Protesters find ways to send message during First Friday
Joseph Starkloff
First Friday, which is orchestrated by Artlink, is a downtown Phoenix experience where artists and civilians alike expose their creative side. This isn’t limited to simply paintings, clothing, video and other media only. Activists and protestors have found unique ways to spread their message.
Vegan Outreach, an advocacy group for veganism, demonstrated their message with shock value. Each First Friday, they wrap nude models in human size meat packaging and drench them in imitation blood.
The spectacle often draws a crowd of 20 – 30 people at any moment. Yin Macatabas, a member of the group, said the display is more effective than handing out flyers.
“It’s my whole idea that a lot of time when you hand someone a leaflet they just look at the cover . and throw it on the ground,” Macatabas said.
She stressed that the gore of the display makes onlookers attentive to their message.
“If you give someone something to look at, some kind of shock value, then they’re going to be more receptive,” Macatabas said.
While several people in the crowd took pictures of the meat-packaged humans, volunteers for Vegan Outreach handed out pamphlets. Macatabas said the display helps the public understand and relate to the suffering of animals.
“This meat tray is kind of symbolic to show the parallel of human suffering and animal suffering. (It’s) to try to get people to know that animals do suffer,” she said.
There have been vegans and non-vegans that take offense to the display. Macatabas defended it as an unwanted truth.
“There have been some people that are vegan and say, ‘you’re exploiting the humans by making them lay out naked,’ but the humans are like, ‘no we don’t feel exploited, we’re volunteering to do this.’ Those that aren’t vegan (and find this extreme) are just using that as an excuse (to continue eating meat),” she said.
Macatabas said the display exposed the veracity about slaughter houses and farms to the community and the atrocities that occur for those who eat meat.
“People want to shut their eyes to reality because they think that will protect them from the truth, but closing their eyes is not going to ease someone else’s pain,” she said
Macatabas said there is often some form of resistance to their message.
“We try to do it other places, like potlucks . and ASU. Being what we are, we get a lot of crap. Cops don’t always just let this slide,” she said.
Outside the Church of Scientology on North Third St., a group of Christian protestors used a microphone to answer questions and inform passersby about the Bible. When the pedestrians don’t respond, they read Bible verses and thank them for already accepting Jesus into their heart.
Further down street, another assembly protests the Christian group’s demonstration of Scientology.
While the group has no name, they unify themselves by wearing Guy Fawkes masks from the movie “V for Vendetta.”
They held up signs that read slogans such as “H2NO,” and “oxygen equals death.” Jonathan Rayas, a member of the group, detailed their goal for the night.
“The Christians outside have been doing their little rally year after year up there and so we decided to throw our own little protest to make theirs as frivolous as possible,” Rayas said
He argued that the two religions are equal.
“They have as much right as the Christians protesting in front of their church to practice their religion,” Rayas said.
While the group rallied people to ignore, and at time taunt, the Christian group, Rayas explained that a large part of the rally was just to have a good time.
“We came down here to enjoy atmosphere. We really like First Friday,” Rayas said.
More information on Vegan Outreach can be found online at www.veganoutreach.org
