From: wake_up_sharky@my-deja.com Newsgroups: de.soc.weltanschauung.scientology Subject: Clearwater 2000 - Tag 3 Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2000 00:27:30 GMTUnfortunately several people had to go away this day. Nevertheless there was still an impressive number of picketers assembled to demonstrate in front of Fort Harrison. Paul Kellerhals came out of the main entrance and watched us from the other side of the street. Somebody told me they had read in Lisa's logs that this man - no lightweight - had to sit on her chest at least once to keep her down. Now he was standing there looking over at us, apparently unmoved. I called out to him, "hey PK, what was it like to sit on her chest? What did you feel? Was it power? How did you feel?" He started to not look so well, and disappeared behind the fir trees in front of the building. We had to ride him for that, "Hey PK, where is 'hiding' on the Tone Scale?"
Ben Shaw, who looked really bad, got to hear how he should please, please go to a doctor, and that it was obvious that Scientology was not helping with his problem.
Like the day before we got a lot of response from the Clearwater residents. Some only dared to show us covertly that they were behind us, others waved and honked and cruised the street to show encouragement. Amidst all this we saw one stinkfinger :-)), but that was the exception. We got especially strong feedback from truck drivers going by, who put their hands over their heads and gave long honks on their horns. Even police driving by gave us the thumbs up.
Both days several of us were dressed in RPF colors: gray tops, black shorts or long pants, white socks and tennis shoes.
We all went to Emilie's again for lunch. The Lotticks told us that the crosswalk in front of the Clearwater bank building was manned with Scientologists. Apparently they had all be detoured so that they would not be too enturbulated. Therefore several of us decided to check it out, but there was only one problem. The police shooed us off quickly. Demonstrating was explicitly permitted on three corners of the crossing, but not directly in front of the Clearwater Bank Building (CBB), according to the court order. When we walked across that corner, we had to keep our signs down. So we manned the live crossing in the spaces that were free and I made a game of taking turns changing street sides every time the light turned.
Every time I touched the sidewalk in front of the CBB I let my arms drop (which had meanwhile turned into a deed of mercy), and raised the sign when the path over the crossing was clear again. Sometimes someone else did that too, and I/we were, unmoved, filmed by various Scientologists or PIs. The fat one who Tilman called penguin and others called Ollie, mostly stood right in front of the Coachman Building although that made no sense at all since a high-tech camera right above him was filming the same thing he was. When I brought his attention to his waste of material, he involuntary changed his position a little, but not so much that he improved his efficiency to any degree. When a German, who lives in the vicinity, and I marched past him, we heckled, "Take Slim Fast, Slim Fast Slim Fast.... Take Slim Fast, Slim Fast, Slim Fast....". That was too much for him. He disappeared into the building. Later he showed up again and filmed from a narrow spot in the sidewalk (at the place where the walk was divided by trash cans, trees and flower pots), where he was hindering Rod Keller getting by. Rod cordially asked him a few times to let him by, but apparently the Tech does not improve one's ability to hear. Finally it became obvious to a policeman who had to have seen that we were keeping the rules and we were constantly moving. He told Ollie to make way, which Ollie did with a snort.
We ended picketing for the day about three o'clock. Some went to Winter Wonderland in order to get involved a little with Benetta Slaughter and her work, others took a break at the LMR before heading back to the hotel.
Later we heard there was more picketing that evening. About ten young people, probably just of age, showed up because they had heard of the demonstration and wanted to join. Frank and others told them about the rules which they followed to the letter while appearing to have tons of fun at the demo.
That night we met at Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. Tikk got there rather late because he took someone who was not feeling so well back home so she wouldn't have to ride the bus. Would Scientologists be that generous to their friends? Thanks, Tikk!! And thanks to the Lotticks, who gave me good advice and got me pills for my ear infection. I'm doing much better now.
After a little diversion to a pool bar which proved to me one more time that I haven't mastered the game, but had a good time anyway, we went back to the hotel.
To be continued
Andrea