Event: The Internet vs Scientology - Edinburgh. Saturday 15th March

[Dux0r]

Hey everyone. I found AN via Google then read through the The Internet vs Scientology Feb 10th thread and figured I'd drop you all an invite to our next protest which is scheduled for the 15th of March.

As reported in the other thread the 10th of Feb was a success, with about 130 people (by police count) taking to the streets of Edinburgh to either take a stand against Scientology, or have a laugh, and anything in between.

We hope to surpass our previous efforts and reach at least 200 people. I've been taking a rough headcount and so far just over 100 people have confirmed (last time only 20-30 people confirmed). So it should be a good crack.

The 10th of February was Lisa McPhersons birthday (a young Scientologist woman who died at their hands), and the 15th of March is L. Ron Hubbards' birthday. As such many of our numbers will be giving out cakes, cards, fliers and information.

So, you are hereby invited to L. Ron Hubbards' birthday party on the 15th of March at Hunters Square/South Bridge Street, Edinburgh for fun, information, and cake - Cheers!


PS. we have set up a website for the purpose of organizing the next event at http://www.edinburghlulz.com where you can get more information.

[pANDAS Radio]

This one was popular.

[Charlicat]

Its a trap. Dux0r is Tom Cruise's sockpuppet.

[LesMTS]

Sounding like this (and the worldwide thing) was a total success.

http://www.partyvan.info/index.php/P...ive/2008-03-15

Overall situation is: EPIC WIN. NUMBERS ARE UP FROM ***ALL*** REPORTS IN SO FAR, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW AMERICAN CITIES. (significantly, Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland). (oh, and AUS: Perth was down ~50, but all other AUS were up.)

TOTAL ESTIMATE FROM ALL REPORTS IN SO FAR: ~6700 protesters.

http://www.edinburghlulz.com/index.php/15th_of_March

[LesMTS]

Oh man.

YouTube - Scientologists scarper as Anonymous...

[Addy]

Ha ha, nice!

[Woolies]

Why are people being harassed in the street based on their religion?
Also, is it cool to do this because the internet says so?

[Addy]

Originally Posted by Woolies

Why are people being harassed in the street based on their religion?
Also, is it cool to do this because the internet says so?

It's got nothing to do with Scientology, the religion, it's the Church of Scientology, the exploiting, human rights abusing cult.

[Hammer]

Originally Posted by Addy

It's got nothing to do with Scientology, the religion, it's the Church of Scientology, the exploiting, human rights abusing cult.

Your forgetting the really important bit: protest for the lulz...

[LesMTS]

The whole debate on "is this bigotry" is in the other thread. http://www.altnation.com/forums/meet...-february.html

From what I understand, the focus is not on attacking the beliefs, but making the public aware of the human rights abuses, brainwashing techniques and "bait and switch" scamming to get members to haemorrhage their money into the CoS's coffers. Which is fair play, as far as I'm concerned. And this focus has been represented excellently.

Personally, I'm more interested in this as an amusing and unprecedented example of emergent phenomena and smart mobbing, but I do think the CoS is a fair target.
There's certainly no reports of aggressive behaviour, indeed it seems the protestors were excessively nice to the scientologists, in the vast majority of cases. Handing out cake and balloons and whatnot.

[MarkMono]

Originally Posted by Woolies

Why are people being harassed in the street based on their religion?
Also, is it cool to do this because the internet says so?

Why were there cultists hassling people in the street in the first place? The two groups must disagree on a few things I'd guess.

[Woolies]

I shall read the other thread tomorrow and learn if I have the opportunity but in the meantime I'd still suggest that handing out cake does not negate the intimidation.

[LesMTS]

In these "free stress tests" they tell the gullible and emotionally vulnerable that the tests have shown up problems and explain that Scientology knows how to sort these things out.
They then get those that they can to make an appointment at the Scientology Church, where they're put through more "tests", told they definitely need help and are put through classic "hard sell" techniques and emotional blackmail to accept the "cure" for their "problems" - which requires membership of the CoS and comes at a price.
Once you've become a member, they make it very difficult for you to leave. Next is a bunch of systematic bullshit that you also need "cured of", which comes at ever increasing cost to you.

The only problem for me is that these people on the street, doing the stress tests, are more often than not victims of this procedure themselves. So, while I think making their exploitation of the emotionally vulnerable difficult is a good thing, that's tempered with sympathy for them.

[pANDAS Radio]

People in masks handing out cake is really smart. Or don't anonymous realise that they're actually attracting more interest in CoS than they are detracting from it?

And if people are so keen to be all principled and boycott human rights then why don't they go for targets like Burma or China? Higher human rights abuse rates but less likely to "be for the lulz" and that is what makes me regard Anonymous as nothing less than a group of retarded bandwagon jumpers.

[Shannow]

Originally Posted by pANDAS Radio

People in masks handing out cake is really smart. Or don't anonymous realise that they're actually attracting more interest in CoS than they are detracting from it?

Umm...

And if people are so keen to be all principled and boycott human rights then why don't they go for targets like Burma or China? Higher human rights abuse rates but less likely to "be for the lulz" and that is what makes me regard Anonymous as nothing less than a group of retarded bandwagon jumpers.

Whereas they may well be valid targets, they're not the ones that are at present in our towns recruiting members.
ANY protest group is going to have folk there who have just come along for a laugh, I don't think it's fair to tar everyone with that brush though, a large proportion of the anon crowd do seem to 'get it', for the reasons Les described above.

It's more odd to me that folk like yourself seem to have a real problem with the whole anon thing in the first place.