Topless rally flops after foes weigh in

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The second annual topless rally was held Aug. 26 near the Pack Monument in downtown Asheville, but this time attendance of both topless women and gawking and mostly male spectators was down by at least 50 percent, if not more.

Somewhere between 500 and 1,000 persons attended the rally, which faced conservative opposition as well as detractors that included Mayor Terry Bellamy and City Council, among others.

The rally got off to a slow start, with less than a dozen women wandering around topless and a small crowd of eager onlookers, amid a highly visible police presence.

Donna Newman, a Raelian priest from Miami, Fla., who was topless as she addressed the gathering, opened the rally with a speech. (Raëlism, or the Raëlian Church, is a UFO religion that was founded in 1974 by Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël.)

She began by noting that last year, the rally drew an estimated 2,000 people, while this year the turnout was considerably less.

With a laugh, Newman also pointed out, , that, “as you can see, most of the people here are men ... This is actually an equal rightss rally for women. Yes, women do have the right to be topless (in public) 365 days per year — and not just for this one day.”

As she spoke, four or five women nearby posed topless as per the request of a man attending the rally.

Continuing, Newman said told of a married woman who wanted to attend the rally topless, but feared the consequences for her job.

“I encourage women of the city to exercise your rights. Your City Council wants to take that away.”

Further, Newman said, “Today is National Equality for Women Day.” She then reviewed the history of the women’s suffrage movement and the struggles that ensued to give women the right to vote. “How shameful — that they had to fight for their rights,” she said.

“We (women) were held in hostage and we don’t want to be held in hostage again,” she said, as the crowd applauded.

Newman asked, rhetorically, “Where does that fear (of taking off a woman’s top) come from?” She then said, “If, indeed there is a God, I don’t think they have a problem with you showing your body in public.”

Newman then told the crowd that there are “several things I want you to do,” but then only noted one project — filling out petitions that she said will be presented to the White House, “so women don’t have to be afraid” to go topless in public.

Next, she read an open letter to City Council from Sony Pitts that criticized it for taking a stand against the topless rally. She contended that, “if nothing else, Asheville is renowned for its friendly stance on civil rights.”

The letter noted that going topless in public is legal in North Carolina, including Asheville, but “it is still extremely controversial and ... even dangerous.”

Further, the letter stated that “acclimitization” will occur “when the day comes where I can walk around topless” in Asheville “without anyone bothering her.”

Several Asheville firetrucks racing out of the nearby firehouse interrupted Newman’s reading of the letter, as their sirens wailed.

At that point Newman said, “It is important for women to feel free ... Free your breasts, free your mind,” she urged.

Acknowledging that nearby men were lined up, asking topless women to pose for a picture with them., she said, “Until women feel the right to be free, yes, men will shoot pictures of two breasts.”

In response to conservative critics, she said, “And yes, they are family-friendly ... So little children, walking around, seeing breasts have no more effect than the man on the moon” on them, she contended.

“Why did I have to come all the way from Florida?” she asked. “Because nobody locally wanted to lead this ... We need to change those ideals .... Feel free to live that dream.”

She said people will evolve where women going topless is commonplace. “One hundred years ago, men would run down to the train station to get a glimpse of a woman’s bare ankle,” Newman said.

“One day, this whole planet will be a parade filled with happy individuals,” she asserted. “You know, women, don’t be afraid to take your tops off.

“I think this is still a red state. I don’t think it’s a blue state. Keep your rights ... This is not a moral-values issue. It’s an equal-rights and constitutional issue.”

Newman also praised the women in nearby Pritchard Park, who were holding an equal-rights rally — with their tops on.

The second — and last — speaker, Jeff Johnson, who obtained the permit for the rally, said, “My mission is equal rights for all people.”

While he is not a Raelian, Johnson, who lives in Huntsville, Ala., said, “I’m for equal rights everywhere on the planet.”

He spent much of his talk railing against what he termed Asheville’s widespread corruption, extending from City Council and the Asheville Police Department, to the local news media.

With tongue in cheek, Johnson said, “I don’t want to have to come back here” next year.” He also noted that “we picked this day (for the rally) because its National Women’s Day.”

Unlike last year, there was no march, just mainly women walking around topless, often posing for pictures with men upon request. Others had their breasts painted by artists in attendance.

In an interview with the Daily Planset after her spech, Newman said, “We’ve (the Raelians) got people protesting (for topless rights) all over the United States, including today at the White House.

She added that “I was a little disappointed” in the turnout. “I would have hoped there would be more women” at the rally.

“It’s not about sexualizing women, it’s about unsexualizing women’s body parts.”

As for Asheville, the Miami resident said, “I think it’s a cool little city.”

Meanwhile, Johnson, in a separate interview with the Daily Planet at the rally, said, “The turnout’s been great,” noting that “it’s been 1,000 or 5,000 people ... In the beginning, I was a little concerned” by the low initial attendance.

As for women, he said, “There were a lot more women than before,” in an apparent reference to last year’s turnout.

Regarding Dr. Carl Mumpower, who along with Chad Nesbitt, has led the local cosnervative opposition to the rally, Johnson said, “I think he’s a nut and he’s a nut who takes action on his beliefs. I like people who take action.”

He also said that his wife, a Huntsville pediatrician, “doesn’t like it (his involvement in Asheville’s topless rally) and feels offended by it.”

“Because it’s legal here,” he replied. “This is the nearest legal city (for toplessness)” from his home in Huntsville.

He said that he was escorting two young topless women on Patton Avenue during a street festival April 16-17, when he saw “a superior — with an officer in training — showing how to be a corrupt policeman.”

While he said four policemen surrounded him and the two women he was escorting, “they did not arrest us.” He said he now is going through the complaint process.

As for the future, “I’ll probably come next year” to the topless rally in Asheville.

“I’m not a Raelian, but the things they do, I agree with. I guess I’m an agnostic. I don’t have any (religious) beliefs.”

So are the efforts of local conservatives to pressure him by drawing attention to his wife’s pediatrics practice in Huntsville affecting him and his family?

“Oh, no. It’s not really affecting anything,” he said. “My wife is not happy with it. We don’t agree. She knows I’ve always been a civil rights activist.” Johnson noted that, in 1964-65, he fought for civil rights for blacks in the South.

As for now, Johnson said, “I’m not an activist. I’m an advocate,” meaning he will fight only “up to the law.”

Returning to the subject of Mumpower, Johnson said, “I’m befuddled ... I’ll be glad to meet with him. He has strong beliefs — we just are fighting on opposite sides. I respect anyone who fights for his beliefs.”

Since he had expressed much outrage in his speech about Mayor Bellamy’s stance on the topless rally, what would be his message to her?

“Mayor Bellamy, I’m very dissapointed in you ... Without fights for civil liberties, blacks would still be in the back of the bus.” Johnson expressed frustration that the mayor “ignores police corruption.”

In summarizing his feelings toward Bellamy, Johnson said, “I couldn’t be more disappointed” in her.

From Staff Reports

Local conservative activists Chad Nesbitt and Dr. Carl Mumpower sent a “complaint regarding Asheville topless rally on Aug. 26” to N.C. Attorney Gen. Roy A Cooper on Aug. 31.

The duo had started a Go Topless opposition website, GoBrainless.org, and encouraged people to shoot photos at the rally, showing misbehavior by its participants. Their slogan in opposing the rally is “topless, shameless and lawless — Asheville’s sexual street party is over ....”

In their complaint, they stated that “last year, we contacted your office regarding the failure of Asheville city and police administrators and the Buncombe County Department of Social Services to enforce state law at the 2011 topless rally. We provided pictures and other evidence. We did not hear back from you.”

The complaint further states, “This year, there was a repeat. Although attendance was 10 percent of last year, those who came were enthusiastic. There were 14-plus police officers in attendance — more than the number of topless women participating. Please note the pictures below illustrating performance in a public space and in front of minors. Please let us know if we may provide additional information. We are also including references to state statutes.”

Also on Aug. 31, the duo filed a “complaint about lack of enforcement at topless event — followup” with Lt. Sean Pound of the Asheville Police Department.

The complaint with the APD states that “evidence of sexual performance at last Sunday’s Asheville topless rally continues to surface. This photo (which was attached) identifies a female participant uplifting women — or at least two parts of one woman. This is sexual performance, but evidently not of a sort the five gawking men in the background find attractive.”

The complaint added, “We continue to be baffled by how 14-plus police officers (outnumbering the number of female participats in the event and paid for by city taxpayers versus the event promoter) could stand by and pretend this is legal in a public park and in front of children. We would appreciate it if you would add this picture to our original complaint.”

On Aug. 29, Nesbitt and Mumpower sent a topless rally complaint to Asheville City Council, the city manager and APD chief, stating, “Just when it seems that we can step away from the dirt this event has brought to our city, another outcome from your lack of responsible action pops up. Today, we received a picture and video illustrating sexual performance during the topless rally on Sunday.

“Attached, please find a complaint we would like to file against officers in attendance for their failure to act and enforce the law. It would be our suggestion that the political paralysis is a far greater detriment to police morale than calls for accountability. That 14 officers (a number greater than those women who exposed themselves) would fail to note the action (there are others) and act reveals indifference, impairment or performance issues.”

Just prior to the topless rally, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported that several North Carolina cities have ordinances that prohibit women from exposing their breasts in public. The cities include Raleigh, Wilmington and nearby Waynesville.

In the aftermath of the AC-T revelation, City Attorney Bob Oast was asked by City Council to look into drawing up such an ordinance for Asheville, with Cecil Bothwell casting the only “no” vote, saying toplessness is not a problem to him.

Council also issued a statement before the rally, expressing opposition to it and asking local legislators to lead an effort to change state law. “We should be outraged that people from outside our community are coming here to do this,” Mayor Bellamy said.