Activist Jennifer Kuhn’s Eyewitness Account of this Weekend’s Rally in Washington DC
This weekend the “Bringing Children and Families Back Together” rally was held at the National Mall in Washington DC. Last week I asked Jennifer Kuhn, a men’s and fathers’ activist, to write me an eyewitness account of the rally. What she sent me is below.
Jen is critical of the rally–I’d also be happy to post eyewitness accounts from people who were at the rally and who viewed it more positively.
“Glenn,
“Dave and I and the boys went down to Washington DC yesterday. We talked with two people who were at the Congress last month, then sat down to watch the speakers. There were maybe 100-250 people there, it was hard to tell with all the tourists there. There were four information booths with 1-2 groups at each one, and a signup booth, as well as the central stage with the quilt displayed.
“The first person to speak made a very distinct separation between the rally and F4J. He said that the people who did that disruptive action yesterday had nothing to do with the rally. He then said that this rally had nothing to do with fathers’ rights. It was about noncustodial parents and their families. Everyone there applauded. I was so disgusted that after listening to one other speaker (the woman who made the quilt who also did not mention fathers) we left. The fact is that their dismissal of Jolly and Mike was uncalled for and separated the two occurrences which could have made more press for both with careful acknowledgement.
“To see the organizers of this rally divide and dismiss some very important contributors to this movement, and dismiss half the movement itself made me very angry. He could have said the movement was ‘not just about fathers rights’ which would include them and others, but he dismissed them altogether. The fact is the fathers’ movement is a very important part of the family law movement. The number of people who were at that rally as passersby that heard the statement were minimal, but the number of activists who did hear it will be many, many more, once the video is made available. What message are we sending to our fathers?
“There was a sign-up sheet where they sold a magazine to help fundraise, so we bought one. Inside were only two stories pertaining family law, both about CPS, and all the examples were married couples whose kids were unjustly taken. Not a single case of mothers taking kids from dads.
“I felt this was very misleading. The vast majority of cases of runaway family court have to do with dads being ripped out of their kids’ lives. This rally as a whole was misleading. To say that dads were not allowed a voice was wrong.
“On a better note, there was a large presence (about 1-2 dozen) of F4J USA fathers there, including Spiderman as well as Chris Titus in her Incredibles outfit. Unfortunately they did not have any information available to hand out, so I doubt most people got their side of the story.
“I was very disappointed. I felt I could not support something which so clearly stood apart from fathers rights. I am sure this was all done to gain wider appeal, but why are men always the ones to sacrifice for the greater good? Why do we always have to bash men or ignore men to sell an idea? Maybe I was just oversensitive; Dave [Jen's husband] felt the same way however, and he usually sees the big picture pretty well. He felt that they really divided us when he thought the goal was to bring us all together.”
|
| More from Glenn Sacks
Stumble It!
August 20th, 2007 at 5:16 am
Very astute comments from Jen, thank you. We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. There’s a video on YouTube where a Canadian women explains that it would be Justice 4 Fathers of it were all about fathers. You and I know that this is for Fathers, Grandmothers, Aunts, Uncles, Grandfathers, cousins and Mothers. The demonstration at the Lincoln Memorial was so powerful in its message. I would be too, incensed by any group that impugned their efforts to bring awareness to our cause. The Patriots enlisted all men to fight for liberty. Why are we so myopic? I know the answer to that question but I’ll leave it for others to ponder. I agree with Lincoln. We all have unfinished work and I for one am dedicated to the great task before us.
Richard Eichinger
Eaton, OH
August 20th, 2007 at 6:17 am
I meant to say that the Patriots had differing views on liberty interests, but they still all hung together. And Lincoln, in the famous Gettysburg address stood firm for the rights of all; on those walls it says: ‘all men are created equal’. Martin Luther King gave his famous, ‘I have a dream’ speech on those steps. Our cause should be one of equality for all parents; anything short is just feminism or chivalrism.
And, while I’m on the subject of equality; I’m getting sick and tired of wearing the big D letter for divorcee on my forehead. When are you Christians going to stop persecuting unmarried parents and join us to defend the rights of all children to be raised by their own parents? Divorce doesn’t revoke their fundamental right! Marriage protects the natural right of children; don’t you see it? You are so hell-bent on punishing divorcees and accusing gays of perversion that you can’t see the forest from the trees.
August 20th, 2007 at 6:18 am
Nice work Jen and Dave!
TMOTS
August 20th, 2007 at 7:26 am
Would Jennifer be willing to be the plaintiff in a challenge against VAWA and IMBRA? IMBRA is the law that forces men to have background checks just to say hello to foreign women online.
We would like to ask for reparations for men for the ravages of feminism over the past ten years. We can win a 5-4 decision in the Supreme Court if the conservatives side with us.
If Jen or any other American woman is interested, my website is http://www.veteransabroad.com and there is also http://www.onlinedatingrights.com for background.
August 20th, 2007 at 7:27 am
We are looking for a female plaintiff because male plaintiffs don’t count in our society anymore.
August 20th, 2007 at 9:40 am
For instance, we have Iraq War vets…but 10 Iraq War vets could never get the kind of sympathy in an anti-feminism challenge that 1 woman can.
August 20th, 2007 at 10:36 am
I hate to say I told you so, BUT, I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!
This is exactly what I expected, from the low attendance to the veering off by downplaying MAN and over playing FAMILY it becomes all about children (which is not a problem) therefore all about nurturing therefore all about….MOMS.
There is indeed room for the lot of us, but a crack in the door is a wide open thorough fare through which estrogen will pour at every opportunity.
Feminists didn’t talk about family, they talked about WOMEN. Trying to play nice will lead to more excuses to buy cold hot dogs and fly balloons in Washington and little in the way of change or motivation against the state’s anti-male machinations.
August 20th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Jim, I am not sure what good I would be on that, I have never been affected by international marriage personally. Would the court listen to someone who is suing out of principle? I agree that this measure is damaging to men however, and will look more closely at the information you linked to and let you know.
I think this rally did a great deal for networking the family groups, which is important. There are many ways to approach this problem, and this was one way. I will not say this rally was a failure, because I do not think it was one. I just felt it was geared in a direction that is not in my interest to actively pursue, and felt MRAs would benefit from my personal observations.