Picket report: Sydney, Sat 7 Sep 1996

Eric Rose, Thu 10 Sep 1996

From: ERose@nnpbnasc.ms-mail.telecom.com.au (Eric Rose)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Picket report: Sydney, Sat 7 Sep 1996
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 07:58:27 GMT
Message-ID: <3235128e.21062584@nswXnews.telecom.com.au>

fun@suburbia.net (David Gerard) wrote:

> 
>Greetings from overly sunny Sydney ... day two of the Sydney picket.

It was fun. I'm sorry I missed day one.

        [...snip...]

>Clam: (shouting) "These men [points at Zed and myself] are members of
>CultAware!"
>
>Zed: (normal speaking voice) "Uh, no, we're not actually."
>
>Clam: (shouting) "These men condone what CultAware does!"
>
>Zed: (normal speaking voice) "That's better."
>

I actually was called a CultAware kidnapper and a deprogrammer until I
said I wasn't a member of CultAware and then I was called (obviously)
a supporter of .....

Some of them kept forgetting though and would call me a kidnapper
until I re-reminded them that I wasn't in CultAware. There was a very
short attention span at work. All they had to work with was a set of
slogans and cliches but couldn't deal with the fact that they weren't
true.

        [...snip...]

>Stuart had still and video cameras with him, and whenever a clam
>started hassling Tony (their main focus), he'd get rid of them quite
>effectively with a lens up the nose. They really don't like the idea
>of being on film; no wonder they try to use it as a method of
>intimidation. The clams had a video camera of their own, just as they
>had in Boston.

I noticed Stuart on a set of steps at one time, pointing the camera at
the mixed crowd of scientologists and critics. One scieno, immediately
on having noticed Stuart, went and tried to place a leaflet in front
of the lens. I then went and accused him of demonstrating that
Scientologists are involved in supressing free speech. He didn't want
to quit but one of his cronies pulled him away.

        [...snip...]
        
>the page.) Clam git: "So, what will the police find in your apartment
>in Melbourne if they break into there this afternoon?" (Note that
>'apartment' is almost never used in Australia; 'flat' is.) "We have
>photos of you jumping at that guy last night. The police will be
>coming along to arrest you this afternoon."

David - was that the bloke in the dark glasses who looked like a
bouncer? If so, he also asked me what the police would find if they
raided me. I told him pots, pans cutlery and so on and then asked hime
why he was asking the question. Of course there was no answer.

>
>All this is supposed to make me not want to fight you arseholes any
>way I can? Smile, clammie.
>
>Bruce was quite subdued today (Tony said it was the first time he
>could remember Bruce being subdued) and concentrated on spruiking for
>and handing out anti-CultAware leaflets. We ignored him until he
>started annoying us, then asked him to tell us a joke as we'd
>requested. "Uh, you two guys! You're a joke!" Nice one, Bruce.

That must have been all he could think of as I got the same response
at a different time.

        [...snip...]

>Me: "You have to think about how your bank account is going since you
>joined Scientology. Or, if you're a staffer, how much sleep you're
>getting and how well you're eating."
>
>Her: (pause) "... I'm not a staffer." Departs. Tony told me later that
>the 'bank account' line is a particularly cruel and effective move to
>use on a public ...

I must remember that one. A pity I wasn't sure of who was 'public'.


Two reactions I particularly remember were:

a) Asking one clam (the same one who tried to stop Stuart filming) if
he was aware of Hubbard's quote about China being full of chinks. he
went into instant denial. Hubbard is obviously perfect and couldn't be
a rascist.

b) I mentioned to someone about Dianetics being based on psychology
etc. - pinched from people pre-dating Hubbard. That couldn't be true I
was told. Obviously no evil psych could have anything of value to add
to the world and Hubbard couldn't have stolen someone else's ideas!!!!


A fun day. When's the next one?

Eric

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