We prefer to wear masks, disguises or costumes when protesting against Scientology, because it has a long history of behaving very badly towards its critics. (We’ll expand on this point at a later date – for now, go watch the BBC Panorama report where Scientology PR Failure-guy Tommy Davis literally stalks journalist John Sweeney around Clearwater)

The current anti-Scientology activist movement (for want of a better term) has generally adopted the “V mask” (originally from Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta comic-book series and later made famous by the movie) as the standard symbol and disguise to wear at protests.

If you want to buy a V mask, they are generally sold as fancy-dress / costume items, or as movie merchandise. They’re often available from either fancy-dress retailers, or Fantasy-Fiction shops such as Forbidden Planet. We suggest buying from a reputable retailer, rather than a totally unknown website or ebay seller.

It’s not compulsory to wear a V mask. You could cover your face in many different ways – with a scarf or veil, balaclava, or perhaps try going shirt-ninja. All sorts of types of mask have been seen at the protests, from super-cheap “decorator’s dust masks” (usually 20-for-£1 in pound-shops and suchlike) to paintball masks and military-surplus gas masks!

At some locations, local laws do not permit masked protests – but it’s often acceptable to wear a hat, sunglasses and a scarf instead.