Protesters rally at Rockin' Rodeo

By: Erin Waters and Michael Neglia

Posted: 2/2/07

Guests entering Rockin' Rodeo drawn by the "Girls Gone Wild" bus were greeted by 40 protesters Wednesday night.
Some muttered "damn hippies," while others adjusted their tops as the protesters lined the sidewalks shouting, "'Girls Gone Wild,' get out of our town."
Desoto senior Jaron Benjamin, a member of Men Against Violence and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, organized the rally.
"Aside from the event being a disgusting union of male and female chauvinism that creates unrealistic expectations about the roles and behaviors of girls and women, many of us feel that GGW creates an unsafe environment," Benjamin said.
Bundled head to toe and huddling together for warmth in 29-degree temperatures, the protesters chanted, "Keep your clothes and your dignity." Others held picket signs that read, "'Girls Gone Wild' promotes rape culture" and "nudity is beautiful, objectification is not."
A woman yelling in support of "Girls Gone Wild" disturbed Dallas senior Fran Jackson.
"She thinks behaving that way is all good," Jackson said. "That is, as long as her mother doesn't turn on the TV at 2 a.m. and see the footage, her daughter with her naked body sprawled out in the back of that bus in a drunken stupor."
Tony Powers, owner and operator of Rockin' Rodeo said that the protest didn't provoke him.
"This was the first time in about 10 years I've been protested," Powers said. " I thought they were respectful, but their arguments were weak and unresearched."
Powers said one protester stood out the most, complaining that at least prostitutes get paid well.
"I thought it [the protester] was curious as it was saying that prostitution is OK, but the price wasn't good enough."
He also said the felt the protest was directed toward the wrong place.
"I feel that if they have a problem, they should talk to the women doing this, or maybe go to Joe Francis' house."
Francis, the national promoter of the late-night infomercials and resulting soft-porn videos, was sentenced to 200 hours of community service last week for inadequately documenting performers' ages.