The anti-choicers were out in force this week, bringing in lots of families and teenagers in addition to the usual white college students and monks. We asked the Latino teenagers if they get paid as much as the college students. They didn't answer. That's fucked up.
One man came with two kids and a set of fetus dolls. He came over to some of us and said that according the math of population growth, it's clear that the world started 6000 years ago. These people are such lunatics.
Two of the monks stood across the street for over an hour blessing the clinic. One monk held up the words to his prayer the whole time. How dumb do you have to be need to look at the words to Hail Mary after the 57,000th time saying it? The third monk was as aggressive as always. He yelled after a woman on her way to work who showed no signs of being pregnant to choose life even after she said she wasn't going to the clinic. He also stopped a very pregnant women with her husband and daughter who were going grocery shopping. The husband said that they were keeping this baby because he had a job and he could afford it, but that if she got pregnant again, they wouldn't keep it because they wouldn't have any way to support a third kid. The monk and some church ladies couldn't let this go. Apparently, they're out there to protect the un-conceived as well.
All the teenagers seemed totally disinterested in praying or talking to patients, so we spent some time trying to convince them it was ridiculous for them to be out there. We told them that they were allying themselves with murderers and people who oppose condom use. We told them that their allies were anti gay. One church lady yelled back at us that she's against lesbians because they can't get pregnant. We laughed in her face. One of the teenage girls got so bored, she put on her ipod and started salsa dancing. Need to pray and dance at the same time? There's an app for that!
We also got a visit from the hate zone man who rode by on his bike and called us all mother fuckers in front of all the kids and then ran away.
As always, they didn't "save" anyone. No merits and graces this time!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
You're All Alone in the Hate Zone
This morning started out a bit scattered. There was a whole crew of monks and nuns at Dr. Emily's along with the familiar highly paid interns. One has to wonder why they can't get anyone out who doesn't do this for a living... Anyway, they were mostly in the back today, with monks wandering right into the driveway. There were some interns in the front praying. Only Laura tried to talk to any patients, but no one listened to her.
Midway through the morning, we got word that there were 25 protesters praying at Planned Parenthood a mile away. We diverted a bunch of escorts who were on their way to go there and send a bunch of people over on the bus only to find out the protesters had left and we had to recall everyone back to Dr. Emily's. Meanwhile Bronx 12 news showed up and we did some interviews and drowned out the bigots' interviews. We also hummed along with their off key prayers. One of these week's we'll remember the pitch pipe.
When everyone got back from Planned Parenthood, there were around 40 of us and only a handful of protesters left. That's when the fun started. We did all the usual chants and a few new ones. "Who's the killer? You're the killer! Your side murdered Dr. Tiller." "Mantengan sus rosarios lejos de mis ovarios." My personal favorite requires explanation. One of the protesters on our side chalked up the sidewalk with pro-choice and pro-women messages. At one point, the bigots left their pen and we thought they had gone home. Our chalk artist went over and wrote "Hate Free Zone" in their pen. Just as she was finishing up, a crazy bigot ran up from behind her and jumped at her. (The cops just stood there as we started screaming.) Crazy bigot got all angry with the chalk and poured his coffee on it to erase it, but the only part he erased was the word "Free." Hence, a new chant for us: "You're all alone! In your hate zone!"
Crazy bigot spend the rest of the time alternating between praying and cursing at us. We told him God could hear him even when he said "Fuck" but he didn't seem to care. He also told us we were ugly, while making a motion like we should slit our throats, and told us to close our legs. We will certainly keep our legs far from him.
Next week a lot of us will be in DC for the March for Equality (see http://equalityacrossamerica.org/blog/?page_id=19 if you want to come too). If you're not going, or you're just going for the day on Sunday and want to go to both, please let us know. Email nycacd@gmail.com
Midway through the morning, we got word that there were 25 protesters praying at Planned Parenthood a mile away. We diverted a bunch of escorts who were on their way to go there and send a bunch of people over on the bus only to find out the protesters had left and we had to recall everyone back to Dr. Emily's. Meanwhile Bronx 12 news showed up and we did some interviews and drowned out the bigots' interviews. We also hummed along with their off key prayers. One of these week's we'll remember the pitch pipe.
When everyone got back from Planned Parenthood, there were around 40 of us and only a handful of protesters left. That's when the fun started. We did all the usual chants and a few new ones. "Who's the killer? You're the killer! Your side murdered Dr. Tiller." "Mantengan sus rosarios lejos de mis ovarios." My personal favorite requires explanation. One of the protesters on our side chalked up the sidewalk with pro-choice and pro-women messages. At one point, the bigots left their pen and we thought they had gone home. Our chalk artist went over and wrote "Hate Free Zone" in their pen. Just as she was finishing up, a crazy bigot ran up from behind her and jumped at her. (The cops just stood there as we started screaming.) Crazy bigot got all angry with the chalk and poured his coffee on it to erase it, but the only part he erased was the word "Free." Hence, a new chant for us: "You're all alone! In your hate zone!"
Crazy bigot spend the rest of the time alternating between praying and cursing at us. We told him God could hear him even when he said "Fuck" but he didn't seem to care. He also told us we were ugly, while making a motion like we should slit our throats, and told us to close our legs. We will certainly keep our legs far from him.
Next week a lot of us will be in DC for the March for Equality (see http://equalityacrossamerica.org/blog/?page_id=19 if you want to come too). If you're not going, or you're just going for the day on Sunday and want to go to both, please let us know. Email nycacd@gmail.com
Sunday, September 27, 2009
GAMETIME!!
So, 40 Days for Life has officially commenced, but nothing to fear! Last Saturday, we outnumbered those right-wing, anti-choice bigots 10-1! We chanted, shouted, sang, danced, and escorted women successfully into Dr. Emily's. The monks couldn't take the heat, and the nuns (and this is the first time we've seen nuns out here) chickened out, so they all went home after about an hour or so. Heh!
For everyone who came out to support Dr. Emily's Clinic, a big thank you :) If you haven't come yet, or couldn't make it last week, please come next week! Rumor has it that the anti-choicers are strategically concentrating their forces for October 3rd, which is next Saturday. Last year, the entire block was literally covered with them, so we'll need to really mobilize.
We still have a long struggle ahead to ensure full reproductive rights for ALL women, so spread the word about next Saturday!!
For everyone who came out to support Dr. Emily's Clinic, a big thank you :) If you haven't come yet, or couldn't make it last week, please come next week! Rumor has it that the anti-choicers are strategically concentrating their forces for October 3rd, which is next Saturday. Last year, the entire block was literally covered with them, so we'll need to really mobilize.
We still have a long struggle ahead to ensure full reproductive rights for ALL women, so spread the word about next Saturday!!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
A summer of clinic defenses
I was going to try to summarize the summer of clinic defenses, but there was too much to say. Here's what happened yesterday (and maybe others can fill in other stories).
There's this creepy monk who isn't content to just pray at us like the other monks. He yells at patients and walks right up to escorts and asks us about our souls. Yesterday, he walked right up to escort Z like he was in a trance, and then jumped at her like someone's little brother trying to scare them. He walked around in a trance for most of the morning. What a joke!
An older woman was hanging around near the front entrance for a while then went to the door and walked in. We weren't sure if she was a protester or what. Then she came from around the block having come out the back entrance. She stood around some more, and then asked us what kind of insurance the clinic accepted. We told her she'd have to ask inside. She said she'd already been inside and had forgotten to ask and didn't want to go back in because she'd have to pass by the monks out back. So I offered to walk her through. She was just looking for someone to get a Pap smear, and when the monks had gone after her about her "abortion" she just yelled back, "I'm 67! I've been through menopause!" Inside the clinic, we found out that her blue cross/blue shield plan doesn't cover pap smears for women over 50. Who knew? As we walked out together, she said, "You know, I don't know why anyone would want to bring a kid into this work in this economy. These men have no business telling women they have to have a kid."
One of the Spanish speaking protesters was out today, and we didn't have any Spanish speakers on our side, which meant we really couldn't counter whatever lies she was telling. If you're reading this and you speak Spanish--we need you.
The protesters really only managed to talk to one English speaking patient today. And it was an accident. A woman and her mother? aunt? older friend? walked right up to them to ask where the clinic was. We told them that the protesters were trying to shut down the clinic and that they could come right in. The protesters of course yelled after them to save the "baby" and about all the choices they have. It's amazing, in all these weeks, they've never stopped anyone from going into the clinic. The only people who stop to talk to them for any length of time are old ladies walking by on the street (and as it turns out not even all the old ladies want anything to do with them). Maybe it's time the pack up and leave the South Bronx alone.
There's this creepy monk who isn't content to just pray at us like the other monks. He yells at patients and walks right up to escorts and asks us about our souls. Yesterday, he walked right up to escort Z like he was in a trance, and then jumped at her like someone's little brother trying to scare them. He walked around in a trance for most of the morning. What a joke!
An older woman was hanging around near the front entrance for a while then went to the door and walked in. We weren't sure if she was a protester or what. Then she came from around the block having come out the back entrance. She stood around some more, and then asked us what kind of insurance the clinic accepted. We told her she'd have to ask inside. She said she'd already been inside and had forgotten to ask and didn't want to go back in because she'd have to pass by the monks out back. So I offered to walk her through. She was just looking for someone to get a Pap smear, and when the monks had gone after her about her "abortion" she just yelled back, "I'm 67! I've been through menopause!" Inside the clinic, we found out that her blue cross/blue shield plan doesn't cover pap smears for women over 50. Who knew? As we walked out together, she said, "You know, I don't know why anyone would want to bring a kid into this work in this economy. These men have no business telling women they have to have a kid."
One of the Spanish speaking protesters was out today, and we didn't have any Spanish speakers on our side, which meant we really couldn't counter whatever lies she was telling. If you're reading this and you speak Spanish--we need you.
The protesters really only managed to talk to one English speaking patient today. And it was an accident. A woman and her mother? aunt? older friend? walked right up to them to ask where the clinic was. We told them that the protesters were trying to shut down the clinic and that they could come right in. The protesters of course yelled after them to save the "baby" and about all the choices they have. It's amazing, in all these weeks, they've never stopped anyone from going into the clinic. The only people who stop to talk to them for any length of time are old ladies walking by on the street (and as it turns out not even all the old ladies want anything to do with them). Maybe it's time the pack up and leave the South Bronx alone.
40 Days for Women's Lives KICKOFF 9/19
We've been defending Dr. Emily's Clinic in the South Bronx from anti-choice protesters for the past couple of months and we need your help! The 40 Days for Life Campaign (http://www.40daysforlife.com/splash.cfm) is about to kickoff. Hundreds of anti-choice protesters will be outside of clinics all across the country - preventing women from entering the clinic and providing misleading and false information about reproductive health.
Join us on the 19th for a discussion and presentation on why we need to rebuild an abortion rights movement led by Jennifer Roesch. Followed by an interactive training on clinic defense in preparation for the 40 Days Campaign.
Save the Time and Date!!
Join us on the 19th for a discussion and presentation on why we need to rebuild an abortion rights movement led by Jennifer Roesch. Followed by an interactive training on clinic defense in preparation for the 40 Days Campaign.
Save the Time and Date!!
| Date: | Saturday, September 19, 2009 |
| Time: | 1:00pm - 3:00pm |
| Location: | La Pregunta Arts Cafe |
| Street: | Amsterdam between 135th & 136th |
| City/Town: | New York, NY |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)