SlutWalk NYC Preparing to Take Over Union Square

[xchrom]

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/10/slutwalk_nyc_pr.php

Occupy Wall Street is not the only protest in town. Starting around 11 a.m. today, SlutWalk NYC will be in Union Square Park to challenge sexual violence in New York and abroad. If you're expecting to see every participant strolling the streets dressed in lingerie and stilettos, think again. Organizers say the event will tackle sexual violence in New York City and high-profile cases involving NYPD officers and former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

"People think it's a bunch of people parading around in costumes, but it's activists and advocates, rape survivors, and allies -- a group of people getting together to raise awareness," said Alison Turkos, one of the many organizers. SlutWalk NYC is part of a larger movement that started in Canada. On Jan. 24, a cop told a group of college students in Toronto that "Women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not be victimized." The cop's remark sparked the first SlutWalk rally in Toronto and has since spread worldwide to major U.S. cities and to places as far as London and Cape Town, South Africa. (The timing of SlutWalk NYC coincides with a piece in the Wall Street Journal that reports that NYPD officers have been telling women in areas affected by the Park Slope rapist to avoid wearing skirts and shorts because it's "easy access.")

According to SlutWalkToronto.com, more than 100 loosely affiliated events, often referred to as "satellites," have occurred or will occur worldwide this year.

To date, about 6,000 people have RSVP'ed to attend the New York event via Facebook. Organizers say women should dress however they want to assert that women should be able to wear whatever they want without being blamed for what happens to them.

[Major Hogwash]

1. Geezus, this may be bad timing considering all the mayhem.

If the Jets or Giants have home games, this is going to be a major crowd control problem.

[NashVegas]

2. Wow! How Fucking Awesome!

If I had any residual idea that the Slutwalk people were well-intentioned, but misguided, this pretty much chucks it out the window.