[Tbtn] Re: Today's SAAM meeting

[Ariel Clemenzi-Allen]

Hi,

Michelle makes some excellent points. Let me clarify what I offered to do:

I did not intend to give a "talk" on self-defense, but to actually "teach" women to yell as I do in self-defense classes. This would include a brief demo of breathing deeply-- which can help women to yell louder and longer, and then having the croud practice yelling together several times. I put teach in quotation marks because I think that a lot of women already know how to yell... this would be an opportunity for everyone at the rally to use their voices together, to hear the power of their voices, and to get comfortable with yelling in public. In this way I think that yelling at the rally could help to create the atmosphere you described when you wrote: "to me TBTN is about being loud, big and demanding that society take women and violence against them serious".

I definately share your concern about not wanting to reiterate the idea that women should not be out alone at night, however, I do not see how yelling as a group would foster that idea. In my personal experience with self-defense, having learned how to yell (and other skills from self-defense) has made me personally feel more comfortable and confident being alone on the streets at any time of day/night.  

I also definately share your concern for not wanting to perpetuate the idea that it is a woman's responsibility to not become a victim. Sexual assault and rape is NEVER the victim's/survivor's fault, but again, I'm not sure how learning to use one's voice in a strong, assertive, and empowering way directly relates to that. 

Thank you so much for bringing up your concerns about this! I would really like to hear other concerns, or know if this response has addressed any of the concerns you mentioned. So, please feel free to email me directly or to the whole group to continue this discussion-- it's an important one i think. Also, let me state again that I'm not totally attached to this idea and if it really makes anyone feel uncomfortable then I wouldn't want to do it.

Thanks again!
Ariel