As you may have noticed my usual write-up of the now reliably monthly Anonymous protests of Scientology failed to materialise, this owing to a simply massive amount of work I’ve got to deal with. This, however, is beyond my ability to allow pass by.
I was there when the Anon who calls himself Epic Nose Guy but I preferred to refer to as BeakFag got summoned, as was a journalist from the Guardian. The Church of Scientology had, as it has done many times before, seemingly possessed an insidious influence over the police and thus they were taking the hard-line on us. No usage of the word “Cult” was allowed in any sign, but this proscription did not prevent us from yelling it at their UK cult headquarters constantly.
The underage ENG, however, refused to submit to this apparent splash of theocracy and the first I knew of this was when a sudden surge of motion occurred towards part of the balcony which most of the anons were to be found on. It was first assumed that the “Swastiget” planned by 711Chan was taking place, but thankfully we were spared such idiocy although it was widely assumed that the chap getting his details taken was an /i/nsurgent, for a time.
It quickly became apparent, however, that instead we had an innocent young anon being cornered. The entire process was watched over by a former Scientologist who I mentioned during my last write-up, in addition to the journalist who I mentioned above. Both of them seemed perfectly friendly and the bravery of the underage protester was considerable.
I found the conduct of the police highly disturbing at this stage of the protest. No insults were made towards any followers and the word “Cult” has been used by a judge in reference to the cult during his summary on a case concerning them. The free expression of the protesters was blatantly disregarded and it seems concerning that the police would be willing to act as the lackeys of the Co$ legal department. It was somehow made even worse by the total tolerance displayed by the Metropolitan Police during the second part of the protest at Tottenham Court Road. There they were friendly and charming as ever, not minding our cult signs a jot.
At Queen Victoria, meanwhile, the tone was serious and concerning. An attempt to lighten the mood was made by changing a massive sign draped over the ramparts from “SCIENTOLOGY = CULT” to “SCIENTOLOGY = BAD?” but really to me the affair was rendered slightly grim by the police faggotry. This was a disturbing breach of free expression and it heartens me to see that Liberty have involved themselves.
For those of you interesting in learning new memes this entire affair is what is known as a “Footbullet”. As in “Shot yourself in the foot”. The Church of Scientology seems to specialise in these and this is no exception. Their efforts to crush the truth and prevent criticisms being aired outside its doors resulted in a lengthy article {which may well be published in tomorrow’s print edition} being placed upon the website of a national newspaper’s website.
Furthermore I fully expect the case to be thrown out of the courts, giving us a perfect mandate to use the word at our discretion come the next protest. This, however, is less of a win as it might seen given that this was pretty much what we had prior to all of the oppressive nonsense kicked in…
Despite these conditions influencing it the day was one filled with joy and victory. The scientologists seemed more depressed than ever and Angry Woman was, once again, angry.
Although our numbers were roughly the same as in April’s reduced showing this was almost certainly due to exams the protesting was vigorous and half the street at TCR got blocked off again. On this occasion I was doing some duties beyond leafleteering, assisting in the purchase and distribution of “Delicious lollies” to the anons, which took a surprisingly short amount of time thanks to high demand. I gave out 60 but by the end of the day a total of 206 had been bought and given out, largely funded by a single veiled anon who also brought along hand-fans.
There was also, of course, a truly epic amount of cake and music and lulz. A high-point was delivering the call of “Anonymous, what is your profession?” from the top of an escalator and hear the standard reply from a horde ascending it behind and beneath me. I also could not fail to notice that while the Scientologists handed out under a dozen leaflets, most of which were immediately ripped up to delight the crowd of anons, my vast wad of warning pamphlets about the cult left my hand in about ten minutes or so.
(All pictures belong to a variety of Flickr accounts, all courtesy of Anonymous, none belonging to Mr. Fenby. Aim the OSA attack dogs elsewhere, kay? Thanks to Anonymous and Anonymous for the pics.)
It seems unlikely now that the prosecution will be dealt with before the next protest and at present it seems not to matter much. The Church of Scientology is bleeding member and money and seems increasingly more of a laughingstock than a threat. It remains a wealthy organisation {just consider its recent “Sponsorship” of YouTube, which must at least have cost it millions} and one that has a startling lack of ethical standards. But increasingly it is diminishing as a source of fear.
Given that it has been less than half a year since the declaration of hostilities began this seems like a sterling achievement, although there is much work still to be done. I would hope that a considerable part of this is those that matter asking exactly how a police force allowed itself to become quite so cuddly with a criminal organisation, and would urge them strongly to do so loudly.
