vision2020
RE: YOUR Chance to Support Equal Rights in Moscow
I, too, do not wish to vilify MPD. The encounters we have heard about have
not been aggresive. We would expect MPD to be nothing less than cordial.
We all are lucky to live in Moscow. MPD has no major hassles, and neither
do we. We are lucky that a women's breast is an issue rather than gangs and
the like.
I would also like to confirm that MER has not been harassed by our
community, except for the occasional put-downs by people who don't
understand our cause. They are free to call us names, but that is no
argument in their favor.
So to the police who have asked us about this and have committed themselves
to insuring our safety,
"Thank you for your concern, but there must have been a misunderstanding.
We feel supported by our community for the most part."
I have spoken with a woman who was approached by a Moscow police officer.
She was singled out at 1am on a Friday night downtown. She showed me what
she was wearing, which was not illegal. Yet, she was told to cover up or go
home. She was humiliated and intimidated by the encounter. I consider this
unnecessary harassment, even if the police officer was cordial. Perhaps you
feel that is a strong statement, but anytime a person in authority plays
that role, the other person will feel harassed. This is especially
troubling considering the subject we are discussing. Now she is angry
because she has felt intruded upon.
We also have a report of a private luau, occuring on private property, where
the women wearing bikinis were told to cover up by the police. This
happened last saturday night.
I believe women should not feel intimidated from expressing themselves. If
you are offended by what a person is are wearing, get over it. That is
their individual expression. You have yours, they have theirs. You don't
have the right to mould somebody into your template.
You can believe you have the right, but if you try to pass laws to mould
somebody who is doing no real harm, people will resist.
Why do you choose to live in a university town if you are unwilling to
accept that you will reside with people who view the world differently? To
have this law in a college town is absurd. If you want to live in a
homogenous society where people conform to your views, go do what the Amish
do and form your own community.
If you can realize the value in living in a diverse community, then stay in
Moscow. I have no desire to kick you out, restrict your religion and pass
laws against you.
The true harm is crimilizing a women's breasts. This is the total opposite
of how I believe we as a society should be valuing a women's breasts. If we
understand why breasts cause such a reaction, we can channel that into
respect and honoring of this sacred anatomy.
Everybody is hard-wired as a baby to suckle the breast. This is our
instinct to live. It is no surprise that this instinct remains throughout
adulthood. I believe it is our unconscious acknowledgement that we depend
on the breast to sustain our species.
When we criminalize breasts, we are condoning the ability for our society to
make women feel self-conscious about showing their breasts. I'm certain
this affects the ability of a woman to breast feed her baby in public. You
can't expect a woman to get over this social conditioning. So to women who
are confident enough to empower themselves to be themselves, acknowledging
their womenhood, bless you. You can shape the way society treats women in
the bigger picture by empowering yourselves as women.
We can be like John Ashcroft who as our US Attorny General has chosen to
cover Lady Liberty's bare breast. In my opinion, that is ridiculous and
should be offensive to what Lady Liberty represents. Life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.
Garrett Clevenger
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