Guest post from Occupy Rapid City:
This Saturday, April 21,
2012 at 12:45 pm Occupy Rapid City will walk from Main Street Square to KOTA in
order to shine a light on the role of the media in disempowering women. KOTA
continues to broadcast Rush Limbaugh in spite of his documented attacks on
women. He has repeatedly and infamously referred to any women who are
politically active on equality issues as “femi-nazis.” He seems to think that
the only appropriate role for women in the 21st Century is to remain barefoot
and pregnant.
Not only does KOTA continue to broadcast Rush Limbaugh, but it
also aligns itself with the one percent corporate interests in this country,
rather than the ninety-nine percent of the rest of the population. The more
general role of the corporate owned and controlled media locally and nationally
in marginalizing and disempowering women was exposed in a recent showing in
Rapid City of Miss Representation. This film highlighted the many ways that
women are sexualized and distorted on a daily basis in our media culture. It is
a documentary film by Jennifer Siebel Newsom and features interviews with
Condaleezza Rice, Katie Couric, Nancy Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Geena Davis,
Rachel Maddow, Margeret Cho, and Rosario Dawson. It documents how the media only
wants to focus on trivial and sexualized aspects of women, instead of having an
honest discourse on the issues that women are raising. One example in the film
was the media’s focus on Sarah Palin’s legs and physical appearance instead of
the substance of her political stances on the issues.
The recent local
showing of this film was sponsored by PROJECT RESPECT.ORG, an organization that
“works to combat sexual and gender based violence amongst South Dakota’s Native
American youth by promoting healthy, responsible and respectful relationships.”
Proceeds from the event went to WAVI-Working Against Violence, Inc., an
organization that “works to create a community free of domestic abuse and sexual
assault through advocacy, education and support services.”
The
following statement is by Jim Peterson of Occupy Rapid City:
As you may or
may not be aware, the Occupy Rapid City group has weekly demonstrations every
Saturday, beginning at noon at Main Street Square. The overarching theme is
always corporate control of every facet of our lives, but a weekly emphasis is
chosen based on a timely issue currently in the limelight. This Saturday, April
21, we will try to bring to the attention of the public/media the concerns
depicted in the recently shown movie Miss Representation. More specifically we
will try and connect the dots between the media and the objectification and
degradation of women. We will meet as usual at the Square, at noon, with
appropriate signs and then around 12:45 walk the two blocks to the KOTA studio
to once again shine a light on Rush Limbaugh’s disgusting behavior, vis-à-vis
women. The previous demonstration at KOTA was an appropriate response to a
specific episode, but the bigger issues pointed out by Miss Representation need
to be addressed also.
We would encourage every woman you know (and men !!) to
join us for an hour or so this Saturday. The reality is that one short
demonstration is not going to affect significant change, which is why Occupy
groups step up continuously…. PLEASE take the time to join us and encourage all
your friends and group members to do likewise. Signage which speaks to the
points raised in the Miss Representation film would be most helpful and
appropriate. If anyone has any questions have them call me at (605) 342-6245.
Thanks for all that you do to make our community a better place……..Jim
Petersen
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For More Information:
Mary Ellen Uptain
605.341.0724
Jim Peterson 605.342.6245
Occupy Rapid City
occupyrapidcity.org
