Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
The feminist-run anti-war group, Code Pink, has taken the so-called “war on women” to embarrassing new lows by showing up in Tampa this week dressed in giant vagina costumes and carrying signs proclaiming “Read my lips: Leave my vagina alone.”
According to The Tampa Bay Times, a small group of mostly women protestors vied for attention on Sunday as conventioneers began arriving at Tampa’s Tropicana Field, an indoor stadium that will be playing host to the Republican National Convention this week.
The San Francisco-based women’s group claimed to be protesting the Republican stance on abortion and universal health care, among other things.
“We are in opposition to the right-wing agenda that wages war on women’s bodies,” said organizer and Code Pink co-founder Rae Abileah, 29. “Given the political climate right now, it’s really important to emphasize women’s rights and reproductive rights.”
Thanks to the antics of groups such as Code Pink and Occupy Tampa, downtown Tampa has been turned into a virtual police state, says Javier Manjarres of The Shark Tank, a popular political blog in Florida.
“From the moment I arrived in Tampa to attend the Republican National Convention, it was clear that I was now entering a police state-like setting that featured riot police, the county Sheriff’s office and National Guard- all of whom were wearing full military fatigues and armed with assault rifles and other assorted small arms.”
He described a good part of downtown Tampa as being cordoned off by iron interlocking fencing that was specifically designed to keep crowds out.
“This kind of security was expected given all of the property destruction and violence that has been associated with the Occupy Movement and other groups who have been planning to descend on Tampa during the convention.”
Referring to the Code Pink group as the “Pink-os,” he referred to their vulgar costumes as “tactless attention-grabbing stunts.”
Few could argue with his contention that “they may have outdone themselves this time.”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
