On 15th March, I took myself to London, somewhat spontaneously, in order to join the Anonymous protest against Scientology.
It was one of those things, I had been wondering about going for several weeks but not got it together to find out anything much about it. On the Wednesday beforehand I just decided to do it. And what's more, I went unmasked and alone.
I am so glad that I did though. I met an Anonymous person on the tube, unmistakable by the dark suit, red tie and gas mask on his face. Plus, he got out some posters with various recognisable slogans on them and held them for other passengers to see.
I approached him and asked if I could follow him as I didn't know where to go once getting off the train at Blackfriars. He offered me a spare mask from his bag and I took it, but as we walked to Queen Victoria Street I decided not to wear it. I just wasn't afraid of being identified. I had travelled by train from another city and figured it would be pretty hard for them to ID me just from a photo. But once I got there I decided to wrap my scarf around my face, simply so that I didn't stand out so much!
I got myself a spot at the barrier and watched the whole thing gather pace. A prize moment came when two mounted police came along the road and a chorus of "That's a horse! That's a cult!" sprang up. Another choice event was a double decker bus driving past with a dozen masked Anons in the back.
But in general, it was quiet and uneventful and I was reasonably glad when the protest picked up and set off to the next location. The ride on the underground was a sight to behold, hundreds of masked, sign weilding figures on the escalators and packed into the trains. I boarded with a lively bunch who had a stereo pumping out loud music and couldn't help grinning at the sight of this underground train packed tightly with dancing, chirpy people in party hats. What's more, none of the regular passengers seemed to mind!
It was at Tottenham Court Road that the atmosphere kicked up a notch... or twelve. The street was heaving, our side of the road completely packed so all pedestrian traffic had to cross over to get by. This did rather throw them into the path of the Scientologists stood outside to hand out leaflets of their own.
Every time someone took a leaflet from them, cheers of "Rip it up!" rang out from us and a few people took notice, ripping up the fliers, much to the annoyance of the poor souls dishing them out.
Since the last protest I have become much more engaged with the online discussions and am encouraged to see so much planning and committment from so many people. I am looking forward to going along on 12th April with friends this time and with signs and fliers of my own.
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