I Am Woman Watch Me Vote

As I roam the streets of NYC this week, giving over to my lifelong journalist fantasy, please note that in my world, I don't have to be politically objective. It's all liberal, all the time. Some offensive language will be used in the spirit of giving you the uncensored picture and for purely humorous effect! The thing I did most this weekend was laugh - so much good will and creativity it was astounding!

My weekend started early Saturday morning when I took the 4,5 to Borough Hall in Brooklyn Heights to join the March for Women's Lives rally. (Visitors you've been here with me, this is the starting point for the brooklyn tour.) It was mostly women but there were a few men joining us. Several indviduals representing local Brooklyn government spoke and a womyn's (tongue firmly in cheek) a cappella group named, "Betty" sang "America the Beautiful." They introduced themselves by saying, "Get up and sing with us cause we dragged our asses all the way from Manhattan to tell the Republicans, "We're fierce, we're feminist, and we're in your fucking face."

I about fell over laughing. There were definitely some militant sisters marching next to grandmothers doctors, mothers, Christians for Choice,and sure enough, Republicans for Choice - 25,000 of us from Brooklyn to Manhattan. It was girl power all the way!

Some chants heard along the bridge:

"2, 4, 6, 8, we're the ones who ovulate."
"George Bush is a sexist, send that bastard back to Texas."
"2, 4, 6, 8, we don't have to procreate."
"George Bush is a wussy, keep your hands off our pussy."
"Keep your rosaries off my ovaries."

Buttons and stickers that proclaimed:

"Well-behaved women rarely make history."
"When Women Vote, Women Win."
"W. Like a Rock. Only Dumber."
"Teresa for President" (with the Heinz ketchup bottle as the backdrop.)
"I love pro-choice New York."
"Between a Dick and a Bush, we all got screwed."

There were lots of policemen (note: white plastic handcuffs hanging from their belts in photos) on the bridge but they were smiling and laughing with us. I asked one if I could stand on a bench to take a picture. He said, 'I'm turning my head - so I don't see what youse doing, but lady, don't jump."

Some of Randall Terry's group (Operation Rescue) were waiting for us on the Manhattan side. But they were small in number. When I arrived at City Hall Park, Eve Ensler (author of The Vagina Monologues - I highly recommend the play if you have occasion to see it.) was just finishing her speech. She ended it with - "So get your vaginas to the polls in November and vote!" Peggy Kerry, John Kerry's sister, an actress from "One Life to Live" whose name I cannot recall, along with women from several ethnic groups in New York talking about various women's health issues. By then, we were hot and tired so we headed to the East Village for a burger at Life Cafe.

The East Village could be considered one of NYC's most liberal neighborhoods so I was surprised when I was confronted by a less liberal agitator. As we were coming out of Life, a women sitting with her kids yelled at me, "Get that pro-choice shit out of my face."

She continued and I finally said, "Listen lady, I am standing on a street corner. I can stand here. If you don't like it, you can turn your head." (The pro-choice shit she is referring to is the sign in the photo of me on the bridge. It was leaning upside down against my leg outside of Life as I stood on the corner.) Some women having lunch yelled to me, 'You tell her, sister!" and "You ladies you just have a great afternoon!"

The pro-life person kept yelling at me so we left. We also encountered some not very friendly vibes as we walked by a fire station - which surprised me at first but later, it made sense considering the demographics of NYFD.

As we walked futher, we came across a man screaming in the street, "My name is Francisco Ricardo Gerado ... don't run away, I'm looking for nude models." But that's just a typical New York moment. Sort of like a commerical break. Although his demeanor reminded me of Mandy Patakin's character in The Princess Bride "My name is Iago .. . and I'm here to avenge the death of my father. Prepare to die."

I heard there were lots of celebrities but I only saw Maggie Gyllenhall (she was in The Secretary and Mona Lisa Smile) She looked hot, tired, but inspired like the rest of us!

In the small world category, the woman in my photos on the bridge with a baseball hat, jean skirt, and grey tank is a girl from San Diego who went to school at Mizzou! She's been to KC and knew lots of STA girls but no one I knew. Her girlfriend in the cowboy hat and pink Planned Parenthood shirt is a lawyer at Physicans for Reproductive Choice, the non-profit where Alicia (in striped skirt) my old rooomate from Brooklyn used to work. I noticed when I was downloading some of my photos that there was a woman with a Royals hat on in the crowd- I wished I'd noticed before! Stay tuned for more "Kansas" interaction on Sunday.

The barristers among you - notice the people in my photos with the neon green baseball hats. They were legal observers from the New York Lawyers Guild who were on hand to witness/support any issues that arose.

You'll be receiving an email shortly that gives you access to photos from Saturday and Sunday from snapfish.com. Enjoy!

Up next, a report about the Anti-Bush rally on Sunday, August 29. Half a million strong...!