Robert Pedersen’s Eyewitness Account of this Weekend’s Rally in Washington DC

2007-08-19
By

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. Jen is critical of the rally, and her report is posted. Below, Robert Pedersen, a rally supporter and participant, responds to Jennifer.

“Jennifer Kuhn should have stayed longer at this historic event and it is clear that her ‘eye witness’ account only included the opening portion of the rally.  The number of people present for the rally as cited by Jennifer is inaccurate at best.   I am sure that there will be various accounts on this rally each with their own personal slant.  Many wanted this rally to be a failure, however if it proved one thing it is that for the first time numerous organizations came together united to end the current state of madness.  Many who are ‘fathers’ rights leaders’ who profit from the current state of madness wanted this rally to fail.  Many so called ‘leaders’ which people blindly follow did not donate a single penny to this rally or the Equal Parenting Bike Trek.  Yet they want you to buy their DVDs and their services. 

“Ronald Smith had an obligation to differentiate between the action by Fathers4Justice and the Family Preservation Rally.  Not doing so could have cause the park service to pull the permit on the Family Preservation Rally.  After Ronald Smith stated what he HAD to do, I did not see the Fathers4Justice people walk away from the Family Preservation Rally in protest of Ron’s comments!  In fact, they were some of Ron’s strongest supporters.

“Why would Jennifer Kuhn EXPECT a father’s rights rally when this rally never marketed itself as that.  When one thinks of fathers’ rights the first thing that comes to mind is child custody. Arguing the semantics of fathers’ rights vs non-custodial parents rights seems counter-productive.  Later in the evening many spoke with Fathers4Justice members and they seemed happy to be a part of this rally.  They understood why the differentiation had to be made.  This morning I spoke with two Fathers4Justice members that were excited about day 2.

“Jennifer states, ‘The number of people who were at that rally as passersby that heard the statement were minimal…’ How could this be a proper assessment when she admits in her own words that she left the rally early?  I received a similar magazine and it was free?  Jennifer must have been running through the tent area because there were MANY other things that people were selling for fundraising such as the book ‘Friend of the Court Enemy of the Family’ by Carol Rhodes!

“The rally did start with CPS and other issues and ended strong with equal parenting rights!  Glenn Sacks is referred to as a ‘Men’s Columnist’ or something close to that in the movie Support System Down.  When Glenn writes about CPS abuses does this no longer make him friendly to ‘father’s rights?’

“This rally was a success from the standpoint of bringing numerous groups together such as ACFC, Children’s Rights Council, Dads and Moms of Michigan, Fathers4Justice, A Child’s Right, Family Rights Coalition, CRISPE and so many more!  Our Friday night meet and greet had more people than the Million Dad March has ever brought to Washington, D.C.  We hope they join us next year!

“Even though the support of Fathers4Justice came late into the rally planning stages it was wonderful to see them there as well.  The Equal Parenting Bike Trek Crew had awesome interactions with Fathers4Justice in their 700 mile quest to reach D.C.  Once again certain people try to divide a movement that is picking up some serious momentum!  Each year we will bring more and more people to the Lincoln Memorial.”

The American Coalition for Fathers and Children
The American Coalition for Fathers and Children is dedicated to creating a family law system which promotes equal rights for all parties affected by divorce. Contact the ACFC at 1-800-978-3237 or visit them on the web at www.acfc.org.
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  • DaveK

    Jen and I could not attend the entire event since we had to drive down and back the same day (12 hour drive), but we were present for a number of speakers. I have to admit that I also found it discouraging that the opening speaker went to such pains to marginalize fathers and F4J (and the subsequent speakers we listened to followed in a similar vein). Jen was more upset with the negative comment about Jolly (who we both tipped a pint with last month in DC, a great guy). I understood that you were likely issued an ultimatum regarding distancing your event from the F4J action, but the repeated use of negating/excluding language (“This is not about fathers rights” instead of “this is not only about fathers rights”) gave us the feeling that the event was rather embarrassed about its fathers rights underpinnings. We all know that the reality is that the vast majority of the parents losing contact with their children are men… FATHERS. In our opinion, this IS a Fathers Rights issue and one of the more central issues of MRA’s in general.

    We also realize that the goal of the event was not to ‘preach to the choir’, so it’s understandable that to reach a large audience you need to tailor your message. However, Glen had asked Jen about her impressions of the event, and so I suggested that she go with her gut reaction as an MRA and let the discourse sort it out. In this venue (online), the audience IS primarily Men’s rights activists… and she would have done a disservice if she had not been forthright in voicing her honest opinion.

    By the same token… we have the luxury of not needing to walk the knife’s edge of balancing the goals of multiple disparate groups, and we know that to pull off an event like yesterday is a monumental achievement. Our observations are distinctly from a Men’s Rights perspective and should not be taken as a condemnation of the event at all, but a critique from an MRA point of view that’s intended to be read by other MRA’s.

  • http://www.false-accusers.com TheManOnTheStreet

    This is why we as fathers and MRAs will never get anywhere… You go that way.. I’ll go this way.. and maybe.. just maybe… we’ll meet in the middle.

    You essentially are saying that she wasn’t there as long as you were so that must mean that her prospective is inaccurate.

    As a friend of Jen, I take exception to your marginalizing, if not downright denying her prospective. You could have written your prospective without belittling hers. I would have respected your views much more if you hadn’t done that.

    TMOTS

  • The Biscuit Queen

    Just for the record:

    I did not want this to fail. I was excited about this event, drove 6 hours each way with my husband and kids to be there. I wrote to many boards announcing this rally, trying to get support for it. I had no interest in seeing it fail.

    We stayed for about 2 hours. It was enough for me to get a feeling for the rally as it stood at that time. It sounds like had we stayed around for a few more hours we may have heard more father-friendly speakers. I do not think anyone needed to separate the rally from the protest-if the people in charge thought there was a connection, the rally would not have taken place. I especially do not think that separating fatherhood from this rally needed to be said either. As Dave said, it could have been done in an inclusive way, and it was not. Glenn asked for my gut reaction and I gave it to him.

    I am an MRA. This means I believe that men in society are being treated unfairly and need a voice. My husband, two sons and many other men in my life are my motivation. I think children are extremly important and need to be protected, and my own opinion is that the marginalization of fathers and men in society is what is causing this problem. Trying to revamp CPS is only a band-aid in my opinion. Until fathers and men in general are seen as valuable, important members in society our children will be in danger. I feel the best way to serve and protect children is to help men.

    The number one threat to families is the dismissal of fathers. I expected fatherhood to be a large issue in a family right’s rally. To hear it dismissed was difficult. The F4J guys are there for their children, and for them it was worth the putdowns to serve their children, or perhaps they didn’t even register that there was putdowns. Men in the western world are so accustumed to being insulted most don’t even hear it anymore on a conscous level. To me the cause of men is worth serving. Fathers are men. WHile men are a harder sell to the public, they still need a voice.

  • hmh1497

    “When one thinks of fathers’ rights the first thing that comes to mind is child custody. Arguing the semantics of fathers’ rights vs non-custodial parents rights seems counter-productive.”

    What does that mean? Fathers and mothers have a right to raise their own children. I know that custody is for criminals, not children. In a free society, parents determine the care, control and nurturing their children receive. Government interference is criminal. It is a violation of the basic human rights of parents and it is an evil that reeks like barbarism.

    F4J was heroic. You sir, are a coward. Our forefathers died so that your freedom of speech remains a fundamental right to speak against the tyranny of government. If you continue to believe that the government grants rights, and you continue to say what they tell you, then you will never solve this stain on our future.

    In the military it is common knowledge that the most valuable asset in the arsenal is the warfighter. Our future’s most valuable asset is our children; don’t let them take them.

  • The Biscuit Queen

    He is not a coward, he is an activist who did what he felt was the best course of action. He worked very hard on this rally, and afterwards. Last night he hosted a great radio show with Mike and Jolly, getting their take on this whole thing. Bob was right there when f4j climbed up that statue, and he tried to help the one protester who was being tackled by using his camera to show the police they were being watched.

    I may disagree with Bob on the importance of representing men, fathers in particular, in this movement, but we both are fighting against the same system.

  • http://www.cnbpinc.org smith44715

    The reason that the Fathers Rights movement has never gained any momentum is portrayed here and echoed by all who fail to recognize what the problem truly is. Fathers are not dismissed from the family because they are deemed unimportant. THAT IS ONLY THE HYPE. Fathers are dismissed based on the profits made through child support collection……READ IT AGAIN!!!!! Now when you understand the machine that has been put in place, you will stop calling for mens rights and start pushing for the end of the trafficking of your children. If shared parenting was put into place, child support collection would go to a minimum and revenues that are enjoyed by the state would subside.

    YOU WANT MENS RIGHTS THEN ATTACK THE FUNDING SOURCE!!!! This rally was about destroying the funding beast that dictates that NON CUSTODIAL PARENTS take a hike and pay. ALL NON CUSTODIAL PARENTS ARE NOT MEN!!!

    Please get informed. I am sure that we are all smart enough to follow the money trail.

    I had dinner with the two gentlemen who scaled the Lincoln Memorial. Although it was magnificent, it was a BONEHEAD decision to undertake at that time…..The timing was completely wrong and unless either of you stood in my shoes at the time, you cannot fathom the position this act put me in…..It was unthinking and it truly upstaged the more important event. It is easy to quaterback from an armchair. If you really want to impress the movement, start to do something that makes sense. No critic writes anything without having full knowledge of what they are writing about. This at best is an amatuer offering and I take no offense but I recognize it for what it truly is…. YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO TALK TO ME…..THAT IS WHAT TRUE JOURNALIST DO!!!!

    Up to this point, all rallies outlining fathers have been an excercise in futility. You should never have given an eyewitness account without actually witnessing the entire event.

    Jennifer, maybe you should call me to find out exactly what you are supporting because based on your post, you don’t have a clue. 616-301-1515

    Minister Ron Smith






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