While the media and other leftist elites ignore the millions of folks living in “flyover” states, they do so at their own peril; it was this silent majority that put President Trump in the White House. Each week, Liberty Nation gives voice to the hard-working heartlanders who are silent no more.
Flyover folks aren’t typically part and parcel to the colorful shenanigans of the coastal elites. For the most part, they prefer to not have the weird and wonky activities that big cities embrace – and show on cable news – in their serene backyard. That all changed for the good folks of Cape Girardeau, MO, as protesters took up residence at the intersection at South Kingshighway and Independence.
Members of the group Bloodstained Men & Their Friends peacefully protested the practice of circumcising infant boys. As Americans all have the right to assemble and redress grievances, this band of about two dozen men and women did so this week with a flair not often seen on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River in America’s heartland.
They call themselves intactivists, and let’s just say the Show Me State got an eyeful not soon to be forgotten.
A Visually Arresting Moment
Locals are proud of their history and thriving community. The city’s website describes Cape Girardeau as “a regional hub for education, commerce, and medical care. Although the city's population is around 39,000 people, it is estimated that as many as 90,000 come to Cape Girardeau daily to work, shop, go to school, or visit the many doctors' offices or two hospitals.”
Cape Girardeau
And that’s why Bloodstained Men & Their Friends were in town. They tend to seek out large enclaves of physicians and medical organizations to witness their spectacles.
But residents were shocked to see men dressed in white painter’s overalls with the crotches splashed with blood-red paint. It was visually arresting, no doubt about it. And tongues were wagging all over social media.
Resident Vicki Glasco-Escue wrote, “Crazy people! Thought that was for other places not here! JMO.” A more common-sense approach followed, as Brenda Meggs Turner queried: “I wonder if they have a permit from the city? Surely the business have filed complaints by now?”
Liberty Nation reached out to the organization for comment and heard back immediately from Senior Advisor Erika Talvitie at the California-based non-profit:
“Our mission is to help end the non-therapeutic, cultural genital cutting of children in America. We work towards this mission by protesting in at least 60 cities per year to spread our educational message via passersby, traditional media, and social media. We know firsthand that, once parents have more complete information about circumcision, they choose to protect their child and keep him intact.”
Some commenters were surprised that the organization even existed and equally flummoxed that a protest was necessary. From Kimberly Necas, “I seem to already know how ‘southeast Missouri’ feels about this (based on what I've seen in this feed), but it makes me wonder if there really is something I don't understand/know about circumcision?”
Talvitie further explained that the organization’s mission is to persuade medical groups to end all genital mutilation of both boys and girls, though the protests shockingly focus on males:
“We also focus on the national medical conventions of both the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) as well as ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) to bring our message to those physicians responsible for the lion's share of child genital cutting in America. The non-therapeutic genital cutting of children violates a physician's Hippocratic Oath to “first do no harm.” …There is no medical justification for routinely circumcising children.”
Right or Wrong?
Missourians were divided on the subject, with many claiming it was strictly a parental right while others thought it was a religious practice.
Katherine Castillo San Roman ultimately supported the group’s efforts to bring attention to genital mutilation. “So, a group of men advocating so others don't suffer the same fate they did due to infant mutilation are the ones somehow in the wrong? How even?” Alexia Chantal Huddson saw an opportunity to question the gender-fluid narrative quickly becoming the mainstream: “But it's ok to let children with undeveloped minds and sexuality decide to cut the whole thing off or not.”
Josh Logan said, “Now I see what it was all about. I figured it was to protest KFC – everyone dressed like the Colonel Sanders guy – like the Vegans or animal rights folks were up in arms at eating chicken.”
Over 500 comments on a small media market Facebook page resulted in a few folks learning something new, many holding ground on their traditional beliefs, and plenty who sought an opportunity to make light. One thing is certain, the members of this organization are exercising their First Amendment right to peaceably educate the electorate on their position, confusing or not.
The hard-working people of Cape Girardeau engaged in controversial discourse – without name calling or rancor – and in the process, educated one another on a subject not on the tips of everyone’s tongue. Whether Bloodstained Men & Their Friends made an impact on the medical professionals in town is unknown – but they certainly had an effect on the locals. As Laurie Mize pointed out, we live in a country that still has the right to practice free speech and air our dirty laundry, and, thank God it’s “not against the law to peaceful protest.” Ted Hite Junior agreed, reciting: “Foreskin and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth ...”
Folks in Missouri will never be the same.
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