Topless Self Expression, Noise, & Using the Right Platform
As a fan of trying and adapting to new & emerging technologies I try to understand what they are used for and how.
Not only do I try to create a process around how I approach using them but I also make sure I look at the patterns and other factors make me use them effectively. When I share my stories or searching for feedback on creating awareness about a few of the causes I am a supporter of I try to use this platforms to convince you.
Boobs as Weapons of Protest or Self Expression
Part of my morning routine after I spend valuable time with my daughter Is reading @michaeldcc’s blog (one of my favorite blogs). I have many things in common with Michael although we don’t always agree, he understands that as long as we have common interests we can respect each others beliefs and still keep a healthy & very positive relationship.
Michael post on the University of Puerto Rico Student arrested because she decided to protest by being topless with the purpose of defending women’s rights regarding how a man can be publicly topless and woman can’t.
Michael shared Jay Fonseca’s video (I applaud Jay for giving Charlene another platform to share her story) he also points to the fact that the Charlene Gonzalez got arrested for violating a law of showing too much and that there are many laws locally that are not enforced so why choose to enforce this on.
Sadly Jay Fonseca decided to use a bad example by pointing the finger at a certain religious group via one of his tweets.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/jayfonsecapr/status/193299105609551873″]
Other Ways Laws are Broken
I think Jay could have done a better job at using other examples where laws are not broken. I would like him to realize that by pointing at a group will not get the issue fixed or at least get this person the support she needs to allow her to express herself and improve women’s rights. I am not a fan of religious groups but I hate the fact when someone who has the power to communicate via traditional channels uses that same power in a way that can create more division than unity especially when it had nothing to do with Charlene getting arrested.
Some pet owners break the law
Laws here are broken on animal rights we see how many dogs are abandoned how pet-owners like my neighbor up front are borderline between abuse and taking ok care of the dog by keeping him on a leash all day.
Politicians and even neighbors make too much noise
We have politicians blasting music and messages with the purpose of brainwashing those who vote into voting for them. We have neighbors during the holidays (and throughout the year) blasting music and nobody gets arrested. I believe that Jay should apologize to that particular group from the sense that not all of them make inappropriate noise and he was not fair in just signaling them.
The Right Platform
I watched an interview and heard how Charlene was explaining the censorship from photos she has posted on Facebook that to her had an artistic value. She also recognizes that it is a private platform. I am big supporter also of breastfeeding and Facebook’s policies even prohibit those picture. Sadly Facebook or any other third party platform has to deal with laws against nudity etc which is the main reason why they won’t allow you to post pictures of that nature. This might be critical when you are trying to get your effort of the ground if this is your main approach at the protest.
A blog is the best platform in opinion to communicate and create awareness of any effort online.
Why give the success of your effort away to a platform that the masses use and will not allow you to use a new way of approaching an issue (even if that means nudity).
I believe in sharing how you feel about a certain subject with those around you. If people are not paying attention then you need to find a disruptive way of sharing your story (as long as you are willing to accept the consequences).
I think that Charlene has a great opportunity to run her effort and protest for women and human rights. I still think using social outposts like Facebook, twitter, and Google + is a great way to approach it as long as you point to your site or blog. By using your blog as your Home Base it brings those with common interests closer and with a direct channel to you and your community.
Although Charlene uses her breasts as a weapon of changing minds maybe leveraging a blog will get her even further. If she needs help in setting up a blog or enhancing one she already has she can contact me and I would gladly help in any way I can.
Supporting those who Fight for Human Rights
We need more people like Charlene without fear of expressing themselves. But agreeing with many of the points of my friend Michael I do believe she needs immerse herself into what she is fighting for and find other channels so she accomplish her objectives.
What are your thoughts on using online tools to express yourself and fight for your beliefs and the rights of others?
What approach do you take when you think there is an injustice? What tips do you have for Charlene?
I agree with both Micheal and you on that “she needs to immerse herself into what she is fighting for and find other channels so she can accomplish her objectives.” On the other hand, I watched the video of Charlene’s interview with Jay Fonseca (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A0PgHYjT7Bs) and it seemed to me that she, like many others, needs to understand the purpose of projection on media (be it traditional or social). More than make a point on the social inequalities between men and women, she publicly announced very personal and family issues, giving complete names the people she described in her accounts.
Blogs can be very powerful channels. A chliche fits in here: with great power comes great responsability. Through blogs, people are given the capacity to transmit messages, much like journalists. But journalists, although many forget, are given Ethics classes as part of their college curriculums. Who gives bloggers lessons on ethics? Who regulates and sanctions bloggers on content? Who protects the rights of those whose personal information is diclosed? The FCC? Not really. Hardly even on traditional channels.
Hector,
You can cleary see she is hurt. I would have not named people on TV (or better yet gone to a TV Show to express my feelings).
I think if people where more open about the struggles and injustices maybe others would think twice about hurting people.
I agree with you she should have taken another angle to gain support but her approach was sharing her very intimate story in an unorthodox way.
We can all learn from this.
As for censoring bloggers ( I think many people do that already).
As a blogger you have the responsibility of doing what you think is good. That will also serve as a gauge of those who will follow, read your content, and support your efforts.
I think the magic of online platforms is that eventually someone will let you know you might be out of line. It is your job a blogger or reader to make your own judgement.
Thanks for sharing your feedback.
The blogosphere is self-regulating. People decide what to watch and what not. tha makes it an ideal platform to share messages. Personally I follow a simple rule when it comes to writing: Never write anything I wouldn’t dare say in a normal conversation.
I saw that girl’s inteerview and have mixed feelings. She’s a professional actress to begin. And she can fake emotions as she sees fit. Notice how she got dressed and projected herself on TV, as a victim. The day she did her “performance” she looked totally normal.
Raul,
I think Jay was correct in singling out the religious group in his comment. While you may call the police in on noisy neighbors, it is very hard to do the same for a religious congregation. As someone who has previously complained to the police regarding such activities, the first thing they ask when you make a noise complaint is: is it coming from a religious service? If so, they can’t intervene.
I do not think that is actually written unto law, but in Puerto Rico the separation of church and state is not strictly enforced and police officers appear to err on the side of caution.
While 140 characters were not enough to expand on his point (although he could have followed up on it with a later tweet), I think ultimately Jay’s point IS valid, and he should not have to apologize to the religious group, at least not while Michael keeps insulting and shaming the student in such a chauvinistic way. Now that is something that I take issue with and it is very sad how in Puerto Rico women’s rights are dismissed so easily. Michael should be called out for his utter lack of respect of women as shown on his latest blog post.
@twitter-14795231:disqus I see your point on one side but on the other side if she is going after her rights she should go all out.
I guess your example on a religious congregation making lots of noise is a good one. My issue with Jay was the fact that hey actually named a specific religion when all of them do it.
Here even when you call the cops on the neighbors very little is done and similar to your experience I have had the same happen with noises made by politicians, neighbors, and the list goes on.
We have to improve overall human rights here on the Island and we have the right of our point of view. @Prometeopr:disqus makes a few good points on the Girl being an actress and acting very differently on TV than when she got arrested.
I agreed more with the part where Michael gives her the advice that she needs to go all out. In her case she says she is topless but she is covering her chest with her hair. You either are all out (which I don’t see anything wrong with that) or you cover yourself which would have not created any issue in the first place.
I agree with you where it might seem Michael’s post was chauvanistic I guess it depends on what perspective you look at it. I Still believe that a guy like Jay should at least clarify that there are other situations like this and it is not unique to one religion or sect.
I think I’ll have to disagree with your assessment that she should “go all out”. There are many ways to protest, and dismissing any one act as not being “enough” is dangerous. Elcolao’s blog post on the matter touches on this (see Rosa Parks).
After all, even with her hair (barely) covering her breasts, she was arrested for it. I don’t see how not using her hair as cover would have made her statement any more powerful.
By the way, I’m not saying Michael shouldn’t make these expressions. He is very welcome to do so, as it is his right. It’s also my right to react to his expressions, as it is also your right to moderate what is written on your blog posts’s comments and maintain a clean house. That’s not being argued.
I see too many people cheerleading Michael’s chauvinistic expressions and not enough people pointing out how backwards such a stance is towards everybody’s rights in Puerto Rico.
Hector an assessment and my opinion are two different things. I look at assessments from a perspective of having a more logical standpoint. Here I am just going by what I feel.
In the case of moderating my blog I want to be clear that I support Michael in his efforts.
He is one of the few people who is genuine and always willing to help. Do not many people like him locally. To a certain extent lets say I am biased when it comes to Michael because I have seen many of the great actions he makes daily so I will support him even when people might think he made a mistake.
Not sure where you where going with that comment but the only occasions where I might delete a post is when Spam arrives trying to promote a product like Viagra. Or when it is obvious that the only reason they left a blog post was to promote another effort that has nothing to do with the blog post itself.
I respect her for having the courage to do what she did and would like to support her in any way. Not sure if you caught that part on my this blog post (or maybe I failed greatly at expressing that part). I come from family members who where persecuted because they believed in an independent Puerto Rico in the 70’s. They did not accomplish much but they will always have my respect. One of my ancestors was held as a political prisoners against the spaniards because he went all in.
Daily I lose customers and business opportunities because I am very transparent and I share many of my thoughts which others rather hide and communicate via private channels.
What I would like to hear is how can we solve the issues that this young lady is going through?
What is your stance on how to approach the issue with a high probability of possible solution?
How can we amplify the voice of those that need to be heard?
The problem with Jay’s comment is that due to Twitter’s character limit anyone would have interpreted that he meant ALL pentecostal churches. (Maybe he meant it but it’s really hard to assess feeling on Twitter) Not all pentecostal churches are noise. The majority follow the law and control their sound levels.
What were you saying about my udder lack of respect of women? I respect women. I have a mom, sisters, a wife and a daughter. I better respect women or else when any of the ones I mentioned above reads my post I’ll be running for my life. The only one who opened herself up for mockery was Charlene and her failed attempt at advancing women’s rights.
How did she open herself for mockery? By failing to have breasts big enough for your liking? Your repeated comments regarding the size of her breasts show a lack of respect towards women.
Your argument regarding ALL or SOME is lacking. Jay mentions that there are laws regarding noise disturbances, yet people attending service at pentecostal churches have never been arrested for it. To say that by this he means all such churches is a big leap, and yet it is besides the point.
NOT my liking. My repeated comments regarding her breasts size were aimed at proving my point. It’s a basic advertising maxim, bigger is better. You want to be seen why use a classified ad when you can use a billboard. Oops! Sorry, it’s true, not everyone can afford a billboard. I should not have made fun of her biological lack of advertising space. My bad. Better?
I think in the end, your blog is yours and the only thing you own 100%. It is the only place where you can state your case unfiltered. Relying on traditional media in the end will cloud your intent, because traditional media has another agenda.