GoTopless Recap and Comments

I thought I would do a quick recap of the GoTopless news:

• My girlfriend was interviewed for this news article.
  
• Nudiarist posted some photos and a video interview (part 1, part 2) with Karla.
• I posted about the event (with a few pictures I didn't take), and included that they shouldn't attach their religion to the event.
• Nudiarist agreed in his post.
• Paul agreed on the TERA report, which includes a great picture of us. (Cool!)
• A blogger by the name of Bob King disagrees, and decided to censor my comments.

I think the Raelians are great people. They are just like everyone else, and have the same freedoms as everyone else. I rode with a family to the protest, and had pizza with the whole group afterwords. I also saw, first hand, what people thought of the event. (Bob wasn't there.) Those who asked if we were Raelian never signed the petition and basically laughed at the event. Those who liked the idea of top-freedom as they passed by were the ones signing, and I don't think any knew that it was for a "UFO cult" at that point.

Bob's main points are:

• Raelians are the ones out there doing the protesting.
• They have every right to preach their religion.
• The "UFO cult" publicity helps to get eyes on the issue.

The first one is a valid point. However, a look through the history of top-freedom in North America has a lot of naturist roots. Naturists are also involved with the World Naked Bike Ride, Freemont Solstice Parade, Bay to Breakers, Burning Man, and many other events which allow nudity among the general public. I believe they should get more involved in these topless protests as well.

I agree that they have the right to preach their religion. I didn't stop them at the event, and didn't say anything against it even though I don't agree with it. When asked, my reply was "No, we're not Raelians. We're naturists and we're supporting them in this cause." Even if their literature still talks about UFO's next year, I'll still try to help them out.

The last point is where Bob and I diverge. It's true that the headlines might get more eyes on them, but those eyes quickly dismiss them as crazy. "UFO cult" = "crazy", and therefore crazy people are supporting top-freedom. (Americans already think topless women are crazy, so it's an easy conclusion.) I'm sure that helps to sway the public.

I would never walk into a grade-school and say "Hi, I would like to be a teacher...and by the way, I'm a nudist." That last bit would guarantee that I won't get the job. However, it is akin to saying "We believe in top-freedom and equal rights...and aliens!" Chop off that last bit and you'd have a good convincing statement.

If they want to succeed in the top-freedom issue, they should to stick to it with no strings attached. It is their choice, and they have a year to decide. No matter what they decide to do, I'll still support them.

I still haven't found any pictures on Flickr of the Chicago protest. We had PLENTY of photos taken -- where did they all go??

UPDATE: He did eventually add my comment after about 5 days.