A SURPRISE PICKET

Picketing the Church of Scientology© since May 10, 1997, for Objectionable Management Practises.

Toronto Ontario Canada. June 7, 1997.

On Saturday June 7, 1997 from 2pm to 5pm an Information Picket
was held at the Toronto Org of the Co$ on Yonge St.

The Picket came as a total surprise to the Org.

Picket Report by Gregg Hagglund.

THE PICKET REPORT: Part Three:

The sidewalk was ours to command from the first moment. The manager of Brothers Restaurant stepped out and asked us not to stop in front of his door. He was quite cranky about it.This was in contrast to our last visit when the Brothers staff were cordial and appreciative. I wonder what was said to them by the Rev since our May 10 appearance?

I shrugged this off and told him that I understood his position and we would do what we could to minimalize the impact on his traffic, but that I had Notice for the 696 to 700 section and that included him. This seemed to satisfy him and he vanished.

I positioned myself at the North end of our territory and began to exhort the passersby to "read the secret truths Scientology did not want you to know" "Spacelords and spaceopera -Scientologies Secret Stories" etc. All done in my best WC Fields voice. I got alot of laughs, all the usual universally complimentary encouragements and an incredible number of takers of the RX Special.
I would say about 1 in 8 of those shown the flyer took one.

D'Artangnan and Artemis concentrated on the southern end of our space with Artemis ranging up to and joining me at the North. Artemis was handing out the DYIN'ETHICS Pamphlet at an incredible pace too. These were printed on a salmon pink stock and quite striking. Many people ended up with both the RX and the Pamphlet. We had a problem tho' and one I had never seen before in all my jaundiced years of flyer dodging and taking in Toronto. People were stopping dead in the middle of the sidewalk to *read* the DYIN'ETHICS Pamphlet! They were getting to be a hazard. *We* had to politely direct them to move to the side of the Org where there was room by the newspaper boxes to look it over.

During the course of the afternoon we handed out 240 DEPs and 300+ RX Specials.

We estimate that about 100 people recieved both so as a conservative figure I would say 400 Passersby joined in the public display of dislike for the CoS tactics.

About 10-20 of them taking the time to read, on the spot, much, if not all of the DEP.

At about 3 pm we were joined by 'Jim Degris' and his Body Thetans.

Then at about 3:45 pm Miss U and 'The Duke of Gloucester' also joined us.

The Duke got to wear the Demo Badge.