Re: Statement on New York Festival Attacks

["bob brown" <vacirca@xxxxxxxxx>]

as long as the Left, both men and women don't take seriously the movement's
practical responsibility for stopping violence against women, we will always
be in this impossible position of denouncing  the State's cosmetic efforts
to stop male violence while offering women little in the way of practical
protection.  the way out of this box is for Left women and men to build a
real mass movement that can defend women against men's violence on a daily
basis, women's self defense groups, mass community reeducation drives for
men, pro-feminist men's groups and much more. the solution lies in
strengthening the networks of
grass roots women's self-defense groups,  women' shelters, anti-rape and
anti-domestic
violence groups who for years  have waged a diffcult , lonely fight against
male violence. the central park attacks give us all the opportunity to
broaden the base of the anti-male violence movement  and take away the
State's ability to manipulate this issue  for racist, classist ends. more
organizing and action against violent men  is what we need now on the Left.
bob brown
--
"solidarity means sharing the same risks" - Che
( la solidarita significa correre gli stessi rischi)

----------
>From: Katha Pollitt <kpollitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: M-Fem@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: Statement on New York Festival Attacks
>Date: Mon, Jun 26, 2000, 11:44 PM
>

> If the young men who attacked 50-plus women in the park had been
> suburban white boys and men, would they have been allowed to rampage
> without arrest? We cannot know. had it not been for ONE victim of the
> Puerto Rican Parade assaults, who made a huge fuss in the media, the
> perpetrators of the actual assaults might never have been sought.
> Certainly, the intitial response to the attack, from cops and Mayor
> alike, was to pooh-pooh the seriousness, NOT to go on a man hunt.
>   I'ts true that the glen ridge boys almost got away with it, and had
> much local sympathy.  but, for the record, they did not "torture" that
> retarded girl, or even "rape
>  her."  they cajoled and manipulated her into inserting objects into
> herself. Repulsive, and they deserved every minute of jail they
> eventually got -- but not rape or torture.
>   The picture given by that editorial writer (Rebecca?) is that white
> boys/men get away with sex crimes, and black/brown ones don't.  that
> isn't true.  MOST sexual criminals get away with it. The Central park
> attackers almost did and may yet -- we
> ll see what happens when the prosecution has to prove that a grimace
> isn't a smile and the defense gets to work on the jury about the
> scantily clad young women etc--as the rodney King video proves, juries
> see what they want to see in a video). Certainly, men of color
> assaulting women of color is not taken v seriously by justice system.
>   Finally, the solution that black and latina women should take care of
> this problem on their own seems pretty unserious. More like throwing a
> theoretical bone to the victims, while reserving practical sympathy--and
> practical help-- for the perpetrators. I don't think we'
> ll see this grouplet organizing female sex-crime courts up in Harlem.
> They'll be demonstrating for the accused.
>
> Katha
>