Yeah. Go stand in a walk-in freezer for about three hours and then report back to me about how it was. That’s pretty much what it felt like out there while we raided Scientology on Saturday, January 9. But add some wind. It was pretty bloody cold, if I do say so myself (and I do).
But we raided. We had a small but dedicated group out there for this one. You had HT, Sparrow, MaidofWin, Purple Hair Anon, and myself out there giving Scientology hell. MaidofWin and Purple worked the corner, and HT and I took the entrance to the Ideal Org. And Sparrow did his usual thing, confronting the Scientologists on camera. And it was cold. Very cold. Everyone was wrapped up for the cold, and I wore the setup that I wore last year at the January flash raid. It may look like I came straight out of the hazmat unit, but it’s warm, and I had every square inch of skin covered.
And here we are:
MaidofWin carries the “Scientology only wants your $$$” sign that we first made for Richmond.
HT raids maskless, with a “Fair wages for Sea Org” sign.
Meanwhile, HT and I pose with our signs. Mine says, “End human trafficking in Scientology!” while the other side of HT’s sign says, “I can communicate with anyone on any subject. Can you?” Her sign refers to the fact that the Scientologists can’t talk to us since we’re all suppressive and such.
However, the public going in and out of the Ideal Org was actually quite friendly this time around. They made some small talk with us, and smiled and such. The staff, now, gave us the cold shoulder, as expected.
This raid also demonstrated why it’s good to have signs on heavy stock. Purple’s sign, which had the standard “HONK if you think Scientology is a cult!” message, moved in the wind and got away from her, tumbling around as it made its way to the bus stop across 16th Street. Thankfully, despite getting run over by a car, the sign survived unscathed, and was picked up by a person waiting for the bus, which Purple then retrieved:
Then otherwise, not many people stopped to talk with us, and I can’t blame them. It was below freezing, and that means really cold. The only one who stopped to talk with us for any appreciable length of time was a former coworker of mine. We talked about Scientology, and such. Meanwhile, you know your disguise is complete when people who know you quite well don’t even recognize you. The only way he could tell it was me was when I spoke, and even then he had to ask.
Then Sparrow chalked a note on the sidewalk:
So there you go. I froze my fanny off in 20 degree weather along with the most dedicated of Anons in our “Freeze your tits off” raid (I didn’t come up with that name), and got the word out. Scientology has learned once again that cold can’t keep us away. We are everywhere…