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newer-older-profile-gbook-notes- e-mail-dland take back the night. 04.17.02 at 10:40 pm 0 comments so far TAKE BACK THE NIGHT women�s annual march of solidarity to protest violence against women. could an epileptic sue the police for having flashing lights without sirens? without the warning of sirens, they could have a seizure because of the flashing lights. the rally... Sabrina Margarita Alcantara Tan was the keynote speaker. i missed the first hour, but i am thoroughly content that she was there...for some reason that took some of the heterosexism out of the event. radical cheerleaders, among other "shows." i can't really remember. violence in any "real" form fucks with my head. why? did you know...every two minutes someone is raped in the united states. the march... ONE: get out of your homes/and into the street/andtake back the night! boy, i haven't walked that much in some time. it was a multimediatic event...with our voices, hands, video cameras, horns, blinding whistles, drums. a boy playing tennis yelled, "what makes you think you have the right to do this?" a girl yelled, "fuck you." and he said something about people coming on the court. and so they did and chased him. but the march continued. is that what it's supposed to be about? TWO: women unite/take back the night we passed faces of bewilderment poking out from their dorm windows. girls and boys alike. no, not everyone has the same sentiments. no, not everyone knew what take back the night was. and no, no they didn't know how to take it back. we walked through a tunnel and a bucket of water was dumped from a dorm room above. people yelled back as the dark figure backed into the room. they asked the girl, "are you okay?" and yet she marched alone. it was fucked up. we said, "that's fucked up." and we laughed. is that what it's supposed to be about? THREE: read our lips/no means no! we passed a sign�"secretaries week." i thought that "holiday" was out dated. apparently not. how many people in bellingham will be raped tonight? FOUR: fight for your right/to walk safely at night! we congregated in red square. it is not politically red. the square is made of brick and all the buildings surrounding the square are brick. we gathered in a large circle without breaks. there were clusters of people beyond the circle. within the circle was fire and people who do stuff with it. what are they called? it was take back the night in conjunction with the earth week rally. that way i won't forget the interconnectedness of everything. FIVE: hey, hey, ho, ho/hate crimes have got to go! [we didn't do this one.] a boy was squatting with the bucket of water for the fire people. a circle of people surrounded him. is this what it's about? SIX: violence [clap clap]/end it [clap clap] this man should not be here. he has sexually assaulted four women. he should not be here at a rally for women's safety, for an event against violence against women. get the fuck out. fuck you. this is our space. SEVEN: hey, hey, ho, ho/all rape has got to go! he was [like] a trapped animal. he grabbed a bike and rode, but circled around within the circle. then, while passing the small circle of women, one grabbed his bike and pushed him down. yellingyellingyelling. somethingsomethingsomething. is this what it's supposed to be about? EIGHT: our bodies/our lives/our right to decide where do i fit into this? it reminded me that i don't know how to use the volume of my voice. it reminded me that i can't march as a woman. it showed me, once again, the violence that i should be more wary of. that i have been lucky. that it's only a matter of time. NINE: women united/will never be defeated! i am left with a painful feeling in my chest and sour taste in my mouth. is this what taking back the night means? TEN: 1, 2, 3, 4/we won't take it anymore! i was standing with my peers during the march. we were a bulge in the group�we crossed the center line of the road. we were the center of the group. it left us between the cheers and chanting. so we had to reconcile two different cheers, which one should we choose? we were confused when both sides were doing the same cheer but were at different points. how could we be part of both contradicting sides simultaneously? ELEVEN: we're free to march/we're free to roam/we won't shut up/we won't stay home i'm never on ONE side. not a boy or girl one hundred percent of the time. riding the barriers. i can't even claim one single ethnic community as mine. take back the night didn't address this. should it have? no, i don't suppose so. although, said keynote speaker did, just by being there in a way. actually, no, i just thought of myself when she spoke. so, perhaps she did. i'm completely confused now. what does take back the night accomplish? or, rather, what does it accomplish for me? does it have to accomplish anything for me? or is it a visual deterrent? no, that's not it either. maybe it's all of these things simultaneously. it must be. it has to be, otherwise it would only serve one type of person. it resulted in a cacophony of feelings in my mind. pain, confusion, joy, fear, anger, hope. i'm not sure what to feel. We are not here to consider the appeal of mute ruins, the hollowness of reason, the veneer of American order� this garden is not about charm nor the mathematics of living form. This is about survival, something old roses understand. Telling the story, we are. (Frances Driscoll, from �Here, Among Old Roses�)
>check out bamboogirl.com TWELVE: what do we want?/women's liberation!/when do we want it?/now!
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