Fair Game: Keith henson: Toronto picket report July 21, 2002

hkhenson@cogeco.ca (Keith Henson)
Toronto picket report July 21, Three Rings: Friends, Neutrals, and Enemies.
22 Jul 2002 01:12:15 GMT

Three Rings: Friends, Neutrals, and Enemies.

OSA gets a lesson in ancient Japanese social interaction theory

According to this book there are three rings, your friends, your neutrals, and enemies--those opposed to you. The object of your movements through society is to keep your friends your friends, to convert as many neutrals as you can to friendship, and to convert as many enemies into neutrals or friends as you can.

Today was a great example.

As we approached the org going north in his car on Yonge Street, Gregg spotted a sea orger in the org's door and then one out in front of the Artful Dodger, and another one up the street in a parking lot behind the grocery store. They stood out like sore thumbs, being dressed in long sleeve white shirts and ties on a hot weekend when shorts and tank tops were more common.

The one in the org doorway spotted Gregg's car with YOHTAL place first. He did a "Wily Coyote" trying to go in through an out door. We parked in the lot and walked over to the coffee shop passing a sea orger glued to a pay phone opposite the Starbucks. They had an absolute hoard of people out today, Al Buttnor was in deep lurk inside the org, Brian McPherson as usual was the front man, on a tight leash by Pat Felske. Bob Pearce was videotaping from the coffee shop across St. Mary's St. Mad Mike was there too plus several other actives and a bunch of spectator "day orgers" inside the org looking out. Their only obvious function must have been cheer at Gregg's expected arrest.

Martin met us at the door to the coffee shop. Martin was the ED of the Quebec City org and has been out a long time. This was his second picket. We took our time with our beverage of choice watching the sea orger posted across the street tying up a pay phone and the roving members of the goon squad support team who were walking up and down Yonge St. They had the awning (tubing holding up a cloth roof) out on the sidewalk today and Gregg had to remind them when he got there that they couldn't use it to sell without a license from the city.

By the time we started back to the car to pick up signs and flyers, scientology had a police officer out on the corner being intensely briefed by a well-rehearsed Brian McPherson. Pat Felske was standing right there, observing and coaching Brian.

This was the first time in about two years they have paid to have an officer there for a picket. Word is (and we won't tell you how we got this) that Pat Felske had drilled Brian at length on a carefully crafted script. Brian did an outstanding job of misinforming, misleading and manipulating the police officer. As Hubbard said, "the only way to control people is to lie to them." Brian and Pat put this into practice with a slickness that has to be perceived to be believed. (Yes they did leave an oily residue on the sidewalk.)

Scientology used Sun Tzu's technique; they made the police officer their agent and tried to make Gregg a "dead agent." Gregg and Martin played a deeper and more effective game. The officer had been predisposed by Brian's efforts to be an enemy and indeed was vocally hostile at first. Gregg reminded him bluntly that he was supposed to be professionally neutral.

He obviously thought about that and listened to what Gregg was telling folks on the street. Then he was doomed to become either neutral or a friend by Martin chatting to him. Martin is really good in a low-key way. (Martin was obscured by his sign while walking to the org. When he came out from behind it close to Pat Felske, she couldn't deal with the reality of facing a former ED and split inside.)

Within minutes the officer was not only acting professionally neutral, he was emotionally neutral and willing to listen. This officer was particularly vulnerable to Gregg's argument that if Gregg was saying anything that was not true, scientology with their huge litigation budget would demolish him in court.

So the officer asked to read all the material Gregg had with us, not only the flyers but also the things we don't reproduce, like Gregg's laminated copy of Fair Game, OT3, and other toothsome goodies.

The officer read the OT3 flyer and that really opened his eyes and he understood what the fraud was, not a belief but it is being sold fraudulently as a "science." Then Gregg showed him the Fair Game Policy and the cancellation of its name and Martin explained to him about what the Fair Game Policy meant to scientologists. This revealed the half-truth that scientology had painstakingly concocted for the police today.

Now the officer appeared to realize the scientologists had manipulated him. The tensions between the picketers and the officer completely disappeared. At one point when Gregg was talking about Lisa McPherson, Brian was trying to disrupt the discussion. The officer just gave Brian a cold hard stare. Brian shut up and vanished inside. He and Pat were just steamed that Martin and Gregg had turned the officer they had bragged uplines would arrest Gregg.

Later, toward the end of the picket, a police van bringing our officer a cold drink pulled up and parked on St Mary's. The other three officers in the van were taking a cool break and had brought our officer a slushy and air conditioned space for respite from the heat. Our officer thought it was important to inform the other officers about the volume and quality of false complaints made by scientology.

The other officers were incredulous at his explanation so he opened the door of the van and called for Gregg to bring over some flyers. "Gregg could you come over here for a minute?" Gregg went over and found that the officers wanted to read all of his material--for professional reasons, not just for a laugh. And so, at the insistence of a fellow officer who had just a few minutes before been hostile and ready to arrest Gregg if he so much as waved a flyer, that same officer had seen the light.

This officer had observed the scientologists who had dead agented the picketers scuttling away. He appeared determined to do his professional duty and share his perception that there were serious efforts by scientology to maliciously manipulate him and his fellow officers.

All were deeply interested in scientology's policy to destroy its enemies, and its attempted use of the police to further this goal. It seems our lawsuit, resulting from the previous time Toronto police officers relied on scientology generated data, is now well known within metro police ranks as a likely career tanking faux pas.

At the end of the picket, Gregg called the coffee shop management's attention to Bob Pearce--who was taping from within the coffee shop across St. Mary's. They were annoyed he was taping in a private space (even if it was outdoors). They told him to pack up his camera and leave. Other unhappy patrons verbally backed up the manager and OSA gooney Pearce packed up his digital video camera and slunk back to the org.

We ran entirely out of the "A Parsonage?" flyers and gave out maybe another 200 Xenu and Child Sec Check flyers. I had a normal day handing out flyers 100 feet up the road except for one guy who came by wondering how he might find a friend lost into the org about 1988 or 1989. The guy's name was Dylan Chan, half Anglo, and half Chinese. He was a singer for a band in those days and would have been from the Toronto org. If anyone has an idea of where he is, or if he is out, a friend of his sure wonders what happened to him (likely sea orged to escape his PTS band members who tried to get him out). He will be looking on a.r.s. to see if there are any responses to this post.

All in all, it was an outstanding Toronto Picket.

Keith Henson

PS. One of the guys from last Saturday, a classically handsome (in the Greek mode) guy who had been herded past Gregg by a SSM (Scientology Slave Master) pulled up to their driveway, rolled down his window (Gregg was half way expecting something vicious) and said in plaintive voice, "Can I have one of those?" He got a flyer and after making a derogatory comment or two about the thieves inside the org, drove away. We expect that's the last time we will see him at the org unless he decides to join us for a picket--with his equally handsome friend.

PPS. Gregg waves at Daffy Dan Bryenton and says, "Hey Bubba, the Ontario Supreme Court just legalized same sex marriages. How do you like them apples?"