Athena in Portland's naked protest

[vivariumvivariumsvivaria]

This page is full of clever minds - anyone want to help me pick through this woman's naked protest? nationalpost.com/news/protester-strips-naked-in-front-of-anti-riot-police-in-portland-she-was-incredibly-vulnerable

She's in a stand-off with riot police during the anti-racism demonstrations in Portland. She strips naked, strides in front of the police who were firing rubber bullets, and starts doing yoga for 10 minutes. She sits and spreads her legs. The police leave.

I think she's incredibly brave - being hit by a rubber bullet on a naked body is bound to hurt.

Part of me wonders what would have happened if she was not a slim, fit white woman - if she looked like me (too old, too heavy, too hairy); or was a black woman, or a man.

Was it just her startlingly zero-fucks that changed the mood of the evening? Or was it the shock of a vulva, light up by the glare of the police lights, that took the tension out of the crowd?

It's an amazing photograph.

@Childrenofthestones

Watch "I am a grooming gang survivor" on last Sunday's Triggernometry on YT and you will see the sort of shit Antifa get up to. Dr Hill the survivor inteviewed has had multiple death threats from Antifa as have her family and friends and also been doxxed by them, all for speaking out and fighting to end violent gang rape of countless thousands of children. No wonder they all wear masks, I'd be ashamed to show my face too if I were vile enough to be a member.

Dr Hill has now had her Twitter account suspended. No doubt Andy Ngo’s account will be soon to follow and the Antifa apologists will claim they are ‘far right’ for moving to Parler.

I don’t know how anyone can excuse or brush off the behaviour of this group.

@ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia

Whoever Naked Athena is I respect her tenacity.

As iconic as Vietnamese Napalm girl Phan Thị Kim Phúc and Tiananmen Square Tank Man.

I am guessing she is an African American naturalist with an interest in ballet and yoga and fearless going into "combat" unarmed but masked and wearing a beanie to keep her head warm while being fired at from Trump's soldiers.

Not interested in the political or criminal context but she is an eye opener! Not sure and indifferent as to good or bad but nevertheless a statement priceless piece of iconography.

I think comparing Vietnamese Napalm girl Phan Thị Kim Phúc and Tiananmen Square Tank Man is disgraceful and you should be ashamed of yourself for doing so.

I am astounded that you compare this narcissistic show off who is in no danger at all to the little girl screaming in pain from napalm burns.

I don't care if I get deleted for saying this but your post is one of the most crass, tone-deaf and frankly downright stupid I've ever seen.

These demonstrations are utterly pointless, criminal and are doing no good for anyone.

Not interested in the political or criminal context but she is an eye opener! Not sure and indifferent as to good or bad but nevertheless a statement priceless piece of iconography

You have very low standards to come to that conclusion. It is narcissistic showing off . "Iconography" what a laugh.

I think comparing Vietnamese Napalm girl Phan Thị Kim Phúc and Tiananmen Square Tank Man is disgraceful and you should be ashamed of yourself for doing so

Well said. What a bankrupt comparison. To equate the child victim of a Napalm attack in the Vietnam war who is naked because her clothes have been burned off with this absurd stunt in Portland is beyond crass. It's dire.

I don’t know how anyone can excuse or brush off the behaviour of this group

Well said McKenna

Not interested in the political or criminal context but she is an eye opener!

Yeah, right. I’m sure you’d have said EXACTLY the same thing if she’d been carrying the Stars and Stripes and wearing a MAGA hat.

I don't appreciate the misunderstanding and attacks among strangers.

Perhaps I need to give you the context to my supposedly offend post here earlier.

My view is that purely from a visual news image it is up there in impact as a visual impression with those other historical moments captured on media. I may also add the man on the moon to that or the toppling of a certain disliked dictator's statue in Iraq.

In other words, not the news story but just analysing the power of iconography. I am sure there are plenty more visual imagery examples and that is not to take away from the historical circumstances but purely as an imagery only.

Hopefully this will defect the heat from unnecessary attacks. Yes war imagery is bad I did not mention these images in that context.

Don't be super sensitive and find offence when done intended. There are incidentally numerous naked protests globally and historically (eg Russia) but none like this one in USA the land of Trumpmerica where sadly one can only expect the unexpected. I understand those are federal soldiers not fighting the foreign enemy but fighting each other as only their leader seems fit to carry out after days of violent protests despite the obvious medical emergency.

The way a naked lady walks up to soldiers and does her nonchalant "routine" is breathtaking and so surreal given the fire power she was opposing. Must be staged and premeditated as who has the tenacity to otherwise pull this off of the global media? Did you see how she brushes off the shielded fellow protester protector?

Share peace and just see what I saw and only for imagery and nothing else.

Sorry but you need to a bit more self-reflection.

Your post and follow up are tone deaf. You lack perspective and seem more interested in crafting finely honed words.

This is a public forum- pointing out the flaws in your argument is not an attack.

The way a naked lady walks up to soldiers and does her nonchalant "routine" is breathtaking

@ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia

Er, Portland hasn't been invaded by an occupying army. Women in a war zone don't 'nonchalantly ' approach soldiers and they certainly don't do so naked. That is why you are taking flak for your ludicrous comparison. The Vietnam war image is of a victim of a Napalm attack. That and the shooting of the Viet Cong or the face of McNamara after Norman Morrison self immolated outside the Pentagon? They are in a similar category to Chris Hondros' picture of the tiny blood stained girl who had been orphaned at a checkpoint. Her juxtaposition next to the desert boots of the occupying army expose the horror of war. This Athena stunt? If you seriously can't comprehend why there is zero comparison between any image from any war? I suggest you look at Chris Hondros' work. And try to get some grasp of context.

Let's just agree to disagree as not every opinion needs to be robotically identical nor ideologically Incompatible as here below (for the neutral spectators and open minded) is an opinion piece from an American viewpoint by The Washington Post as just published.

You may note this article also contains comparisons to other historical incidents and people as I referenced previously for similar reasons. Friends and contacts in California are suggesting she is of African American heritage and that the soldiers (all male) were shellshocked by her actions and after firing further shots at her subsequently retreated from their confrontational positions. Lots of interest from Americans as to what she said when pointing at the soldiers which may have defused the volatility after 50 plus days of riots.

As said before I am not looking at this with any agenda and not particularly nuanced by the political connotations. Do not take offence if the article does not necessarily support your interpretation.

The Washington Post Opinions -
Naked Athena put on a show in Portland. Just like Trump.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/21/naked-athena-put-show-portland-just-like-trump/

Is Portland where the protestors took over a part of town and barricaded it off? If so, I consider them anti feminist. Victims of violent crime including domestic violence were left without timely help. Police struggled to get past the barricades to help them. The anti police sentiment is worrying. Dealing with any police brutality issues is of course necessary but equally necessary is maintaining a police force. Reform is one thing, defunding quite another.

Defunding the police would lead to a future where only the wealthy are protected. They'll have private police or security not available to those too poor to live in gated communities.

This video is now widely circulated online. It provides more detail as to the situation at the time and possibly reasons as to the events that unfolded.

CAVEAT contains video images of a violent nature and nudity. There is supposedly also a comment from a member of the group involved explaining their viewpoint and a brief description of Naked Athena.

PORTLAND

INSANE ANTIFA STRIPS NAKED TO PROTEST POLICE! (ALSO FOOTAGE OF ANTIFA THROWING EXPLOSIVES!)

Does it matter what the Washington post thinks? You can be as chuffed with your glowing perspective of this protest as you like. Others are disagreeing with your facile argument, not 'taking offence', and answering your pomposity robustly. And I have to say I agree with them. Your comparisons were indeed crass, and I don't care if major news outlets made the same comparisons. They were talking out of their hats too.

A white woman in Portland getting naked and strutting toward police as though she's in a strip club is not at all surprising to this American. She's clearly not afraid and why would she be?
Can't read that opinion piece since it's behind a paywall. So this woman is just like Trump? Sounds about right.

I think comparing Vietnamese Napalm girl Phan Thị Kim Phúc and Tiananmen Square Tank Man is disgraceful and you should be ashamed of yourself for doing so
I remember seeing this as a child and it terrified me. Saying these are comparable is so stupid I'm speechless.

@SheepandCow

Is Portland where the protestors took over a part of town and barricaded it off? If so, I consider them anti feminist. Victims of violent crime including domestic violence were left without timely help. Police struggled to get past the barricades to help them. The anti police sentiment is worrying. Dealing with any police brutality issues is of course necessary but equally necessary is maintaining a police force. Reform is one thing, defunding quite another.

That’s Seattle, so just a little bit further up the coast. The “autonomous zone” set up there saw a spate of shootings, including the murders of two black men.

The “Naked Athena” protest strikes me as an event intended for social media. The photographs are striking, good for sharing on Twitter or Facebook, but as a protest the event is pretty meaningless. Why is she naked? What is being protested? It’s not really clear, but doesn’t matter, as it still gets the clicks.

I would imagine, if she did yoga first then sat in that position, that she was possibly invoking the goddess Kali - as this is a feminism board I would have thought you would like this image of female power, Kali the destroyer:

Kali's earliest appearance is that of a destroyer of evil forces. She is the most powerful form of Shakti, and the goddess of one of the four subcategories of the Kulamārga, a category of Tantric Saivism. She destroys the evil in order to protect the innocent. Over time, Kali has been worshipped by devotional movements and tantric sects variously as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Adi Shakti, or Adi Parashakti.[1][2][3] Shakta Hindu and Tantric sects additionally worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman.[4] She is also seen as the divine protector and the one who bestows moksha, or liberation.[1]

It's not as if she was doing a streak like someone at a 1970s football match. It was a powerful image. Whether the protestors are to be admired or not is another question.

@FiveFootTwoEyesOfBlue

I would imagine, if she did yoga first then sat in that position, that she was possibly invoking the goddess Kali - as this is a feminism board I would have thought you would like this image of female power, Kali the destroyer:

Kali's earliest appearance is that of a destroyer of evil forces. She is the most powerful form of Shakti, and the goddess of one of the four subcategories of the Kulamārga, a category of Tantric Saivism. She destroys the evil in order to protect the innocent. Over time, Kali has been worshipped by devotional movements and tantric sects variously as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Adi Shakti, or Adi Parashakti.[1][2][3] Shakta Hindu and Tantric sects additionally worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman.[4] She is also seen as the divine protector and the one who bestows moksha, or liberation.[1]

It's not as if she was doing a streak like someone at a 1970s football match. It was a powerful image. Whether the protestors are to be admired or not is another question.

Actually it's exactly the same as a 1970s streak. Thanks for pointing that out.

Not the same as streaking?

Disrupt the occasion.
Wrongfoot your opponents, disturb their focus and maybe influence the outcome.
Get your photo on the front page.
Insist afterwards you didn't do it for attention but to raise awareness of something or other. (To be fair, not all streakers - NASALT.)

The last one doesn't work by the way - nobody remembers your worthy cause, all they remember is your arse.

It's always interesting to do reversals. For instance, what if this had been a naked Black woman? Or a naked White man? Or a naked Black man?

So how many people have the demonstrations killed vs how many have the police killed ?

SInce there is so much hate for demonstrators daring to protest against police killing black people

Trump has been heavily pushing the line that it is terrorism to demonstrate just because of the minor matter that police kill so many unarmed black people

Interesting to see how much success he is having on MN

However, you need to catch up:

Recently Trump has been saying that they kill a lot of unarmed white people as well
So that makes it OK

A peaceful naked yoga protest by a woman can de-escalate an angry situation,
difficult for the polcie to claim she's a threat;

whereas a bunch of macho but unarmed men coming up against a bunch of heavily armed macho police often doesn't end well for the unarmed

There is something in your argument so it's a shame you ruined your credibility with your claim that we're Trump supporters.

BigChocFrenzy I would really suggest you do some homework on Antifa and how they operate before implying that anyone who opposes them is a Trump supporter or an apologist for police violence.

I have linked to a video upthread showing Antifa attempting to shut down a women’s meeting earlier this year. There is plenty of footage showing their activists inside the event as well. They believe that any violence is justified in achieving their aims and this includes violence against women wishing to protect their sex-based rights.

If you want to defend their actions, fine. It’s entirely your decision. I won’t. If you want to label me a racist and a Trump supporter for that then that’s your decision as well.