Moving Ahead?

Last week's rulings on DOMA and Prop 8 have given me so much hope. Sure, we get homophobic jerks speaking their hateful minds sometimes, but those two decisions were massive.

I had heard the Macklemore and Ryan song abt same sex marriage equality, but I didn't really think about the power - and the reach they were having. This is a hit song of equality. And for the hiphop community - which is so often full of hatred towards the LGBT community. It's hard to listen to so many of the talented lyricists when the words are rooted in hate.



As a teen, my best friend was gay. He still is. His parents resisted periodically, telling him he had to "find the right girl" and often insisting that I was his girlfriend. They didn't want to believe the truth. Now, they've accepted it.

But so many times, I told Mike I didn't want to get married if he couldn't. I'm happy to say, he now can in New York State. Not everywhere, and that's something we'll need to work on one step at a time. I saw the stupid immigration BS my friends had to go when his partner transferred him to the states - my friend's partner's company stepped up and helped out - nice when companies are the ones speaking out on the BS and helping the create change.

But we're not there yet. We're so far from equality. But this is a beautiful glimmer of hope. So while last week's tears were truly tears of joy, there are still of lot of tears of pain that will be happening moving forward, and I hope they are much more minimal than they have been in the past.

Civilly?

"[Civil disobedience] is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that numbers of people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government, and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience...Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem."

--Howard Zinn

Occupy Yourself!

I'm very excited that an article I wrote about my experiences at the Occupy Wall Street movement, Occupy Yourself, has been published in Her Circle.

How to Prepare for a Protest

My friend Margot sent me some of the below tips in an email (and I added a few of my own...). Proper prep is SMART for protests and can help you should you get in difficult situations.

--Assume subways may be closed at some point - it may take forever to get home, esp if there are barricades, street closures, etc.

--Bring pen and paper

--Charge up my cell phone, bring my charger with me

--Wear warm clothes, hat, gloves, possibly foldable umbrella, layers

--Eating before, and also, bring snacks (energy bars, sandwiches, something easy and portable)

--Let someone know where I am going so they can check on me and bail me out if I get into trouble

--Bring water

--Bring a bandana or scarf in case of pepper spray or tear gas, and sunglasses/glasses

--Bring ear plugs in case LRAD sound equipment is used against protesters (it is like pepper spray but it uses sound waves).

--Leave inessential items at home (I'll bring a small amount of money but not a lot, no credit cards, nothing I want to lose)

--Carry a bag that zippers up in case you are arrested and tossed around. Don't have a lot of things that could fall off you - loose scarves, etc. The cops will pull it off you and toss it on the ground.

--WRITE THE LAWYERS GUILD # ON MY BODY.  Here is the number:  212-679-6018

--Remain hyper alert. See where people are getting arrested, how the cops are acting, what is going on. Sometimes you can avoid getting arrested by simply stepping back.

--Smile. Dance. Sing. It helps diffuse the tension.

--Take photos of injustice and violence.

--Do not let them intimidate you. That is their goal. Do not shirk down.

--If someone heckles you, try not to get angry. Instead, respond to them with facts or sarcastic love.

--Wear comfortable shoes.

We may not wish to get arrested, but things are in chaos and it could happen whatever we wish.  So we should be prepared.  The cops will take all papers so you need the number on your skin.  If arrested, try to get your name to witnesses so they can give it to the Lawyers' Guild.  Keep your wits about you and spell out your name to witnesses.  Or take the names of anyone you witness getting arrested and call the Lawyers Guild. 

N17....An Occupy Wall St Protest Day

7am:

I met with some friends by the red cube at 7am. Smaller marches left (yellow flag (I think), black flag, and we were green flag), and I was with a group of people who did not want to get arrested. I did a few cheers (Capitalism Does Not Work, Resist) but everything was too crazy for me to do any formal radical cheerleading.

Our march headed out last, and we marched down Cedar and turned here and there and eventually ended up on Pine St and William St. I was with a marching band, and we were dancing. Everyone seemed in good spirits, especially as there was also a group of trees (or rather, people dressed like trees) dancing and chanting. I asked passing workers if they wanted to dance and they laughed and declined. It was fun. On Pine and William, we were all in the streets, dancing and chanting and the mood was good...until suddenly the cops started shoving violently and crazily. There were tons of cops - all in riot gear (w their masks pulled down) and they were out of control. I saw journalists go flying and get yelled at. Protesters pushed really hard. I felt myself being shoved backwards and they were screaming at us to stay on the sidewalk. People started sitting in the middle of the street to stop traffic...and were getting arrested. This happened every so often for a while.

The scary thing to me was - it wasn't one or two cops arresting people. It was five cops. It was NINE cops. It was disgusting how they were shoving people. The people weren't fighting back - they were just being passive and not moving.

Wall Street is insane, people!

2pm, when getting lunch:

i walked around the area and it's quiet. there are TONS of cops, even very far down wall st and away from things.

when i got up to liberty square, the cops would not let me even walk on broadway in front of the park. i ignored them and acted like i was in a rush and they somehow let me go.

i wanted to get into the park but it was completely surrounded by barricades and cops weren't letting anyone in. so the crowd on the outside built up.

cops were arresting people. someone was hurt at one point; a person was bleeding from their head. i did not personally see that but the people next to me all did. everyone was yelling, "Shame!"

And then...

the cops all began walking out.

some people left the park after they  left. some people entered.

was the park ours? no one knew.

i stayed a little longer. as i left, i noticed cops congregating. and more sirens.

i don't know what is happening.

it's weird. it feels like a complete police state. cops are walking around, menacingly swinging their billy clubs, face masks down w their riot gear. it is not a nice feeling.

530pm:

I left work and headed over to Foley Square. The cops were sending me around in circles and I couldn't actually get there. Somehow I pushed through and slipped through these cops hands and ended in the parade right behind City Hall.

The crowd was fairly diverse in age, race/ethnicity, background - I talked to a lot of interesting people. Things got really tight and crowded and we weren't moving. I did some cheers, and had a blast chanting with people.

We started moving and I began talking to all different people about what we had done, seen that day. It was really exhilarating. 

I was under the impression we were going to Liberty Plaza, but right after my boyfriend left, I ran into Margot (from the Burner list) and found out that we were marching over the Brooklyn Bridge.

Suddenly, a mic check was called and someone told us that half of the crowd was stuck behind the barricades. No one knew what to do. Margot and I decided to do a mic check so we raised awareness to the greater crowd, then got everyone to go back to the barricade. We chanted, "Let them through..." until they finally did. That felt WONDERFUL.

We marched to the bridge. I got a little nervous, honestly, hoping I wouldn't get arrested, but I decided I didn't care. I had the legal number on my arm. I didn't have my asthma medicines (which I need to take twice a day) so I crossed my finger. I was fine.

It was beautiful. We were chanting. I did a few cheers. People were projecting images onto the Verizon building - 99%, We're winning, and other beautiful images/words. It was so wonderful. I was dancing.

It got slower and we dragged as we got closer to the stairs. Two women in front of me wearing heels were all into it, cheering louder than anyone else. This was not the stereotypical "activist" crowd.

We headed to Cadman Plaza Park. A GA was due at 8pm. People headed out, as did I. Margot stayed to see the cops chilling in front of Dunkin Donuts.

It was a beautiful, empowering night.

 

It's those moments where you're not expecting much where a lot happens.

I was stopping by Occupy Wall Street, to simply drop off some books I had sorted through and decided I didn't want/need, and some old (but warm) hats for the occupiers. In the Occupy Wall Street Library, I immediately got in a discussion with two of the library volunteers. From libraries to reading to the injustice to why we were involved in Occupy Wall Street to gentrification to our lives. And suddenly forty minutes had passed and I was still sitting on the color-chalked steps, enthralled, engaged, in the exchange of ideas and energy. It's beautiful moments like this that keep me going.

Occupation, the Party

Seriously, there is an idea that protest is all marching, chanting, long days, aching feet, sore throats. Absolutely not! And Saturday, we proved that!

The Occupation Party was seeing this is a chance to celebrate - a chance to celebrate that people were WAKING UP and taking the streets and speaking their voice.

We met in Times Square 5pm, dressed in white. I pulled out my favourite white tutu I made, a silver top I made, my white fuzzy sparkly legwarmers I made, grabbed my boy (dressed in white), and didn't know what to expect - and liked it that way.

There was an awesome band. We bopped up and down, dancing. We chanted. Sparklers and tea light candles were handed out. We weren't sure what was happening. We liked it that way.

I saw friends - good friends and old friends and new friends. Wayne, Jenny, Dexter, Gwendolyn, Ofer and I clustered together, laughing, talking, dancing. People handed out flyers, exchanged stories, and we checked Twitter and FB on our phones for the update on the rest of Times Square. It was incredible. People were marching in solidarity. It was exciting. It was history.

Suddenly, everyone was lighting their sparklers. We shared lighters, shared the light of our sparklers. We danced. We laughed. It was so beautiful, so fun. We sang, "This Light of Mine."

We danced some more. We didn't care what was happening next; what was happening now was so much more fun, we told ourselves...until the next moment did indeed come, Wow. 

And what happened next was also extremely fun. We began marching from our spot in Times Square to Rockefeller Centre. The cops were confused. What were we possibly doing? Having fun, yes. We had a band. We were dancing. I was kicking my legs high, waving my pompoms, feeling free and alive and happy. And then we headed down into the subway, smiling and laughing and cheering.

All several hundred or a thousand of us crammed into the subway. We sang, we drum, we danced, we did the people's mic version of spreading our mission, we had a blast. My friend Jenny who normally doesn't go to protests liked this dance-party version of a protest.

At W 4th Street, we got out. We entered Washington Square Park. The band played; we danced. We didn't care what happened next. This was so fun.

We texted our friends. Times Square seemed like a mess. They came down to the park. They danced. We shared stories. We shared snacks, hugs. It was beautiful.

It kind of reminded me of Burning Man.

But of course, it's political and so much matters.

Speakers began. This one incredible professor began speaking, and we were impressed. How the African countries are behind us. How this is so important. How the other countries, instead of shaking their heads, yelled, "FINALLY!"

We grew tired and had an early race. We hugged our friends, each other, and headed out into the streets. And into the subway.

And on the subway, we began talking to a really interesting guy about our days. On the subway, three more participants from The Occupation Party talked to us, about inequality and the party and how Occupy Wall St was going and the arrests and what was happening next. We shared ideas and listened. We were excited. It was exciting.

And what's next - that's also exciting too.

"Billionaires" Defend the 1% at Occupy Wall St

I adore the Billionaires, since the days when they were Billionaires for Bush. They're a great performance group that pretends to be the rich...Right now, they are hilarious. I've been having improv sessions whenever I run into them at Liberty Square, laughing, cheering. To get a feel for this awesome group, please, do watch this video. You will laugh.

No Sexual Harassment at #OccupyWallSt

En route to dinner with a friend, I stopped by Occupy Wall St. I did a cheer, talked to a man about how apparently JP Morgan is the bank affiliated with food stamps, chatted with a few random people, did a cheer. I was ready to leave, maybe do one more cheer, when I heard a guy yell, "Hey cheerleader."

My pompom was small and I wasn't cheering, but I thought he, like others, must've recognized me from cheering the other day.

I stepped back and smiled.

He got up out of his chair. He was probably about 65. 

"You're so pretty," he told me.

"Uh, thanks." It wasn't told in that complimentary way, but the way where you are glad your jacket is zipped up, but you suddenly wish you had a down coat on too so he couldn't see your shape.

"Can I get a kiss?" he said suddenly, leaning in really close.

"No! No!" I told him. I darted away and he shrugged his shoulders.

"What just happened?" This activist guy yelled. I told him. He started screaming at the man.

"You gotta leave! You can't just sexually assault people. Leave. You've been sitting there all day, leering. We don't want you." The activist guy picked up the old guy's chair and tossed it out of the park. Others began gathering around.

"Calm down," people told the activist guy, who was admittedly rather worked up.

"No! We can't have people in here like that."

I again explained my story, and again. And everyone nodded. "The guy shouldn't be in the park - that's not cool - but this other guy needs to chill," I told someone.

I felt sleazy and uncomfortable. I didn't do my final cheer. I slunk out of the park, heading to the train, hating how people can just make you feel a certain way, despite you not letting them. It just happens.

And while the activist guy seemed crazy to some, I thank him for defending me.

Why Are We Occupying Wall Street Anyway?

The past two weeks, I've been thinking about the Occupy Wall Street movement a lot. I've been reading articles. Heading down to Zuccotti Square. I've been talking to other activists, other people chilling down there, and (sometimes unfortunately!), media. I've been radical cheerleading. I've been helping out with the Occupy Wall Street Library. 

I've been there, in the square.


Where are you?


Perhaps you think we have a muddled message. I'm going to tell you the main message is this: people are sick of how large corporations' money (Wall Street is a shortcut for this) controls government. Confines them.


And there's heaps of other reasons.


I've met so many incredible people. I've entertained, via my cheering. I've shared books. I've organized books. I've passed out flyers. I've chanted. I've danced. I've sang. I've hugged. I've donated.


And I'll be there, occupying Wall Street, supporting people because the people are me too.

Occupy Wall Street

There's been a severe lack of media attention about the Occupy Wall Street protests - no surprise. The media typically downplays activism, the #s of protesters, etc - I know because I have been misrepresented by mainstream media many times as an activist.

To simplify things, basically, people took over this private park, Zucotti Square, right by Wall Street (and it's the park across from Century 21, for those bargain shoppers for designer brands). They wanted to put tents but they're not allowed, so they're sleeping, huddling under tarps when it rains, cooking, sharing ideas...

And why? It's to protest how damaged our culture is. When the CEO of Wal-Mart makes in an hour what the average employee does in a year, when yet another bank is raising fees...There's a lot of reasons, but I'm glad people are speaking up. We're losing our rights over our bodies. Will we really have social security? Why are there so many scary Tea Parties? And I can go on and on, but I have to catch a train...

I feel like the direction things have been going is immensely depressing...Really?

It's weird. Since we stopped organizing for NYC Radical Cheerleaders, I have felt this loss. But when Emily and I got together today, things have changed - but our politics still are the same.

We're ready to fuck shit up, as much as we possibly can in pompoms and miniskirts.

See you in the streets on Monday!

NYC Radical Cheerleaders in 2007!

This is who I used to be...and I'm still in there!

why i could never be a right-winger: the things they say are so insipid and irrelevant that they are hilarious!

a war monger at saturday's anti-war protest (to a passing cyclist): that's right, keep on biking like the good communist you are.

what!??!?!

i wish i was in brazil for this

no, i don't.

sometimes, i like to forget about shitty things are.

but i will be at this.