June 1, 1998 - Deep Wog

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is having its convention in Toronto this year, from May 31 to Jun 4. Today, 1998 Jun 1, the CCHR -- the infamous Co$ front organization -- held a loud, raucus demonstration outside the Toronto Convention Centre from 09:00 to 12:45 protesting the APA. While providing great entertainment to the delegates, locals and passersby, they manage to spook Convention Centre security and the police. [Note to Co$: foaming at the mouth didn't help!]

The Toronto unit of the ARSCC(wdne) elite picketing commando squad received reliable intelligence of this demonstration the previous evening, so only 2 members could make a token anti-Co$ appearance.

The timing was tight. But within 4 hours of notification, the selected team of 2 had arranged signs, T-shirts, flyers, and meet-point logistics. Long, LONG, live the Internet -- the festering, painful sore in the Co$'s well abused hide!! And, as Grady Ward says, MORE TO COME!!

We arrived on scene at about 08:50. We put on the uniforms: me, with a Scientology KILLS T-shirt, Wulfen with a Lisa T-shirt. Next thing, I go into the Convention Centre and grabbed a security guard and told him what we were up to. After some chat, I find that the head security guy is outside, and has already conferred with Wulfen about our plan. After a bit more discussion, and noting the growing mob across the street [2 against ~300? sorry!] we elect to patrol the Convention Centre sidewalk. In addition to being safely out of range, we also had virtually immediate access to CC security and some police officers.

After that, things start. The highlights:

The CCHR are across the street is in a park. It begins quiet but 30 minutes they are all screaming and yelling their heads off. A repeating mantra again and again:

(conductor) What does psychiatry (garbled)? (choir) Fraud, Waste, Patient Abuse [and maybe 2 others for "variety"].

Mind numbing if you have to listen to it 300 times in a row. I can only wonder what effect it had on the direct participants.

And, geez, guys, try to keep the distortion to a minimum, eh?

Flyers hand out slowly at first [a few Xenu's, we were focusing more on the Lisa MacPherson flyer I found on the net]. Once the CCHR start up, they begin to sail out of our hands. Many a delegate, sporting camera equipment, come outside to watch the spectacle of a crowd of people chanting themselves into who knows what hypnotic state.

We are a major tourist attractions!! Wulfen and myself are photographed numerous times by convention delegates, all giving us a thumbs up and a smile. Several people -- mainly Japanese -- insist on posing with us!

MEDIA!! I turn around, and what do I see but a TV crew interviewing Wulfen!! I rush up and try to get a picture; just made it.

If only I had a www.xenu.net banner to hold in the background...

The delegates received us well. But I guess they would, eh? But we kept to our goals: we were here because the CCHR was. How any "Citizens Commission on Human Rights" can foam at the mouth about psychiatric abuse, but turn a blind eye to the organization that owns and operates them, is a bit much, no?

Apparently the Co$ (in its many guises) is something of a fixture at APA conventions now. Last year, in San Diego, they had a large crowd out. I was informed that the convention next year is in Washington DC.

Our maneuver here, however, is a first. No one could recall seeing a Co$ counter-picket at an APA convention before.

Ran out of flyers. Again. I vastly underestimated the crowd. Within 45 minutes, we were out of the 150 flyers I printed. For for about 20 minutes, I was alone while Wulfen ran off to get another 500 printed. Duh!

Wulfen picks up a clam-tail for a few minutes. I don't even bother with talking to the guy ["Never fight with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it."]; I find the head convention security guy and tell him about situation. The clam tries a "these people are criminals"approach, but security tells the guy to stop hassling us. Thankfully he does -- even though he had no cause to obey an order of a mere security type. [No un-busy police at the time.]

I later photograph him. Almost certainly out-of-town -- if only because no local clam has ever spoken to us [all having been well trained by Buttnor and company].

For about 20 minutes, the rowdies across the street belt out a modified version of "Go Tell It On the Mountain". Which, if I remember right, is a *Christian* song.

Highly bizarre for an organization whose dead but unfortunately not forgotten leader said "there was no Christ"?

The boisterous demo across the street was set to end at about 12:30. At about 12:00 or so, Wulfen comes up to me and quietly says "Have you noticed the huge police build-up?" At the time I had been concentrating on photographing the antics across the street, so I turn around and am a bit surprised to see both doors to the Convention Centre are covered with cops on the outside, and CC security on the inside, and everyone looking a whee bit tense.

Now whatever could have caused that reaction? [I was assured it was not us!]