May 18, 2002 - Christopher Wood

I wasn't able to make it for the morning picket, but I got the evening hotel picket. Being a cunning sort of SP, I wore my thermal undies and had a warm picket.

I found the Colony Hotel, tucked out of the way behind City Hall. As I walked down the street by the front entrance, there was Brian MacPherson, one of the Toronto Scientologists involved in picket-handling activities. So, no chance of a surprise picket, although it was probably already no surprise that the event would be picketed.

I asked if he had seen Gregg Hagglund, and got pointed over the street to the car park. I couldn't see Gregg, and hung around for about 15 minutes, until Gregg, Keith Henson, and the Unknown Picketer pulled up in Gregg's car.

The actual picket was quiet, in contrast with last year's picket of this event. I gave out about 40-50 flyers, a far greater number than I had been expecting. Various Scientologists took it in turns to stand outside the door of the hotel, smoking and watching the picket. None who seemed to be pre-OT, though. Can't let the marks in on the Xenu secret... sheesh.

A couple of notable events:

We got three bicycle-mounted police officers. (Yes, one more and we would have had one for each picketer.) They stayed for a while, and then left again. Yes, every so often someone who doesn't like our pickets calls the police, and every time the police go away without taking any actual action against picketers.

In the middle of our picket, a bus full of Tennessee kids pulled up. They got a number of leaflets, plus brief discussions on Xenu and other matters theta. Not to mention a quick lecture from Gregg about how they shouldn't go disrupt the Scientology meeting with questions about Jesus and precisely what Hubbard said about Jesus.

Falun Gong members: Through the first third of our picket, massive numbers of Falun Gong members wandered by, going to some sort of event held up the street (in another hotel, I think). There weren't nearly as many Scientologists going into the Dianetics event - certainly there wasn't a noticeable flood or anything.