First Friday - 4/3

First Friday seemed pretty tame to me, though it was my first time out there. Few enough of the group turned up after the SFTS meeting, though Todd, Rocco, and some others made it out in addition to Kazz. I didn't know that the intersection near where we were protesting (3rd and Roosevelt) was home to a Church of Scientology. Anonymous were out there, sporting their festive masks and holding up signs that said "CULT".

I don't yet know the name of the guy who was preaching when I got there, but his methods are old hat and I noted how similar they are to the "what are your crimes?" questions of the nearby Scientologists. "Are you a good person?" he called to the passersby, who were mostly ignoring him. "Have you ever told a lie? Ever stolen something? Come on, not even when you were a kid?" I passed out tracts and hurled some comments his way a few times while Kazz manned the mic.

To the annoyance of all involved, Edwin was up next. I'd never had the displeasure of meeting him before now. For those of you that feel I'm being too harsh on him, my critique of his methods has nothing to do with his speech impediment and everything to do with the fact that he is an utter moron. To listen to him speak is to hear an insipid speech that's been well-prepared, but can't be remembered in the least.

Later I spoke with a man whose name I didn't find out, but he seemed to be rather philosophically-minded and spoke to me about basic assumptions of reality and of the material nature of consciousness. Later, though, he revealed himself as a creationist Christian who mostly wished to spout his views on the judgement of God, those that sin will burn in Hell, etc. Further down the sidewalk, Rocco spoke to a young woman who seemed absolutely incredulous about what we were doing. They talked for some time and she quietly prayed for him right there on the spot.

Being my first time out at First Friday, I don't have much to judge it against. The preachers came on strong but were small in number, and the proximity to the Church of Scientology wasn't as weird an experience as I might've hoped. I think it was a fairly interesting experience however, and the arts and crafts were quite lovely as well. I look forward to next month, when plans are to sell some shirts and also, for me, to attempt to peddle some crocheted hats.