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This is the letter Aura Bogado wrote to Not In Our Names when she learned the Los Angeles leader had sought the endorsement of Hustler and Larry Flynt: [See also Aura Bogado's article entitled Hustling the Left.] I am outraged that NION LA would use an endorsement from a misogynist like Larry Flynt to garner attention to what may very well be one of the biggest demonstrations in recent history. I will be in New York because as a woman of color, I want to stand against oppression and domination in all its forms. Sexism and racism are a flagrant part of Flynt's capitalist exploitation. I visited larryflynt.com and linked to an interesting article titled, "The Rape Shield Law: It's Just Wrong". In it, Flynt essentializes feminists as "anti-men", and says that Rape Shield laws create an "uneven playing field" for rape victims. It's very easy to kill Iraqis when we de-humanize them. By de-humanizing women through pornography it's similarly easy to rape them and say laws are created that give these women and unfair advantage. For these reasons and more, remove me from NION LA's list, and take a minute to consider who "Our" stands for "Not In Our Name". To me, "our" stands for the People, not the Pigs like Flynt. I want to create alliances, but not when they threaten the core of my liberation. Aura Bogado Producer/Host KPFK 90.7 FM, Los Angeles I think that even if we are not signatories to the Not In Our Name petition, which is an anti-War-on-Iraq statement, even if we aren't members of the NION organization officially, we ought to write letters like this. What is really disgusting about this is that Not In Our Names originated with feminists, during a meeting of feminists, and was quickly co-opted by Leftist anti-war men. Here is a link to the original pledge. http://www.notinourname.net/statement_conscience.html If you look at the original signatories to the (already-co-opted) statement of conscience, you will find the names of *many* radical feminists incorporated into a longer list. These feminists originated the campaign, and I wrote about this on the old Ms Boards, I guess, because I can't find it here, so frustrating-- a lot of the links and information aren't around anymore on the internet, that I can find. Here are some of the names on the list of original signatories: Medea Benjamin Stephanie Coontz Angela Davis Rosalyn Deutsche Ani Di Franco Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, professor, California State University, Hayward Barbara Ehrenreich Eve Ensler Jane Fonda Vivian Gornick bell hooks Harriet Lerner Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. representative Robin Morgan Toni Morrison Katha Pollitt Amy Ray, Indigo Girls Adrienne Rich Angelica Salas, director, Campaign for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles Angela Sanbrano, exec. dir., Central American Resource Center Susan Sarandon Starhawk Gloria Steinem Alice Walker Rebecca Walker Naomi Wallace On their main page they now post a greatly edited list of signatories which now includes almost no recognizable feminist leaders' names. But how hideous are the actions of this particular asshole who sought Flynt's endorsement, given the members, signatories, and original founders of the NION project. |