New York City, Union Square Rally for #YesAllWomen, to STOP Violence Against Women
June 7, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
from a member of End Pornography and Patriarchy: The Enslavement and Degradation of Women (StopPatriarchy.org)
Photos: Special to Revolution
On a rainy day in NYC, a group gathered at Union Square to stand up against violence against women, in response to the vicious attack by a young man at the University of Santa Barbara, which left 6 women dead and 13 people injured. Dozens of people came together to voice their outrage against this culture of violence and degradation that is so pervasive in this society, that #YesALLWomen experience. Stop Patriarchy led this protest and speak-out, and challenged all who were there and who passed by to understand this NOT as an isolated incident but in fact a result of a patriarchal society which promotes male chauvinism, the objectification of women, and ‘me first’ mentality.
One young woman said she was particularly upset the day of the protest explaining, “When I told my boyfriend I was coming to this, he said LOL.” She went on to explain that he was taking a very relativist and cynical approach to all this, basically saying everyone has shit they need to deal with in their lives, and this is just another one of those things. She spoke out very righteously throughout this protest, voicing her outrage with the way people ignore this epidemic of violence against women, the way women swallow their anger, and the fact that all this IS intolerable and needs to be stood up against.
Many young men participated in this speak-out as well, most of them coming off the street after observing some of our speak-out. One young man said, “I feel like I am part of the problem. I observe these degrading things like women being cat called, but I don’t say anything. I understand now that this is wrong. I want to be a part of the solution.” He and others joined our protest and began struggling with others who approached us with disagreements.
For many who participated on this day, it was their first protest. There was a family of three generations of women, and for two of them, this was the first time they had ever done something like this. All of them had experienced some form of violence or degradation. The raw anger and impatience with a society which takes this kind of treatment against half of the people as a given, was palpable. Some newer people felt frustrated after struggling with others who disagreed and were not instantly won over, and over the fact that our contingent was relatively small. Some people with Stop Patriarchy explained that all movements start out with relatively small numbers, but what is most important is the fact that what we are saying is true, as it relates to reality. And because of this, we can move whole blocs of people.
We can and must inspire people through our courage to stand up against these outrages, so people can see they are not alone; that there is a force that isn’t taking this anymore, and is serious about fighting for the full liberation of women. Not enough people know this movement exists, and it was clear on this day that the more people are given the opportunity to know about this movement, more people will begin raising their sights, and fighting for a far better world.
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