Yeti Menace

The last week has been a rollercoaster of emotion for me. It was brilliant to see Obama win the Presidency on election night, but my elation was dampened by the passing of Prop 8 here in California, when MY civil rights were voted away. So its time to GET ACTIVE!

I am proud and energized by the activism that has been ignited in my friends and community to speak out to win back our civil rights. My friends around me are awakened to a new power: joining groups, emailing friends and family, sending alert text messages and boycotting local businesses who supported Prop 8. Seeing the growing protests nearly every day since the election is amazing. Last weekend 12,500 people marched in Silverlake, 10,000 marched in San Diego, thousands in San Francisco, Long Beach, Sacramento and many other cites here in California. This is the way to bring our message to the people.

This Saturday is a coordinated national action that will take place simultaneously in over 80 cites across the country. Join the Impact and get out there to raise your voice in support of gay rights. I’ll be at city hall here in Los Angeles. Get off your ass and get out there… we must be heard!

Fight the H8!

Join the Impact National Protest for Gay Rights
November 15, 2008 @ 10:30a PT / 1:30p ET
jointheimpact.com 

Find your local rally here!

Here’s the video I promised you folks from Mike Skiff of the No on Prop 8 rally that was in downtown LA on Sunday, November 2, 2008. The No on 8 rally spontaneously marched from Pershing Square to City Hall to confront the Yes on 8 rally, which was being punked by Sasha Baron Cohen acting as Bruno. Bruno had infiltrated the Yes on 8 side to get footage for the new Bruno movie they are filming. Mike recognized Cohen, who was even calling into a megaphone, and exposed him to the police, the news media and the protesters. Cohen’s crew was upset with Mike for ruining the shoot and they assaulted him and intimidated him as he attempted to document their involvement.

Check out Mike Skiff’s work here at thirdrailmedia.com.

Yeti Jim here liveblogging from downtown LA in Pershing Square at the No on 8 Rally sponsored by Roots of Equality.

1:47p - There are about 300 people at the corners of 6th and Olive. Everyone has a sign and the cars driving by and honking sends the crowd into roaring cheers and “No on 8″ chants.

The crowd is growing as more and more people arrive. There will be speakers soon. The mood is cheerful!

3:47p - The No on 8 Rally spontaneously turned into a march to City Hall where the proponents of Prop 8 have assemled in their own rally. We marched up Broadway with police escort chanting “No on 8, Stop the Hate!”

3:58p - Now we are standing across from city hall assembled on Spring St at 1st. The Yes on 8 rally people are across 1st St in the lawn of city hall. There is a line of police filling the street separating us from them.

5:00p - I’m tired and sore and extremely fulfilled from the rally. We are on the way home and I just took a call from my documentarian friend Mike Skiff who was at the rally taking video footage, as he usually does for all the local political events. I guess we just missed it, but Sasha Baron Cohen showed up on the Yes on 8 side, pranking them and adding to the confusion. Mike started shooting the entire scene and Cohen’s production crew began to assault Mike, thowing him around and shaking him up. Mike got the entire thing on video. He was very upset and unsure what to do next. He is okay and uninjured, which I’m glad for. I’ve encouraged him to post the footage to YouTube and I’ll post it here if he does.

Wow, that was a wacky turn of events!

12:00a - Mike Skiff decided to file a police report about his “Hollywood Mugging” by Sacha Baron Cohen’s crew, saying:

The more I think about it, what really burns me is that Bruno Productions is leaching off a civil rights moment, only to make money off of it much later.

Apparently Mike was the only one there who knew who Sacha Baron Cohen was. Not the Yes on 8 crowd, not the other media and not the police. Mike exposed Bruno, yelling it out to everyone and busted up Bruno’s punking.