Radical Happenings

[Bethers]

Oh, I think you and I were peas out of the same pod from different countries, though. I was in demonstrations for many things - feminist mainly - couldn't burn my bra, though, cuz I refused to wear them (still don't). One day, when I had been down to a trial for the Chicago 7 (you might not know about that) - the police followed my car when we left, then stopped me saying I had made an illegal left turn (I hadn't) and I was a mouthy young 'un - they told me they were going to search the car and I got out, laid down on the side walk, told them to wake me when they were through - and then to expect an attorney to call because it was an illegal search.

Next thing I knew we were surrounded by cops, some with their guns drawn (at least they kept them facing the ground). Finally a young cop showed up and said, she might be little (I was 5' and under 100 lbs at the time) but she isn't wrong - they let me go. Now my g/f and the 2 boys in the car with me were sure I was going to get all of us sent to jail. I don't think the boys ever rode anywhere with me again

[carold]

Was involved in the Civil Rights movement. Got arrested twice, once in Tallahassee, during a sitin and when they needed a test case to determine if the World's Fair in NY was considered private or public property, the FL contingent volunteered. (My mom saw me being arrested on tv and did I get a phone call!!!) Did a lot of marches, etc. and got some great ripe tomatoes to eat Almost lost my teacher's license before I could convince them that my "jailtime" was for a good cause and was eventually overturned. And now, sitting in an rv resort playing tennis-I think I've fell off the boat. carold

[Barbzeee]

Well I was an Activist..can ya tell ????? I burned my bra..but unfortunately my mother found out about it and dang near strung me up with another one...LOL and now I'm forced to wear one cause my boobs are too big they'd beat me to death if I went without one... it's true !!! Plus I'd have a bad back from leaning forward.... Oh and also fought for Equal Rights and Pay For Women..!!!

I loved getting involved in helping make change for a better way of life...Shoot now I'm gonna be sitting back watching others work to keep my SS coming

aaaaaaah I love the good ole USA .....

Loves this forum too !!

God Bless

Zeee...just buzzing along the topics...(wish it was the tropics)...it's a little warmer now in Sunny Florida...

[avalen]

oh man, I feel like a real woos, worst I ever did was ditch school on senior ditch day,
I was a senior but the school didn't recognize it as a ditch day, I got 3 days suspension
for it.

[retiredhappy]

When I was in highschool (waaaaay back when) I organized a march and picket outside the principal's office because he was threatening to do away with the before game rally. My folks grounded me for a week over that one but we won and had our rally. In the 60's I was busy earning a living to support myself, daughter and my mom to do any protests except with my big mouth.

[Nasoosie]

I have been involved in way too many deals of protest to EVER discuss on here! (No jail time, however!)

The incident I like to recall the most was our high school dress code rule that said bare feet were not allowed. I went barefooted literally ALL the time, including to school. When called to the principal's office about it, I told him that perhaps he was ashamed of his feet, but that I certainly was NOT ashamed of mine. Needless to say, I was expelled and sent home until I could come to school with shoes!

Soooo.....I went home and remembered hearing about Ho Chi Minh sandals that the guys made on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. I cut up an old tire.....(really hard to cut as all I had was a saw like a keyhole saw) into the shape of two soles for sandals. I then put three holes in the soles to attach straps/thongs. Then I used two old bicycle tire inner tubes to run through the holes, and tie around my feet! They were actually very comfy, and decidedly unique!

So back to school I went when my sandals were done (next day) with my mother warning me that they would probably send me home again, and I would have to suffer the consequences on my own. (Thank heavens for my mother who believed in letting me do some very anti-establishment things and suffer whatever the outcome! Thank heavens for my mother AND for me....I never did anything really dangerous!)

After I walked down the hall all morning, I ran into the principal who had sense enough to realize that I was no longer barefooted, and there wasn't much he could say about my 'designer' sandals! Did I GLOAT???? You betcha I did!

I wore those darned shoes for years and years and years.....they lasted until I lost one on a hike one time, from my backpack. They made great comfy shoes to wear around the camp after wearing hiking boots all day. Hmmmmm.....wonder if I could fashion me some new ones for next summer????

[AlmostThere]

Wow, I"m so tame compare to you gals, but I did start my rebellious stage early in life.
In first grade, when it was time to get a drink from the water fountain, I strolled up with my hands on my hips and swung my butt suggestively from side to side. The teacher sent me outside until lunch time. I didn't see that as a punishment as I got the whole playground to myself!

By third grade I was into telling jokes. I stood up in front of the class and told this old one;
A little girl tells her mother how a boy at school asked her to hang upside down from the monkey bars. She was wearing a dress. The mom asks, "did you show you panties"? The little girls replies, "no, I fooled him, I took them off".
I don't recall my punishment for that one but do remember the teacher saying that he wanted no more jokes like that told!

[SeeyaGal]

hum I skipped school alot in the 9th grade, wore some hotpants to a Mormon dance and got kicked out because I was not wearing a proper dress to my knees. I was wearing a long leather vest over the hotpants that I snapped closed to look like a dress out of protest but they still said "THAT is NOT a dress!" and got the boot out the door!

Other than that I was a woose!

[asirimarco]

Wow - activists, radicals and jailbirds. Worst I ever did was skip school - and got caught cause one of my teachers worked in Pennys with my Mom. Rode around in the desert at night poaching rabbits and deer it's a wonder none of us were wounded or killed. By the 60s I was raising kids and had to behave. Guess the old saying is true...Still water runs deep. It is a pleasure to know each and every one of you.

[Gentleladybear]

Carol I am in the same boat you are, I never even skipped school. Worst thing I ever did was go watch a bunch of guys drag racing out on one of the country roads. When my mom found out she was furious. She told me all the horrible things that could happen when I was hanging out with those guys. But mom never understood that they wouldn't even say "damn" in front of me. But just like you Carol I was raising kids in the 60's and taking them to church and sunday school. There wasn't time for any radical behavior. But great to meet people that had the courage to get out there and let people know there needed to be a change.

[soisew]

Honestly -- nothing radical here at all. I grew up in a farming and ranching community in western Nebraska (USA) and that's where we live now. The most radical thing I've done is meet a new fella after my divorce and travel in this motorhome! And at our age we don't intend to get too wild into anything crazy. I'm all for great causes just don't go for the wild stuff. We enjoy our quiet country life.

[rvgrammy1953]

Nothing wild 'n crazy here in my youth...it was spent living on a farm in north central PA and going to school....Being the oldest of 6 kids, the folks were stricter with me.....boy, did the other 5 ever got away with stuff that I couldn't do... But I joined the Army (it was still the WACs in 1971) and then I was no angel... well, maybe I was just catching up with the others my age at the time.....Now I look back and probably wouldn't change much, except a couple choices in men...the ex-hubby for 1.....but now life is good and there's alot of good memories.....

[oregontocal]

I started my life of "crime" early, in first grade. We were supposed to color mimeographed pictures of a tree, a dog, and some sheep, then cut them out and paste them on a picture where they belonged. I suppose the sheep and dog were supposed to go in front of the tree. However, I thought a sheep could just as well graze behind the tree, so that's where I pasted it. Most of the other 6-yr-olds just laughed at the tree on top of the sheep. I can't remember what the teacher said, though.

Skipping ahead to 5th grade; bear in mind that most of us girls had to wear dresses/skirts to school back then. I considered myself a fairly good gymnast, so learned how to hang onto the sides of the bathroom stall and flip myself over--and over. That was a lot of fun UNTIL Mrs. Blackwell, known as the meanest teacher in the school, came into the bathroom one day and caught me mid-flip, upside down. She sent me to the principal's office, somewhere I had NEVER had to go before. On the short walk down the hall, I managed to get a stomach ache and so went to the nurse instead. She sent me home. Whew! Never had to face the principal's wrath. I don't remember if I continued my bathroom tricks, though. Probably did.

All that leads up to my fairly radical life in my early 30's. During the mid to late 1970s, the time of the women's liberation movement, I was a very active member of N.O.W, the National Organization for Women, and spent much of my spare time working to get the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) passed. We marched, we worked phone banks, we sent letters, we demonstrated anywhere we could, and I volunteered each Saturday at our booth at the Portland Saturday Market, passing out information and answering questions. In 1980, I flew to Washington D.C. as a delegate to N.O.W's annual conference. During the conference, worked with many, many women making signs, attending learning seminars, eating together, and even dancing together. I joined people from all over the country, maybe the world, in a huge ERA demonstration in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I dropped into Oregon Senator Robert Packwood's office and was even able to talk with him for a few minutes. I even sat in on a few committee meetings. It was an extremely exciting time! Unfortunately, the ERA failed to pass by only a few states.

During that time, I also volunteered and demonstrated for N.A.R.A.L. (National Abortion Rights Action League), helping to keep abortion safe and legal. I also volunteered my time for a couple of city political campaigns: stuffing envelopes, doing the phone banks, and so forth.

I still participate in anti-war marches, the last being a huge one in downtown Portland, Oregon.

[mtngal]

Wow, I am so NOT surprised that this group of independent, intelligent, self sufficient women were (and are) so politically active for so many years and good causes. For me, not so much, growing up and early adulthood in a very rural conservative area, BUT....I was with you in spirit! In 1980 I got my first full time job (thanks to affirmative action) in a "non-traditional" job working in operations for a major water and power company. Five years of hard work proved my abilities to all, and I became the supervisor of a crew of six men and one woman. (btw, at that time there were three women in "non traditional" jobs in a work force of 120 or so and I am still, 30 years later very close friend with both of the others!). It was a fantastic job, I wouldn't trade a single day. And I believe I really did make a difference to attitudes of acceptance of women in the work place. Thanks for starting this excellent thread!

[oregontocal]

AussieGirl, wouldn't that be an exciting project! We could ask all of our radical and not so radical women to enlarge on their experiences a a little, write them down. Not sure about anyone else, but I'm pretty sure that our love for "living on the road" might stem from some of those earlier experiences. It would be interesting to try and connect the stories with our lives today.