[News] Estee Slaughter Kicked Out of LGBT Festival

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Estee Slaughter Kicked Out of LGBT Festival
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4848.shtml
Report, QUIT!, 26 June 2006

[]

A QUIT! activist confronts police who attempted to bar Estee 
Slaughter representatives from the festival. (QUIT!)

2500 lucky festival-goers at today's Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans Freedom Day 
celebration received samples of a hot new product from Estee 
Slaughter Inc. In the first appearance by the San Francisco-based 
cosmetics shrimp at the LGBTFD celebration (aka San Francisco Pride), 
volunteers distributed thousands of the "Realityfold TM" sleep mask. 
The black mask, tastefully emblazoned in gold with the ES logo and 
"Make the Occupation Disappear," bears this explanatory text on its flip side:

"Going to Jerusalem for World Pride?

Worried the sight of so many Walls and Checkpoints will keep you from 
getting your beauty rest? Estee Slaughter's Realityfolds will protect 
you from the harsh glow of Occupation so you can party in virtual peace.

Estee Lauder heir Ron Lauder, the president of the Jewish National 
Fund (JNF) is a vocal supporter of illegal Zionist settlements on 
Palestinian land. The JNF was founded in 1901 to buy up Palestinian 
land for use by Jews only. Since 1948 it has partnered with the 
Israeli government to expel over 1,000,000 Palestinians from their 
land and deny the refugees their right to return.

World Pride will be held in Jerusalem in August 2006. 10 minutes away 
from the march site, Israeli bulldozers are demolishing Palestinian 
homes to expand the illegal settlement of Maaleh Adumim."


Distributors, wearing the ES logo on newly minted t-shirts, had 
scarcely begun the giveaway when parade security monitors descended 
and told them they could not distribute the masks at the festival 
because they had not paid for a booth. The Slaughter reps responded 
that this was free speech activity and that they were not disrupting 
the event. Soon thereafter, the police arrived and said that they 
work for the parade committee, that the parade committee, by 
acquiring a permit for the event, had managed to make the entire 
ten-block area of the festival "private property" and the 
unauthorized distribution had to stop.

[]

QUIT! activists who formed the Estee Slaughter team at LGBT Freedom 
Day in San Francisco. (QUIT!)

Policewomen told one member of the group that the problem was that 
rival company, Estee Lauder had a booth at the event and festival 
organizers were afraid the similarity in products would cause some confusion.

The group eventually agreed to leave, because police were threatening 
to confiscate the remaining masks (handmade in a very labor-intensive 
process). They attempted to locate someone in charge of deciding 
which queers can hand out what literature at the festival, but never 
could get to talk to anyone. They were repeatedly told to go to the 
"free speech area," which they never were able to find.

"Do you think anyone at Stonewall paid for a permit?" one activist 
asked event staff.

Estee Slaughter is a division of <http://www.quitpalestine.org>Queers 
Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!). QUIT! plans to challenge this 
ultraregulation of communication among queers in a variety of legal 
and grassroots ways.



<http://www.quitpalestine.org>QUIT! is a grassroots Bay Area queer 
direct action group challenging Israeli apartheid in creative ways. 
QUIT! has been around since early 2001, and initiated the call to 
boycott World Pride Jerusalem almost two years ago.


Related Links
<http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4721.shtml>Call to Boycott 
World Pride in Jerusalem 2006, Press Release, QUIT! (18 May 2006)
<http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4698.shtml>All Eyes on 
Jerusalem as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Allied Groups 
Prepare for WorldPride 2006, Press Release, World Pride (10 May 2006)
<http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3842.shtml>U.S. Gays Launch 
Boycott of Jerusalem Gay Pride, Report, QUIT (13 May 2005)
<http://www.boycottworldpride.org>Boycott World Pride
<http://www.quitpalestine.org>Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT)


The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
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