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by Anonymous User on 11:22 AM December 1st, 2004 EST (#2)
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Just a heads up,
I recall many years ago when going to work for a large school district, that I was called on to take a loyalty oath, and I seem to recall being asked if I was ever a member of certain groups. Some of the groups were the anti-war groups from the Vietnam era and some were far more radical like the weather underground that had been involved in blowing up bldgs., etc. I had never been in any of those groups so I just signed the loyalty oath and forgot about it.
F4J is nowhere near any of those groups, but it still is getting a radical reputation that makes it difficult for mainstream, middle of the road types to be a part of it.
There are many other middle of the road Father's groups so it's not as if F4J has to change to bring those people in. I think there are a lot of men who would like to be a part of F4J, but have concerns that outweigh their activism. Some men are actually caught in custody disputes, and any illegal actions could harm their access to the their children. Courts might even deem some of the behavior as "excessive risk taking," and thereby a risk to the children or Mom, especially if false accusations have been or are going to be made. Some Dads who have lost access to their children might feel they would loose all hope of getting their kids back if they got arrested or convicted for something. I suspect some Dad might be concerned that if his name got out he was involved in some illegal activity, his employer might fire him, and then that Dad might not be able to make his child support or alimony.
There is a fine line in America between public protesting and creating a public disturbance; between a public protest and endagering the public; between peaceful, legal public protest, and an illegal disturbance that can get a downtrodden Father arrested, convicted, fined, and possibly jailed.
All that being said, there is a whole lot that F4J could legally do in America, and if they would be inclined to work within the law, there are many great places they could dress up in Super Hero costumes and stage street theatre. The National Coaltion of Free Men Los Angeles have probably done as much protesting as any group in America, and they have done it in some very, very public venues. They have even done a little bit of street theatre.
Here's an idea that F4J might like:
You could have a banner saying this:
MAN-HATING GOVERNMENT LOCKS SUPERDADS AWAY FROM THEIR KIDS!
Dads dessed as superheros could walk around with long sections of chains hanging off them, and wraped around them to dramatically emphasize the harsh restraint of government. You could even instersperse some Dads dressed in prison garb with Dads dressed as Super heros to more dramatically emphasize the transition from free to bound Dads.
Some members of your group should videotape this as well. It helps to keep the police honest when they show up. If they ask for your permit, break out a copy of the Constitution of the United States and refer them to Ammendment #1.
"Congess shall make no law... ...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peacebably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
I have a little pocket edition that was given to me by C-SPAN at a book faire.
It would be good if you could have real journalists at your event, but short of the members of your group should try to present the appearance of journalist coverage of every event. It really adds something to the effect of the protest.
I like to think of myself as a free lance investigative journalist/protestor who likes to present the news from a perspective that the mainstream media routinely fails to grasp, the male perspective. That gets kind of interesting when I'm actually a part of the protest, but hey, desperate times in a brave new world call for inovative strategies.
IMHO, members of the group should try to document the event in pictures and video for documentation and future planning.
Sincerely, Ray
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by Anonymous User on 11:41 AM December 1st, 2004 EST (#3)
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"Dads dessed as superheros could walk around with long sections of chains hanging off them, and wraped around them to dramatically emphasize the harsh restraint of government."
On second thought it would be much, much better to use plastic chains, and not metal ones. The more innocuous your stage props are the better.
Police in Los Angeles, and probably other places are very strict about the sticks that you can use on protest signs. No more than 1/4" thick, and no more than 2" wide. That really limits you to plaster lathe or Grape stakes.
I know of a true story of a woman who was protesting animal cruelty, and had one of those prode sticks used on elephants at the protest. Nothing happened, there was no violence she just had the elephant prode with her as a prop. She was arrested, and eventually wound up spending 30 days in jail. I recall she was one of the original mouseketeers for whatever that's worth.
ORGANIZING A PROTEST - here
Ray
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