Would you get naked in DC...

[kldliam]

and carry a BIG inflatable intact penis replica in order to get attention of BIG media on this issue?

[Night_Nurse]

I voted no. This issue is very important to me and I think I donate a considerable amount of time, effort and money to the cause, but I'm just not willing to get arrested. Plus, I really don't want anybody to see me naked and it's still pretty cold in DC this time of year! LOL!

Let me add, yes, I would be willing to get arrested if I thought it would make a huge difference but I think me being naked holding a penis would only bring negative attention to the cause.

[ulla]

Split post/ Would you get naked in DC?

It doubt it would get any meaningful media coverage. News station would not be willing to air footage due to the nudity and inflatable penis. At best it might get one-line coverage in the category of weird stuff, like drunken guys who run across soccer fields. The inevitable arrest and conviction for public indecency would follow you around for years, showing up on every background check for jobs, house purchases, mortgage and loan applications, etc.

[kldliam]

Ulla-

Civil disobedience is a common tactic of protesting and getting in the public eye. if we did more acts of civil disobedience perhaps we might get on the radar for once!

[mamajama]

I'm not opposed to civil disobedience and I've engaged in it myself for various causes. I just do not think the idea in the OP would be effective. Actually I think at this point it would hurt the cause rather than help it. So no way in hell would I do that.

[Serenagirl]

Look how far PETA has gone through one decade with this type of protest - they even have MANY celebrities defending their cause. I don't see a problem, we just need people to talk about the real truth behind circumcision and it has to be global.

________________________
Serena, DW to Nicolas, DS1 DS2 DD::

[mamajama]

Yes but I think a small band of naked lunatics waving around inflatable penises is not really going to have the same impact as a PETA protest. It will be lucky to receive a snippet in the 'news of the weird' section of an entertainment zine.


disclaimer: I am not saying that necessarily people doing this are 'lunatics', just that is the image that they would most likely convey.

[bluetoes]

Protests like that will just give people disdain for our cause. Like walking around with bloody fetus pictures at an abortion rally, only worse because you get arrested for being naked. We need to be taken seriously, not make ourselves fodder for news of the weird.

[Nathan1097]

Protests like that will just give people disdain for our cause. Like walking around with bloody fetus pictures at an abortion rally, only worse because you get arrested for being naked. We need to be taken seriously, not make ourselves fodder for news of the weird.

:

[ulla]

Originally Posted by kldliam

Ulla-

Civil disobedience is a common tactic of protesting and getting in the public eye. if we did more acts of civil disobedience perhaps we might get on the radar for once!

This is not civil disobedience because circumcision is not illegal in the United States. Also, circumcision and public nudity are two unrelated issues. I don't see any logical connection between the two. If one were to run around naked to protest laws prohibiting public nudity, that would be civil disobedience, but breaking a random law to protest something that is legal, is not. I don't think that this kind of public display is effective at all.

I know I shouldn't be, but I'm just surprised that people keep coming up with such unusual suggestions that they hope will help lower the circumcision rates but consistently overlook the most obvious, sure-fire, proven way to reduce circumcision rates on a large scale.

I devote my time exclusively to influencing health insurers and heath care provides, such as HMOs, to stop paying for and performing circumcisions. My goals are simple. Cut off the funding and the rates will drop dramatically. The effect will be almost immediate. I can measure my successes with this approach in the thousands of babies that were not circumcised due to my work. The circumcision rate in my region has been steadily dropping and I have played a role in that. I don't see circumcision as an epic battle of good versus evil, rather I see it as a public health issue and I approach it as such. In my experience, when it comes down to it, most people are too cheap or indifferent to pay for it themselves. If the insurers don't pay, most people don't bother. Eventually, the cultural stance on circumcision will catch up with reality. Change the behavior and the attitude change will follow.

[Quirky]

Intactivists don't need to be viewed as whack-jobs and freaks outside the mainstream -- we need to BE the mainstream. Running around naked with giant inflatable penises is only going to get people arrested for public indecency. It's not going to accomplish anything other than to make the movement seem like a bunch of crazies.

So, not only no, but HELL NO. Being nicely dressed and calmly approaching people in a friendly way is going to change far more hearts and minds than showing up on the 6 pm news for being freaks.

[boingo82]

Um, there are already plenty of folks who think intactivists are penis-obsessed nutcases. Protesting naked with giant inflatable penises is like loading their ammo for them.

[Frankly Speaking]

Originally Posted by Quirky

Intactivists don't need to be viewed as whack-jobs and freaks outside the mainstream -- we need to BE the mainstream. Running around naked with giant inflatable penises is only going to get people arrested for public indecency. It's not going to accomplish anything other than to make the movement seem like a bunch of crazies.

So, not only no, but HELL NO. Being nicely dressed and calmly approaching people in a friendly way is going to change far more hearts and minds than showing up on the 6 pm news for being freaks.

I couldn't agree more! We need to have the appearance of "people just like us." Our opposition does look at the photos from past Washington activities and try to pick us apart for our appearance characterizing us as "Whack jobs," "weird old hippies" and such. We need to have an appearance that mimicks the people we are trying to reach or better. At the baby fair I worked in January, I wore a blazer and a sweater instead of a tie. This gave me an air of professionalism but without the formality of a tie. I was well received. I suspect if I had worn sweats and sneakers, I would have gotten much less respect.



Frank

[kldliam]

ok-

so my reasons for posting were to try and find out:

1. How far you would personally go to try to end MGM
2. How far you would personally go to try and get BIG media attention

What is that old saying about publicity....there is no bad publicity?
Matter of opinion I guess.

Anyway, I am feeling a bit frustrated that big media still largely ignores us.
WHY????? HOW can we change this???? HOW do you MAKE MEDIA SEE THIS??? HOW do you make a COUNTRY SEE THIS???

HOW do you get the masses (via the media), who ignore you, to LISTEN, LOOK, THINK when you are on a shoe-string budget?

The internet only goes so far. We need to be in the media more, without a doubt. But how?

What's your bright idea?

[Night_Nurse]

I think if you had asked this years ago before I had children, I might be more willing to get arrested. But now I'm cautious. I think I'll do my children more good being at home than in jail. Even if I only got fined for being nude, that money would be better spent with my anti-circ mailings than paying fines and lawyer fees.
I do understand what you're saying about any publicity being better than none.

The best thing I can think of in order to get the media to acknowledge us is to have several big named celebrities speak out against circumcision. I know Alan Cummings is outspoken but he's from Europe and of course he's intact and it just won't be as well received here in the US then if he was a circ'd US born guy saying "hey, stop circing babies!". But we only have people like Jenny McCarthy selling tons of books about how a circ'd penis is "prettier", Nicole Richie saying foreskin is disgusting, and Pamela Anderson who supposedly did leave her boys intact but honestly, when people think of Pam, they think of the Tommy Lee video and he's circumcised (don't ask me how I know ). So...if we could get a few folks in Hollywood to speak out against it (on Oprah, Leno, Ellen, etc), we'd get more media attention.

You're right, the internet only goes so far. That's why whenever NoCirc sponsors an ad in a national baby magazine I try to donate. My plan for the new year was to sponsor a billboard. Obviously, that is local attention, not national, but at least it's something (I've put up the money and made some calls but I haven't placed the billboard ad just yet, hopefully before summer...).
We, individually and as a group, need to think of creative ways to spread the word. I thought aerial advertising (banner behind a plane) would be a great idea and spawn a lot of attention. Doing that for one day was going to cost more than twice what a monthly billboard would cost so I dropped that idea. I'm only one person. Maybe some cheap and creative ideas would be to call into radio talk shows, write letters to the newspaper editor, hold up banners on nationally broadcasted shows (think the Today show) or sporting events, bring up the issue at a townhall meeting with your state congress person (how your state shouldn't cover RIC with Medicaid payments), etc. It's late and I can't think of other ideas but I know some people here will have clever suggestions.

I just think everyone who is against it needs to do something. Placing a bumper sticker, wearing a t-shirt, writing your insurance company, posting on message boards, talking to pregnant friends, these are all things we can do to educate people everyday. It's very disheartening to read some of the things people out there say about intact males. So much work needs to be done. There IS power in numbers! If we all work together we can do greater good!

[bluetoes]

Originally Posted by ulla

I devote my time exclusively to influencing health insurers and heath care provides, such as HMOs, to stop paying for and performing circumcisions. My goals are simple. Cut off the funding and the rates will drop dramatically. The effect will be almost immediate. I can measure my successes with this approach in the thousands of babies that were not circumcised due to my work. The circumcision rate in my region has been steadily dropping and I have played a role in that. I don't see circumcision as an epic battle of good versus evil, rather I see it as a public health issue and I approach it as such. In my experience, when it comes down to it, most people are too cheap or indifferent to pay for it themselves. If the insurers don't pay, most people don't bother. Eventually, the cultural stance on circumcision will catch up with reality. Change the behavior and the attitude change will follow.

I would love to know who you write in the different companies as this is something I would like do myself. I can't believe in the times we live in with health costs skyrocketing insurance companies still pay for circumcisions!

[MilkTrance]

Here's the thing. They could have 2,000 naked protesters of different races, shapes, sizes, ages. The media will focus on the two or three female "hotties" of the bunch and sexualize the entire coverage.

[Frankly Speaking]

Originally Posted by kldliam

HOW do you get the masses (via the media), who ignore you, to LISTEN, LOOK, THINK when you are on a shoe-string budget?

I see this as the single biggest impediment in our movement, the shortage of cash to move the movement ahead. Just over the weekend, I saw a report of a social function that raised more money in one evening than the entire year's budget for NOCIRC and all the other intactivist organizations combined. I see many movements that have far, far more money and are not nearly as important as this one.

I myself have donated more money to the cause than all of my charitable contributions combined in my life but I realize that most involved in the movement are young, trying to support a family, save for college educations, etc. That's the nature of being young, there's just not much money to contribute to our cause or any cause. But seemingly insignificant amounts of money add up to amounts that can alter the course of events. Just 10 years ago, you could have put all the intactivists on a bus and now, there are thousands of us. At $5 or $10 each every year, we can have a public presence and a presence in the media and that is certainly an amount we can all afford. I challenge everyone here to make a donation, no matter how small, to one of the organizations and to vow to make a similar donation every year.



Frank

[Papai]

I've got to agree with everyone who says that this isn't the kind of attention we want. PETA isn't even a group I think we necessarily want to emulate. You mentioned that they have celebrity support. Um, they have Heather Mills, Pamela Anderson and Jenna Jameson. Not exactly the most credible spokespeople.

This cause, this movement, is classier than that. What we need to do is some serious fundraising.

[BamaDude]

I have to ask this: Is April Fool's Day the best possible day for us to march on Washington if we want our cause to be taken seriously?