Flynt Bashes Feminists, Lauds ACLU in Speech

Publisher and California gubernatorial candidate Larry Flynt railed last night against feminists and the USA Patriot Act at a Sanders Theater speech organized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Sitting in a golden wheelchair and sporting a dark blue suit, Flynt spoke in support of the ACLU and first amendment rights.

“Freedom is not lost in one fell swoop,” Flynt said. “It’s lost one book at a time and one movie at a time.”

In addition to attacking the Bush administration, Flynt hurled insults at his traditional enemies, calling Gerry Falwell and Pat Robertson “the flip side of Osama bin Laden.”

Flynt’s assertion that the main accomplishment of the feminist movement “has been getting a bunch of ugly women to march” drew loud boos from the audience.

The crowd, uneasy when Flynt took the stage, grew increasingly animated as his speech drew to a close. When Flynt said he didn’t think women’s rights activists “speak for the average American woman,” an audience member called out, “Neither do you!”

Flynt nevertheless closed his speech to enthusiastic applause.

Many of the student organizers involved in the event had opposed the publisher’s inclusion.

“Those of us who were involved in reaching out to other students were unhappy with Larry Flynt as a speaker. He doesn’t represent a voice of freedom,” said Aaron K. Tanaka ’04.

Other speakers engaged issues of racial profiling, labor organization and racism.

Most were especially critical of the Patriot Act.

Yaju Dharmaraja, a union organizer, said federal agents investigated him and his wife after they inquired about disaster response training through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The couple had wanted the training to do human rights work abroad.

Dharmaraja criticized the power granted law enforcement to deport legal immigrants.

“I’m married to an American,” he said. “If I weren’t I might not be here.”

The second half of the event featured performances by spoken-word poet Saul Williams, DJ Kuttin Kandi and rappers Dead Prez.

Marsha Zeesman, senior communications strategist with the ACLU, said the organization was trying to appeal to young people by combining music and political dialogue.

“We’re getting a much better sense of college students,” she said. “We’re trying not to talk at them. We’re trying to listen to them.”

Nancy Uhlar Murray ’67, director of the Bill of Rights Education Project at the Massachusetts ACLU, cast the event as political outreach rather than as a recruitment effort.

“It’s partly a matter of building the organization, but also a matter of building an inter-generational front to roll back the post 9/11 threats to civil liberties,” she said.

Although many students admitted they had come mostly for Dead Prez, most maintained they had some interest in the politics being discussed.

“[Dead Prez] is very political, very radical. It’s a bit Black Pantherish, actually,” said Max E. Kennedy ’04.

Many non-students were also in the audience. Abigail B. Satinsky, an employee at the Hi-Rise Bakery, echoed the sentiments of many on Flynt’s appearance.

“I don’t think there’s any problem with [Flynt] coming here and speaking. But I’m not going to thank him for who he is,” she said.