying to help her. "Didn't do much good, now, did it?" I replied.When asked "Did you know Lisa?", my reply was that one doesn't need to know the person who was killed in order to be upset. For some reason, compassion just doesn't click with these folks.The bullbait came in when someone was asking her about the picket and she pointed at one of our group and said, "Well, he's a child molester." *shakes head* It's really sad.I also overheard the "head" (older fellow with beard) talking to another member about me insofar that he mentioned that he knew where I work. Well, this is no surprise since I had some harassment issues from Helen a couple of weeks ago. And, that's why you haven't seen me around a.r.s. I have no intention of jeapordizing my non-scientology related life for the cult.I'm glad that I made the extra sign, though. That way we had three folks marching, the other two taking pictures and keeping an eye on things.I will give the Org credit. They tried the Van Tech (note: always make picket signs with sticks > 5ft. -- also, bright yellow makes a GREAT background andreally grabs people's attention).We had the usual honks and thumbs up from passersby (the intersection is quite heavily trafficked, making for a lot of people slowing down and reading the signs that we had.)My signs:LISA McPHERSON DIED 3 YEARS AGO - SCIENTOLOGY IS RESPONSIBLE.b/wSCIENTOLOGY HARASSES CRITICS, KILLS ITS MEMBERS, and PRACTISES ILLEGAL MEDICINE -- WWW.XENU.NET2nd: SCIENTOLOGY WILL SUE YOU, KILL YOU, OR TEACH YOU THAT YOU ARE POSSESSED BY ALIENS.b/w"there was no christ" - OT8 / "you are possessed by aliens" - NOTS 34/OT3 / "you can be tricked, lied to, even destroyed" - FAIR GAME / PAY $360,000 TO KNOW MORE / and something else that I can't remember at the moment that had to do with Lisa.Lots of passerby folks refused the body router's advances. "I believe it's a cult" being one of the many replies to her questions of wanting to know more. One woman, who I regret that I never stopped during my march to actually *explain* things to her, did talk to the body router, claiming that she was a psychologist. "Oh, they're going to LOVE you!" I quipped. The psychologist woman walked away from the conversation without Scientology propaganda. "Another big win for the church, eh?" I asked the body router. "Big win for YOU", she smiled back.Their tech seemed to be to try and act non-plussed by our presence for the most part.Well, apart from one of us glancing their sign accidentally, the picket went off without a hitch. We were energetic, informed, and on equal level with our Scientology friends. Our pictures were taken by them, their pictures were taken by us, and a lot of people had a something to think about on an unseasonably warm and beautiful day in December.My only regret is that Lisa McPherson wasn't alive to see it.Note to Scientology: I don't hate you. I hate your practices. I'm more than happy to support what you believe in, as that is part of the country that we live in. My only regret is that you hurt people, and until you stop hurting people, people have the right to know up front what they are getting into.Best wishes in trying to regain your tarnished reputation. As I commented at the picket, don't you find it a shame that once people realise that you are a dangerous cult that they want nothing to do with you?-st. andreux

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Subject: Chicago's Lisa McPherson memorial picket, 12/5/98
From: tommalkin@aol.comnospam (Tom Malkin)
Date: 6 Dec 1998 16:50:33 GMT

Report for Chicago's (2nd?) picket, also the first Chicago Lisa McPherson memorial picket. 3011 N. Lincoln Ave, on the NW corner of a six-way intersection of Lincoln/Wellington/Southport.

Lovely forgery storm we're having today! Obviously the pranks of young Hipcrime users protesting newsgroup control messages. Coincidental that Dec. 5th was Lisa's deathday as well; merely synchronicity at work.

Well, where to begin?

I called City Hall on Friday (yes, a little procrastination gets the juices flowing) and learned that NO permit is necessary to picket in Chicago. Just follow some simple rules and all is well and good.

Got the police into the action on Saturday; a blue-and-white was in attendance in front of the org complete with bemused cop watching the proceedings. Said cop was set upon by pretty woman in leopard-print coat, who leaned into the car and spoke with the man for 10-15 minutes, getting that message across that Scientology is about nice young women joking with you while you're bored, and also no doubt about what crazy harrassers we were. We picketers had no such opportunity, being busy marching and talking to people.

I brought 1 sign, a disposable camera, cell phone, and microcassette recorder which refused to work. I gave up on the recorder, 'cause the picket was already in progress!

I approached from the Wellington side of the org. As I was vectoring in, I noticed my very first Sea Orger, complete with braid and uniform, walking down the Southport side from the north. Looked like a particularly geeky ROTC high schooler.

We picketers were three: me, Malkin, 'cause that's what it says on the hat; Bloody Viking, sans eternal battery, sadly, but with large sign; and one other, who can name himself if he wants, also with sign held high. Another joined us about a half-hour later. I gave him the camera. He took lots of shots, which I'll have developed today, I hope.

My sign:

Side 1

LISA MCPHERSON
---------------------------------------
-DIED DEC 5, 1995
CAUSE OF DEATH:
ILLEGAL "MEDICAL" TREATMENT
FOLLOWING THE
DICTATES OF
L. RON HUBBARD
----------------------------------------
EMBOLISM BY DEHYDRATION

Side 2:

LISA MCPHERSON
DEAD
-------
POLICE, FAMILY,
LIED TO --
---------------------
HER "WATCHERS"
"UNFINDABLE"
RECORDS OF HER
FINAL DAYS
"LOST"
---------
RESTRAINED -- GUARDED

Org reaction to me: Puzzlement, I think. They have no clue as to who I am, and it'll stay that way.
Org reaction to all of us:

* Emergency call-in of tall vehicles to block our signs.
* Arrival of Acura Integra with dealer plates (attempt at subterfuge) to disgorge handlers I presume.
* Woman in leopard-skin coat, black hair, at first pretending to be innocent observer across the street. Saw her later hiding in apartment building vestibule conferring intently with
* Blonde Rictus woman, who figures later in my story
* Plump quiet dark-haired woman with camera, who also was protesting vehemently at one point with our local officer about something or another, I care not what
* ROTC Sea-Orger, who said to either Viking or me, "I know what you've been up to!" with demented smile on face as he walked by. (Where was he going? I'm curious)
* Various clones in building snapping pictures of us AND anyone who talked to us, attempting intimidation
* A dapper Sea Orger, also "walking by"
* Body routers having a crappy day

Events and Enturbulation:

* Various Orgers standing in front of the building, pretending Business as usual, Seriously Discussing Spirituality
* Walker: "Watch out for their eye beams!"
* About an hour into the protest, about 2 PM: (Car slams to stop in front of Org, blocking traffic) ROTUND WOMAN IN CAR, LEAPING OUT: "These people are FASCISTS! (something about the internet?)(gibberish from my POV)" LEAPS BACK INTO PASSENGER SEAT OF CAR, DISAPPEARS TO GENERAL PUZZLEMENT OF PASSERSBY ME: "That would have been been good, if it wasn't a non sequiteur."

* I discuss Lisa and the events of her death with a Person Nearby, and he expresses dismay at the cult. Then, "Hey lady, don't take MY picture!!" he gasps. I kindly block his person with my sign, side towards camera. Don't believe I flipped off camera operator, not sure.

* I discuss Lisa and Xenu with a crowd of three. General approval of us, dismay at Scientology.

* MAN IN CAR SHOUTING: "You're right!!!!!"

* En passant, I hear and this conversation with what is at least an OT3 hatted scieno, the Blonde Rictus Woman, and a passerby (paraphrased):

DUDE: "Lady, I frankly think it's occult."
RICTUS: "Did you ever read Hubbard?"
DUDE: "No, I think it's Satanism, frankly." Turns to cross street, moves away.
RICTUS, SNARLING, STILL SMILING: "Do your read BOOKS?"
ME, to DUDE: "Charming, aren't they?"

* Discussed Lisa with two other groups, and one interested older man, all polite. I think I did well - I speak more smoothly than I write.

* Had LONG talk with a pair of guys, and a passing rollerblader who de-bladed to stand and talk with me. This gets interesting:

I told them about the Introspection Rundown, Lisa's death, the Scieno lies about her death and the timing of the last day, the lost logs of the last three days, the handlers' disappearance. Then, when they asked about it, I told them about the E-meter, auditing as I understood it (and I was trying to be fair, no denigration, not really). Then I brought up the OT3, and why at the upper levels they audit out the engrams of the slain galactic citizens, and the amazement grew.

Rictus Lady arrives. She is being Nice, but the strain is showing, I think. And she helps me out, trying to undermine my arguments.

Her points, which I restated to her and the 3 persons (or more, I saw people around), were:

(PARAPHRASED)

(REMEMBER, THIS IS PARAPHRASED)

ME: Listen, I have no problem with the "religion". Xenu, aliens, all that. But you should tell your recruits *up-front* about Xenu.

RICTUS: The story you told is not complete.

ME: I saw the document. It's pretty short, to the point?

SHE: The Internet, remember? White-Out, editting? You need the bracketting(? can't remember word) text to understand it. It's not a secret! Anyone can learn it, if they decide that they are ready.

ME, ACTUALLY QUITE ENGAGED AT THIS : How much does it cost?

PASSERBY: Yes, how much? When do they tell you?

RICTUS, ADMIRABLY COMPOSED, I THINK! : Not long! It can be as little as 6 months! Or it takes years. It's all up to the person. And it doesn't cost that much. It's not a secret! It just needs to be understood in context.

(Actually, these were entire conversations - I'm putting down the gist of it. I apologize, and will get a running recorder next time.)

(somewhere she makes the point twice that neither she nor I was there during Lisa's last days)
ME: Where were the babywatch logs? The last three days of her life?
RICTUS: Yes, isn't that interesting? Where *are* they?
ME: YOU (I apologized for the royal YOU) had the logs. Scientology had the logs. Scientology keeps copies of all documents. Scientology said THEY lost the logs (I tick off): there would be a copy for the case supervisor, Lisa's folder, and the handler's folder. They lost ALL THREE?
RICTUS: Isn't that *interesting*. (Nods meaningfully).
ME: Why was an unlicensed radiologist in charge of her care? Why didn't they take her to the hospital during those 17 days?
RICTUS: Um-hmm. (nods) WHY wasn't the coroner's report released to us for [I recall here] 3 days? WHY? (avoiding question)
ME: Dr. Minkoff already settled this out-of-court.
RICTUS: Yes, he settled *out-of-court*. (nodding meaningfully)
ME, SUMMARIZING: So, then, you're saying that it didn't happen that way, that the Coroner and the FBI were bribed, and the Government was behind all of this, just to discredit Scientology? RICTUS: (nods) Yes (or does an um-hmm).

2-3 PASSERSBY: Well, we've got to get going. (to me) Good luck!

* For the remainder of my part, I made sure to walk more slowly (per advice of a passerby who couldn't read as fast as I can walk - I tend to be hyper). Found cars stuck at the long red lights of a triple crossroads, walked slowly as people craned to read the boards. I helpfully rotated at intervals.

* Bumped Scientology Marquee with my sign. Scientologist handler (photog?) proclaims loudly, "PLEASE DON'T STRIKE OUR BUILDING". I apologize, since the bill of my hat did mess up my vision. I kept in mind that I should walk on the *OUTER* side of the sidewalk. I'm new at this.

* The others had their own adventures, most of which I didn't hear or see cause I was engaged. I hope they all post soon!

We stopped the picket exactly at 3 PM. The dark-haired photographer asked for a group shot, and we complied. I amused her because my hat and sign kept sliding down over my face. It was just silliness on my part, since they had dozens of shots of me already, but I'm an unpredictable person.

I used my masterful knowledge of public transport to foil any possible pursuit, I hope.

SUMMARY

I don't think they were expecting us, at least not in a precise way. They scrambled from nearby to move vehicles into position. Some of said vehicles were very expensive SUVs. The tech for today was to Be Nice, which probably won't apply if there is another picket. The presence of the Police was a damned good thing, I think, or it wouldn't have been so Nice.

It was a warm, pleasant day, we did our duty plain, and I bid you all so-long for now.

Please also read Viking's post: Subject: Chicago Picket Report for 12/5/Y2K-2 Chicago -- clam-proof and proud of it

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(2 reports)
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Subject: Minneapolis picket report, Minneapolis, 12/5/98, for Lisa
From: no.spam@this.address (Chris Lyman)
Date: 7 Dec 1998 07:40:30 GMT

Here's a few details overlooked by Sue in her otherwise excellent and very complete report. We were out there for 4 hours and talked to about 60-70 people about Lisa McPherson and Scientology.

For the first time, I came to a picket without a sign. I felt that I would have my hands full with my flyers and the camcorder. As it was, the camera was not a problem as I attached it to the shoulder strap of my camera bag. My flyers included one developed by Deana Holmes with excerpts from Special Agent A. L. Strope's sworn affidavit, and flyer entitled "How to fight Scientology", which was an edited version of Andreas Heldal-Lund's essay of the same name.

We stationed ourselves in front of the org at about 1:00 pm. Nothing much happened the first half-hour. Then a young male scieno I hadn't seen before came out and started snapping pictures. We had a nice round of Dueling Cameras as I took video of him as he snapped pictures of me.

My first substantive exchange with a scientologist was with "Gail", a 40-something scieno who had been on staff for 11 years. On reflection, I find myself wondering about why she left. Did Miscavige or somebody purge her? If I get the chance, I'll try to find out.

Gail tried palming the church's standard rationalizations on me, which I wasn't buying. Then a passerby we had seen before at the picket where Patrick and Dale Humphrey had participated joined the conversation. He's an older guy, retired, and still full of piss and vinegar. (I mean that in a nice way. :-) ) The passerby asked Gail and Mr. Camera Bug "Did you know L. Ron Hubbard died twice? First he died so he could hide out from the authorities and live in the middle of nowhere; then about five years later he died for real!" After about 5 minutes of the older fellow's what-for, Gail and Mr. Camera Bug decided they had heard enough and went inside.

After checking to see if the coast was clear, Mr. Camera Bug came out to take more pictures. He asked Sue if she would stand next to their display sign which says something like, "Know yourself better - take a free personality test". Sue obliged, and as he snapped away, I took more video. When we asked him why he needed to take so many pictures, he replied something like "we like to know what's going on." Well, come on! As a famous Minnesota poet said, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." Then Mr. Camera Bug and I had another round of Dueling Cameras, much to the bemusement of a couple of cops who happened by.

I should mention at this point that the Minneapolis cops did their jobs of keeping the peace as effectively and inobtrusively as it can be done. They were never far away, but they let us have center stage.

At this point, Mr. Camera Bug walked across the street and began taking pictures of our silent partner, Xenu the Internet Photographer. Of course, this wasn't THE Xenu of song and story; this was a different Xenu. Many folks, including LRH, don't realize that "Xenu" is actually a very common name in certain parts of the galaxy.

Anyway, "our" Xenu, valuing his privacy, began walking, and Mr. Camera Bug followed him. Sue noticed this, and started to follow both of them! As she bolted down the street, I yelled "Sue, wait, leave your picket sign with me!" Sue didn't hear me, so I yelled "Be careful!" So there I was in front of the org with a camcorder on pause and a bunch of flyers. I really wanted that picket sign so that the protest could continue. As it was, the public thought *I* was a scieno! :-)

Sue eventually returned, and we found out later that Xenu had led Mr. Camera Bug on a merry chase through the skyway system before finally calling a security guard's attention to the bug's antics. When Mr. Camera Bug finally returned, Sue and I barked at him good. I told the bug that I had been followed three times by scienos and that the church was creating a pattern of stalking and harassing, which is against the law. Mr. Camera Bug said something like, "you should complain to the police," to which I replied, "I will if it happens again, and I'll have evidence" patting my camcorder for emphasis. Sue was righteously angry and gave him an earful about how she was followed by Jean Horrnes and another scieno and how she had filed a police report. We both told him we thought such tactics were childish, stupid and pointless and we didn't let up until he disappeared back into the org. He didn't come back out for the rest of the picket.

More scienos came and went. One guy came out for a cigarette break and as soon as he lit up, I said "Hey, did you know L. Ron Hubbard said smoking prevents cancer? Where the hell does that guy find stuff like that?" The guy only smoked only part of his cigarette and went back in the org. Two young guys said "You're an idiot!" and "Fuck you!" as they entered the org. While the door was still open, I leaned in and said "Where does that put you on the tone scale???"

Having gotten her TRs in, "Gail" came out again to let me know that she didn't appreciate the presence of a religious bigot in front of the org, I wasn't welcome, and would I please leave immediately. She was accompanied by a heavy-set bearded guy, who basically said the same thing. I acked their comm and explained that telling the truth is not bigotry and if they had problems with my message, well, that was their problem. Gail asked for one of my flyers, which I gladly shared. (She had refused my flyers earlier.) I told her that the source material for one of the flyers was the sworn affadavit of a St. Petersburg or Clearwater police investigator, and that his affadavit was based on the testimonies of scientologists who had seen what happened to Lisa.

At this point, I saw a police officer in a squad car ask Sue to come over. At that time, the heavy-set guy and I were barking at each other a little bit; nothing major, just a couple of guys telling each other they were full of shit. :-) We backed off though; neither of us was out of control and we kept it that way. Having made no impression on me, Gail and the heavy-set guy retreated back inside the org.

I found out afterwards that the cops had asked Sue why we were picketing and Sue told them about Lisa McPherson and had answered their followup questions.

The response from the public, as usual, was very positive. As I said earlier, we probably talked to 50-60 people. Perhaps I should say we talked to 50 or so *groups* of people. Quite a few already knew about Lisa McPherson, and were glad to see us memorializing her in this manner. For those who weren't aware of Lisa's fate, our flyers were real eye-poppers. Be sure to read Sue's post for more information about our interactions with the public.

Since bus service on Saturdays is nothing special, we stopped picketing a few minutes before our scheduled quitting time to avoid a long wait for a bus home. Lo and behold, we were not followed; wogs were definitely at cause in Minneapolis!

Respectfully submitted as a memorial for Lisa McPherson; may fragrant lilies grow from her stilled heart.

--
Chris Lyman, SP4
Send email to chris-dot-lyman-atsign-pclink-dot-com.
I want a t-shirt that says "Ask me about post-modernism."

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Subject: Picket report, Minneapolis, 12/5/98 (Lisa McPherson Memorial Picket)
From: Xenubat@primenet.com (Bat Child (Sue M.))
Date: Sun, 06 Dec 1998 21:46:19 GMT
Message-ID: 366ab9a8.183272@news.primenet.com

(Seeing that I still have my reactive mind and thus have a less than perfect memory, the events I describe may not be in exact chronological order, and any conversations described below are paraphrased.)

This was the first Lisa McPherson picket held in Minneapolis to my knowledge. Minneapolis has been unseasonably warm for this time of year; we haven't had any measurable snowfall, and earlier this week the temperature got up to about 60 degrees F! (I'm certainly not complaining, though!) It was still warmer than normal on the day of the picket--forecast was for temperature of about 50 degrees F with some rain or drizzle.

I had notified the Minneapolis Police Department's Downtown Precinct on Friday afternoon and told them that I would be picketing the Church of Scientology on Saturday afternoon from approximately 1:00-5:00 pm and gave my usual spiel about how two Scns tried to follow me home after a previous picket, etc. On Saturday, I got to the usual pre-picket meeting spot by Peavey Plaza near Orchestra Hall at about 12:55 pm; Chris showed up about 2 minutes later, followed shortly afterward by Xenu the Internet Photographer (who was there to take pictures and observe the picket). Chris was also going to be photographing our picket; he brought a camcorder which he used periodically during the picket, and he also had a bunch of copies of Deana Holmes' Lisa flyer which had excerpts from the sworn affidavit from Special Agent A. L. Strope. He didn't have a picket sign with as he thought he'd already have his hands full enough with the camcorder and the flyers, but actually he said the camcorder wasn't all that heavy, so he and I wound up taking turns holding my sign. I had my usual cell phone and camera, and I had a 22 x 28 inch (55 x 70 cm) sign. On one side I had two pictures of Lisa McPherson (no autopsy photos, just two pictures of Lisa I printed from http://www.lisamcpherson.org ; one picture was of Lisa holding her Clear Certificate, the other picture was the one on the main page of the web site). I used 240 point black lettering. So these were the messages on my sign:

(first side)----------------(second side)
[YOUNG.]--------------------[DID 100%]
[PRETTY.]-------------------[STANDARD]
[(Lisa pictures)]-----------[TECH KILL]
[DEAD.]---------------------[LISA]
[1959-1995]-----------------[McPHERSON?]

(Deana Holmes came up with the message for the first side; I'm not sure who came up with the message for the second side)

I had about 150 copies of Roland's Lisa flyer, plus about 100 copies of a Lisa flyer I made in Microsoft Word which consisted of the New York Times article from 11/14/98 about criminal charges being brought against Scn in Lisa's death. I also brought copies of the "Insane Cult" and "Scam" flyers.

So about 1:00 pm we got started. It was pretty uneventful for a while; a few people went in and out of the org but they said very little to us.

Then at about 1:30-2:00 pm (not sure of exact time) a young Scieno guy (probably in his early 20s) came out with his camera and started taking pictures; he asked if I could turn my sign around so he could get pictures of both sides of my sign and I obliged. He then asked if I could take my sunglasses off so he could get a picture of me without my sunglasses. I said something really dopey like "I had to have eye drops earlier today so my eyes are sensitive" or "I've got kind of an eye infection so my eyes are sensitive" (I don't recall exactly what I said); in any case, I wasn't going to take my sunglasses off. My eyes *are* pretty sensitive to light, so I do wear sunglasses a lot, but I probably could have gotten by that afternoon without wearing them since it was cloudy outside--however, I wasn't about to make their job easier! :-) Then a passerby stopped by and started talking to us. We had seen this passerby before at the picket which Patrick and Dale Humphrey had participated in (and where Jeanne Hornnes and her sidekick followed us)--he was an older guy who was critical of Scn and had started talking with us; I remember one of the handlers at that picket had asked the guy for his name and the guy told him, "That's none of your goddamn business!" The passerby started telling the young Scieno guy, "Well, did you know L. Ron Hubbard died twice? First he died so he could hide out from the authorities and live in the middle of nowhere; then about five years later he died for real!" The Scieno asked the passerby if he was with us and Chris and I said no, he wasn't with us, he was only passing by. The passerby then told us right in front of the Scieno to keep up the good work and went on. Chris mentioned to the Scieno that we have lots of passersby telling us the same thing, to keep up the good work, etc. A little bit later the Scieno guy went back inside.

About 5-10 minutes later the same young Scieno came out to take more pictures. He asked if I could stand over next to their dumb sign (they have a sign out with a drawing of a human head saying something like "Your mind reveals the real you--find out more about yourself--take a Free Personality Test") so he could get a pic of me next to their sign, so I obliged. We asked him, "Why do you guys want so many pictures of us? What do you guys do with all those pictures anyway? Put them on a bulletin board? Or in a photo album?" He said something about them being for "documentation" or something, and then I told him that David Miscavige would use pictures of his enemies for target practice. I remember that two cops walked by as the guy was taking pictures--they didn't say anything to him or us, but they took a good long look. The Scieno then went back inside again.

Then a Scieno woman named Gail came up and started grilling Chris; I missed most of the conversation because right before Gail came up a passerby had started asking about Lisa, so I was telling the passerby about Lisa while Chris was talking with Gail; from the little bit I heard, she joined Scn in 1972 (?) and was on staff for 11 years but was not currently on staff. She apparently was asking Chris the usual about where did he get his information, what Scn books had he read, etc., and asked him if he also went around picketing Catholic churches because he objected to Catholics; I think she said something about how he had no reason to attack her church by picketing outside it and that he should quit doing it. I think she also took our picture, too--I'm not sure (that might have been Diane, though, who had also come out--she was the one who had demanded that Chris show his drivers' license at an earlier picket). Then she went back inside.

Then the young Scieno guy came out *again* and went across the street to where Xenu was! I didn't hear the conversation, but I saw Xenu start walking away quickly with the Scieno taking Xenu's picture. Xenu then started going around the corner and the Scieno started to follow him! I said to Chris, "Hey, that guy's following Xenu! I'm going after them!" and then I bolted down the street with my picket sign in tow! Chris says, "Sue, wait, leave your picket sign here! You'll have less of a load!" I was already halfway down the block, and I didn't want to lose sight of them, so I yelled, "I'll be right back!" and kept going, still lugging my sign! :-\ He yelled back, "Be careful!"

Well, I looked up and down the street and went past the alleys looking down the alleys, but I didn't see them. I went around the block once (looking back over my shoulder several times to make sure *I* wasn't being followed) and there was still no sign of them. I then returned to where Chris was. He said, "Oh, you should have left your sign here, then I could have picketed while you were gone--people thought I was a Scientologist!" Chris then told me that Xenu did have a cell phone along, which I didn't know, so I felt better--of course I didn't have the cell phone #! :-( (he didn't have mine either) I might have called the police myself but since Xenu already had a cell phone, I decided not to, since he probably already would have called the police himself. He didn't return, so I assumed (and was hoping) that he just decided to go back home.

(I *did* get in contact with Xenu right after I got home--he was safe and sound, and said the Scieno had followed him for almost a half-hour! I think he said that he spotted a security guard and, in front of the Scieno, asked the security guard to call the cops because this person was following him and then the Scieno took off after that. Xenu said he then went back to his car and drove home, rather than coming back to across the street from the org and having them see him again and start following him again--I can certainly understand that! He also said the Scieno seemed like a real idiot!)

I was still pretty pissed off about the whole deal, so when the young Scieno guy came out yet again to take more pictures (he must have gone back into the org through another entrance), I decided to say something to him. I asked him, "Why were you following that person who was standing across the street earlier?" At first he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about; then I repeated, "That person across the street--you took his picture while he was walking away, then you started following him; you went around the corner after him; I saw you follow him. Why were you following him? He was just minding his own business!" Then the Scieno said, "Well, that's not what he told me! He said he was documenting your picket and taking pictures, like what I'm doing!" Then Chris said, "I've been followed by members of your church on about three different occasions." I said, "You know, that's considered stalking, and that's against the law." The guy said, "Well, I just wanted to talk to him!" I said, "Well, obviously if he was walking away from you, he didn't want to talk to you, so you shouldn't have followed him. That's considered stalking. Two of your members did that with me; they followed me after a picket and got into a cab right behind the cab I got into, trying to follow me home! I filed a police report about that incident, and I'm tempted to file a police report about this incident, too!" I think the Scieno said something like "Maybe you should", but I'm not sure. I then repeated, "You shouldn't go following people around like that, that's considered stalking." I will say that the Scieno talked to us normally, he wasn't yelling at us or being rude and nasty or anything (we weren't being rude or yelling, either). He then went back inside again. He didn't come out again for the rest of our picket.

There were more Scienos entering and leaving the org. One woman, I think she was a staff member, was going across the street to Jitters Coffee Shop and was starting to cross Nicollet Mall, and Chris warned her to watch out for the bus that was coming down the street; she thanked him. Another guy who was walking out of the org looked over at us and our sign; Chris asked him if he knew about Lisa McPherson, and the guy said, "I don't know anything about it"; Chris said, "She was a member of the Church of Scientology, she died three years ago today"; the guy repeated that he didn't know anything about it and continued walking away.

I also saw some guy wearing what looked like a dark blue Sea Ogre uniform leave the org two different times; he would go down the street and come back maybe 5-10 minutes later; both times he ignored us as he walked past us (I guess us lowly wogs aren't worth acking). Another guy went outside for a cigarette; Chris said to him, "Hey, did you know L. Ron Hubbard said smoking prevents cancer?" The guy must have smoked only part of his cigarette or something because he went back inside only 2 minutes later. There were also two other Scieno guys who went into the org, and one of them said to Chris as he walked by him (Chris was holding the sign then), "You're an idiot!" I didn't hear Chris's reply. About 4:00 or so Gail came out again with another guy (sort of heavy set, with a beard) and they start giving Chris the third degree again about why he was picketing. About that time, a police car started driving down Nicollet Mall past the org, then stopped and then backed up and parked in front of the org. The cop on the passenger side rolled down his window and motioned for me to come over. The cops asked why we were picketing and I told them about it being the 3rd anniversary of Lisa's death and told them the story about what happened to Lisa, and they asked some questions about what happened to her, which I answered. They then thanked me and drove off. I just caught the tail end of the conversation between Gail and her friend and Chris, but basically she was calling Chris a religious bigot and saying that he shouldn't be standing outside her church picketing and attacking her religion. She then turned to me and said, "I don't think you should be out here attacking my religion either, and there's no reason for you to be wearing sunglasses on a rainy day!" She and her friend then went back inside.

Well, by this time, it *was* getting pretty dark so I propped my sunglasses on my head. A little bit later Gail went out again and when she returned, she said to me as she walked by, "Oh, maybe you *should* put your sunglasses back on, you look better with them on!", and I kind of let a sarcastic laugh slip out (snarf, snarf!); then she went back in the org.

(I was telling somebody about the picket afterward and about how some of the Scienos seem to enjoy making insulting remarks about me when I'm picketing and the person said the Scienos are just Ser-Fac'ing--so I've learned something new now! :-))

The response from the public, as usual, was very positive. Quite a few people already knew about Lisa McPherson, either from reading about it in the paper, from TV or from the Internet. We got a number of thumbs-up from people and people saying, "I agree with you". One couple told us they thought it was great what we were doing and to keep it up; and several other people also expressed that sentiment.

One man told us about how some of his wife's relatives were in Scn and what a nightmare his wife had been through with Scn (she hadn't been a member herself). One woman mentioned that she had written an article about Scn, and apparently she had joined one of the orgs to get material for the article, and they found out and she said they threatened to kill her! (she didn't say when or where this happened or what magazine/newspaper the article appeared in, and we didn't want to be too nosy and ask more about it).

Two guys going by on bicycles stopped by and took our flyers; they asked us if we'd ever seen a guy that looked like [then they gave a description of what the guy looked like] and we said we hadn't; they said he was an acquaintance that was an ex-Scn who really *hated* the church--apparently they really treated him like dirt--and that he would stop by the Mpls. org every once in a while and I think they said the guy would stick his head in the door and taunt the members; so the guys were already kind of clued in to Scn. I gave them both copies of the "Scam" and "Insane Cult" flyers; one of the guys started reading about the "Freight Locomotives on Venus" and started laughing his head off!

We also saw this one guy we'd seen at a previous picket, who had said, "Their day is coming--God bless you"; he stopped by again and announced "I'm the second coming of L. Ron Hubbard!", and again he said, "Their day is coming. Thank you, God bless you both!". We heard at least one other person also say something like "Their day is coming".

Two young women were looking at Scn's "Your mind reveals the real you" sign, then they saw us and started asking us about Lisa, and we gave them our Lisa flyers and told them about what happened to her. They then asked, "Well what's their deal about the free personality test?" and I said that yes, they could take it for free, but that then Scn would say there was some part that they scored low on and suggest a course that would help them, and that's how they get people into the cult. I then told them that after they spent a lot of money they would find out that their problems are caused because they're possessed by dead space aliens and they both busted out laughing! I then gave them copies of the "Scam" and "Insane Cult" flyers. I'm not sure how many flyers Chris gave out, but I gave out about 50 copies of the "Lisa" flyer, 5-10 copies of the "NYTimes article" flyer, and about 4 copies each of the "Scam" and "Insane Cult" flyer. And I just have to say that Deana Holmes really came up with a great sign with her "Young, pretty, dead" picket sign message--that really got people's attention!

By about 4:45 pm, both me and Chris were getting tired, so we decided to knock off a little bit early. My bus stop and where Chris had parked were in the same general direction so we walked together for a few blocks, making sure we weren't being followed. Fortunately, we weren't followed, so when we got to where the bus stop was, Chris put his camcorder back in its case, then we both went on our merry way. I had to transfer, and while was waiting at the other bus stop to catch my connecting bus, somebody else saw my sign and asked me what my sign was about, and I told him about Lisa and gave him a Lisa flyer. Then I caught my other bus and went on my way home.

Sue Mullaney

Sue, SP4(:), listed on the Scieno Sitter list 5 times!
--
(http://members.cox.net/batchild1/)

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Subject: Picket Report: Salt Lake City, UT, 12/5/98
From: mirele@newsguy.com (Deana Marie Holmes)
Date: Sun, 06 Dec 1998 19:14:39 GMT
Message-ID: 366ad2d4.58864895@enews.newsguy.com

I've been lax in reporting my pickets of the local bOrg (having not done picket reports of 11/14/98 and 11/21/98), because, for the most part, it's a fairly boring affair. I get handled, I tell Sea Org women that Lisa McPherson died for their sins, you know, pretty boring. So let's move on to Saturday, 12/5/98.

I got out there just after 11:00 am. The temperature at that point was a chilly 23F/-5C. There was a slight breeze. It looked to be sunny, but clouds were moving in, and shortly after I started picketing, it started to snow very lightly. (Probably Dreaded Lake Effect Snow.)

I was dressed appropriately for the picket. I had a scarf wrapped around my head, two longsleeved shirts, sweatpants with jeans over them, two pairs of socks, and my snowboots. I also had my mittens, but as it turned out, I really didn't need those. I was majorly comfortable.

I got out there, got my sign out and did a few turns on the sidewalk. I noticed that the sidewalk had been cleared of most snow, but that the bricks on the corner of Ramona St. were a bit slick. So, for the most part I stayed on the concrete walk.

I didn't notice anyone in the lobby, so I walked around on the Ramona St. side with my sign and flashed it into the course rooms, whose windows are at waist level. I got one woman to look up at me, and in a moment or two, she came out to "handle" me.

(sigh) God, but she was shrill. It was "Deana, Deana, Deana" over and over. She was trying to say that people die all the time. (What, so Lisa's death should have been expected? Read the flyer, lady.) She has a hot button about psychs. I told her bluntly that I have a relative who is a schizophrenic and by damn, psychs have helped her to live a normal life. On and on. It was incredible. She also had a thing about word clearing, wanting to know what the word "affiant" meant.

She wouldn't tell me her case level and she was generally obnoxious, so you can imagine my surprise when she told me that I talked to her husband on a regular basis. It took a minute or so to figure out that this was Mrs. Phil. I told her that I liked having her husband as a babysitter, if I had to have a babysitter. :) Not sure she appreciated that.

A few moments later Phil came up in his SAV (suburban assault vehicle) :). He went in and got the picket signs and we were off again. His wife was not dressed for the weather, considering that she was wearing a thin coat and suede-look shoes that were getting wet. After a few moments she went back in to get a cup of coffee. She asked *both* Phil and I if we wanted coffee, which we both declined. (Very nice of her to ask.)

Phil mentioned that he'd been out early that morning to deice the sidewalk. He said he knew what day it was, and he figured he'd best get out to do the walk so that I wouldn't slip and fall. He knew I'd be out there. That was pretty nice of him. (Why do I feel like that one Wile E. Coyote cartoon where Wile E. and the sheepdog punch a time clock and are friends when they're not on the clock?)

We had one guy stop for a chat. (sigh) The guy kept going on about how Scn was a cult, and then he wanted to know my religion. I said, "Inactive Mormon." "Oh, they're a cult too." I know Phil and I exchanged looks at this point. I tried to explain that my objections to Scn were not based on the religious content of their beliefs, but on their actions, but I'm not sure that got to him. Our visitor insisted on pushing his church, the Antiochene Orthodox Church. I might go by there, because they have some new icons, and (surprise, surprise), I have this fascination with religious art. I noticed he was wearing a button of the Virgin and Child and I looked at it closely, trying to figure out which icon it was. The guy said, "Oh, it's the Theotokos, from Greece." I smiled brightly and said, "Mount Athos?" and he was boggled, as I was right. After a few more inanities, he left and I burst out laughing. I said to Phil, "Of all the things to have in common!" But it just goes to show you that in SLC, the first thing, the most important thing that people want to know about you is your religion.

Well, all good things must come to an end, and both Phil and I were walking back and forth and noticing that the occasional gust was pushing the snow out of the trees. Several times snow fell before us, but after I'd been out for more than an hour (and not feeling chill at all, thanks to Wog Clothing Tech), I got blasted. It's pretty amazing...one moment I was just walking along and the next minute I was covered with snow. I decided, after getting most of the snow off (but not the stuff that went down my jacket) that I'd best get in and get out of wet clothes. So I bid Phil adieu and that ended my picketing day at the SLC org.

Deana Marie Holmes
The Few, The Proud, The Banned (2x + 1 ISP on Scientology ban list)
$cientology: Sponsor Windows84: "Where CAN'T you go today?
mirele@xmission.com

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Subject: Stockholm picket Dec. 6
From: "Clind" clind@carasoft.se
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 21:46:32 +0100
Message-ID: 74eq9e$sp7$1@elle.eunet.no

Snowstorm, -3 celsius and a lot of people doing christmas shopping.

I arrived about 1 1/2 hour late to the picket. Lennart, Sten-Arne and two young school-boys were already there. Lennart had a big sign saying something like "Scientology Big Scam.." on one side and "Scientology Killed Lisa..." on the other. I was a bit surprised to see the two young boys, and it turned out that one of them had heard about the picket recently on irc. He said "I am concerned about free speech" and brought a little hand-made sign sayng something like "Scientology has more secrets than SAPO" (SAPO=Swedish security police). He was only 14, and had brought a friend.

Lennart and Sten-Arne was beeing taken care of by three handlers, one man with 28 years in CoS, one man with 18 and a woman I never spoke to. They had ran out of leaflets, but the CoS guys still had a bunch of their own. Now, a new tactic emerged. When we picketed, the 18-man gave away fliers and "Freedom" papers, and when we told bypassers that they were CoS, he said "No, HE is CoS!" and pointed at me or Lennart. That of course caused some confusion, and I was not prepared for it. I decided to not do anything about it, and after a while a saw that it was a wise decision. Most people refused the leaflets, but amongst the ones that took one, several got upset about the 18-guy, and returned the material.

Yet again, a little footbullet operation - people are actually rather immune to CoS by now, and it seems like if you do NOT hinder them from giving away information, they get a lot of confrontations from the public instead of us.

After an hour, Carina arrived, and Sten-Arne left. At the same time, the 28-guy left, and I think the woman either passed out fliers on the other sidewalk, or just took a brake. Just after Carina arrived, a new CoS guy, young and very nice looking, came with some new leaflets. He was rather upset first, but after a brief conversation, he calmed down. We had a rather good conversation, and Carina talked a lot with him. Lennart tried to talk with the 18-guy, with moderate success.

The new guy was even close to accept reading of the NOT's before he knew more about clear etc. but then backed out when I offered to get a copy immediately for him. He said "I will soon be in the USA", and obviously had Markus Nyman as an icon of CoS business success "the guy just goes everywhere, japan US, europe!". He was nice, but very naiv. When talking about the death of Lisa, he refered to a loss of a family relative. "I know how you feel". That almost triggered me to believe that the guy was capable of both compassion and critical thinking - but we were harshly remained of the effect of LrH damaging tech when he added "I wish I had known Scientology earlier - I might have saved (relative) from Cancer"...

All in all, the picket was unusually open and nice, with a good chat with CoS members. Personally, I think there is a strong trend - the longer people are in CoS, the less they care about life. The last guy had 4 years in CoS, and displayed nice clothes and a rather open attitude. The second guy was close to poorly dressed, with an aggressive attitude. The 28-guy remainded of todays russians -enough dressed, enough fed - but absolutely no more. He was startingly hateful against "psychs", and had wandering, sad eyes.

They were concerned about us spreading hate, and causing somebody to knock them down. It seems like they just cannot see that they bring antagonism in themselves, by their attitudes. Just before we ended the picket, a VERY upset neighbor to the CoS org started to almost verbally abuse the CoS guys. He was extremly fed up with them, as most of the other neighbors in the org building. As he knows nothing about tonescales etc, the CoS guys pushed a lot of buttons (and even responded to some of his!) and created a rather unpleasant atmosphere. I had to get the guy out before the CoS people triggered a more serious problem. I told him what was going on, and he immediately calmed down. /Christer Lindstrom