some things that were counter productive in Seattle yesterday: taunting direct attacks on scientology's belief system (lol xenu) focusing on the $360,000 price unclear picket signs spending all your time at the church yelling at the same five scientologists who ignore you, rather than spreading the message to the public via marches. -- people have the right to be retards; whether by believing in space aliens, or wasting their life's savings--if we attack the rights of individuals, we accomplish nothing and look like bigots for it. The only two signs the ten 'o clock news showed were "Honk if you hate Scientology" and "Alien Ghosts, LOL". Does that seem very credible to you? We can't control what signs they choose to display, but we can control what our signs say. Furthermore, harassing the same scientologists over and over again doesn't do anything, and makes us look like dicks. Don't be a dick. We're here to educate the general public about scientology. March around the city; talk to people; provide an authoritative, informed, and respectful introduction to the dangers of Scientology.
What's wrong with the $360,000 point? I think it's a great point to show how much of a corporation Church of Scientology is. I agree on all other points though.
because people are free to waste their money however they want. it's definitely a good point to raise, and should be used as a segue into discussions about how Scientology turns people into slaves--literally and figuratively--to pay for it. But just saying it's expensive doesn't have much of a punch.
WManon - in some jurisdictions a leader/warden type was required to step forward in order for the protest to be allowed to go ahead. :? ...perhaps 'wardens' only as required.
Some constructive criticism from the outside of 02/10. After looking at the media coverage today, I have a few ideas. 1. Solidarity. Why were Anon protesting CO$ on 02/10? I mean, I know but the best I could find from media coverage was "because they suppress free speech" which is a weak argument, at best. Know why you're there, tell the media why you're there and they'll tell the people why you're there. You've got a whole thread dedicated to it here.[/url:33ozf5az] If you're going to step in front of a camera, know the "who" "what" "when" "WHY" and "where." 2. Keep it in the present. Yes, Anon knew why 02/10 was chosen but I saw little MSM coverage that mentioned McPherson. The best was probably the coverage of the Milwuakee protest that mentioned her in passing and showed a picture. The fact of the matter is that most people just don't care about a woman who joined a cult and was subsequently killed by it over a decade ago. The press seems to be asking "why are YOU here today (see point number 1)" The story is about Anon, not Ms. McPherson. The pre-written letters hand signed and mailed to congress to support an IRS review of their tax-exempt status is a great idea. Not only that, but it's solid. "THIS is why we're here. THIS is what WE mean to accomplish." No relying on bleeding hearts or sympathy. No half-hour long rants trying to explain every single point. Whatever the reason may be that day, keep it one idea, one purpose, one goal. 3. Try to relate to the common man. Anon is going to need public support on this one. It's really a 3 step train of thought. "Here's the problem." "Here's why you care." "Here's what you can do to help." Give that to the public and get the ball rolling. One more thing. If the focus is going to be exposing CO$ as being anything but a church, then I'd suggest that the word "church" appears on NO propaganda. No placards, no flyers, no youtube videos, nothing. Don't give them the twisted enjoyment of supporting their claim to tax-exempt status by legitimizing their usage of the term "church" of scientology in your attack propaganda. Also, I was thinking for the guys who can't wear masks legally and don't live in weather cold enough to necessitate a scarf, why not take off shaving for a week prior (should your job allow). Between a hoodie, large sunglasses and a beard, their pictures will be worthless, provided you shave afterwards. Anyway, just some ideas... looking forward to 03/15!
I saw something that was really effective, this one anon brought brochures instead of fliers and they really worked well. Smaller and don't need to be crumpled up to store them by the passing public. As for people with roles, people durring the raids are required to setup up out of nessessity rather than desire. Giving out rule sheets (summery of the 23 video) with police contact info is a good idea because not everyone there is anon or done a lot of background research. I handed out such things but now I see I should have also included general facts about the raid such as the theme and basic CoS info. Shortwave radios are also a good idea for keeping elements in contact.
I second that. In fact, that number might scare people from even looking at a scieno building for fear that someone might siphon that much money out of them! Oh.. What I learned? Double-sided signs. Can't stress that enough. Because your back AND front get on video too.
Copypasta'd from New York postgame thread: I was kind of pissed off by the paranoia on sunday, however I can't be hypocritical because I was suspicious of our lawyer... he looked exactly like OT8 Ben who harrassed WBM in the famous What Are Your Crimes video! Anyway all i did was yell "Hey! Haven't we seen that guy on the internet?" but I still went along with everything he said once I heard he was our lawyer... HOWEVER! Let's not get soft just because of a few misplaced suspicions! I am all for a feeling of fraternity and solidarity, but truth be told the $cienos know a little more about us now than they did Saturday, and they may be smart enough to apply that knowledge. Remember that anyone, even the completely normal teenage Anon, could be a $cieno plant. The key is to watch ACTIONS, not words. This is something we can learn from this worldwide raid; look at actions, not appearances. Note how these $cieno plants behaved in Plymouth http://youtube.com/watch?v=VIjHIiKrRbI. Not to say they will be this outrageous, but they will definitely be acting strange, most likely launching repetitive Paul Fetch style rants (I'm sure he is a $citroll) in an attempt to rile us up and/or discredit us. Remember that a possible plant that's doing nothing would be a totally ineffective and pointless plant. Why go to the trouble if all it's going to do is add to apparent numbers? TL;DR-- Suspicions are a necessary evil, but look for evidence in Actions and not Appearances.
smaller fliers are good. less wasteful of paper, and make the public feel much less awkward about taking one discreetly. Brandishing a large piece of paper in their face is... not very friendly. Send out small groups with a couple of signs on short treks beyond the immediate protest location. If we make the passerby laugh first, they generally also nullifies the public's reflexive "no i don't want a flyer thanks anyway" response. it lessens the awkwardness significantly.
Another thing regarding signs: Make it clear what your cause is! On several occasions, people have mistook protesters for pro-scientology people, which is bad.
The white/V-masks and the suits where great. Keep them as a visual elements of the piquets, so everyone in future will recognize the piquet was organized by anonymous. White Masks http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/5574/adelaidefe8.jpg V-Masks http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/4541/vmasksou9.png
