Petrelis Files

Naked Queers Confront
Wiener at Castro Street Fair

(Image created by fabulous nudist leader Mitch Hightower.)

This fine bit of queer news came my way this afternoon from Tommi Avicolli Mecca. It's tickles my pansy heart to know the dick supervisor for the Castro was publicly challenged about his anti-nudist b.s. at the fair. About the only way those who disagree with the dick can publicly communicate with him is on the street, because he fears town halls and appearing before groups that aren't donors. Thanks, Radical Faeries, for yesterday's actions!

 (An important message was paraded around the fair. Credit: Ray Vitale, Castro Biscuit.)

Hey everyone: A bunch of radical faeries and others staged a protest against the nudity ban yesterday the castro street fair -- read Jason Villalobos' account from Facebook. We should all be inspired by this. On to more actions! tommi 

Yesterday we reminded San Francisco that naked can be beautiful. With Cheer SF doing backflips on Castro and 18th, the drag queens cackling and stumbling about in their neon colored wigs, and the bands playing on-stage at Market, I was worried that our nudity ban protest would get lost in the madness. Not so, friends!!! We were THE talk of the Castro Street Fair 2012. 

I want to thank the radical faeries and our sexy feminists for braving the zoom lenses of the thousands below as we stood on the roof above Walgreens beautiful and clothing free. The cheers and the flashbulbs from supporters and gawkers alike was absolutely deafening. Our protest was peaceful, it was respectful, and everyone had so much fun showing that the naked body should not be legislated against. 

My thanks also goes out to our many lookouts that were stationed on the streets that texted, phoned, and waved their hands wildly to warn of the police presence scaling both side of the building to have us arrested. Because of you I was able to get everyone to the safety of my apartment and by the time law enforcement was able to scale the roof it was I alone who stood there to greet them. After a brief but tense conversation I was bale to assert my rights under the law and then I made them take the fire escape back down the side of a neighboring business to prove my point. 

This protest wasn't just about getting naked and fighting the police, it was about the formation of community and coming together to push back on this ridiculous law being proposed by District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener. After the police were phoned a second time a few hours later, I hit the streets to confront Scott directly. 

With a group of screaming, naked faeries behind me (I was clothed), I found our Supervisor and we had a tense exchange that left me promising him that I would do everything in my power to continue to fight his political agenda. I haven't felt so inspired and honored to be apart of this artist community since the height of my HIV/AIDS activism. 

Many thanks to Jesse Oliver Sanford for being my Co-Captain and to all of my friends that helped hang the banners. Please keep up the fight and never stop having fun, because fighting for what's right is what makes this town unlike any other in the world. Today I am so proud to be a San Franciscan. From Jason Villalobos.