Yes, for sure you never know what you may run into at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. Sometimes it's flying fish ... but today it was a covey of naked cyclists riding north on Pike Place through the Public Market. I just happened to be on my way to Local Color Coffee ... no pun intended, but quite appropriate ... when this vision appeared in the street. My iPhone was all I had at hand, so I quickly put it to use as any good photographer might when faced with the unusual. This was a protest ride, of some sort, but unfortunately the riders' intentions were not visible enough to see what point they were trying to make by their undress. Something about less oil consumption ... I think. I checked the local news stations but found no mention. Perhaps this happened too fast for the professional newsies to get it covered. Not my normal cup of coffee or tea, but you will admit this is unusual ... and on the spot reacting to current events.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
You never know what ...
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20 comments:
Good picture as always, Click, but it makes me think. Sometimes folks get so wrapped up in their cause they seem to think that anything they do to promote it is OK. Personally, I consider these folks selfish and inconsiderate, no matter how meritorious their cause may be. Lewd behavior is lewd behavior. The PPMarket is a family environment, and this display was in poor taste.
A law professor I had once said "the right to swing your fist ends where the other fellows nose begins". There are many ways to draw attention to your cause without assaulting another persons sensibilities in a public place.
--RT
BTW, I'm not a prude, I simply prefer to see my nudes on the other side of my sketchpad -- or in my bedroom. In the public square, we really need to adhere to a common standard of decent behavior that respects everyone. -- RT
I see nothing wrong with the way they are protesting. I have seen worst things out there on bulletin boards, & having to describe that to my children is worst then saying or there just naked people riding there bikes for a cause!! This could be quit a discussion!! Thanks for capturing this and posting it Chuck.
It is probably (?) part of the World Naked Bike Ride, although a little late in the year, and if so it is not a protest, as such. It is a celebration of cycling, in the words of the WNBR Wiki "It's time to put a stop to the indecent exposure of people and the planet to cars and the pollution they create." (http://wiki.worldnakedbikeride.org)
@RT - this is not intended as a personal attack, but I find it quite shocking that you consider the idea of naked people engaged in everyday activity, lewd. This may be because you haven't ever experienced this sort of thing either as an observer in the flesh, as it were, or participant. I have, as both (btw, I don't have the faintest streak of naturism in me)and in my view it is astonishingly ordinary - and eye catching.
You might ask yourself, what is it that you find lewd about the naked human body? You might then realise that we are surrounded by truly lewd images behaviour and the ever younger sexualisation of children; that this sort of display actually goes some distance to allowing us to take back control of our bodies.
Oh yes, and while you're asking yourself those questions, why not let the thought get planted - "perhaps I could use a bike occasionally instead of a car" ;-)
Nice one, Chuck.
I can understand the desire to imitatie a rotisserie chicken on a nude beach butttt... peddling down a busy street au naturel sounds ghastly! Having your sweaty 'junk' sticking to a hot bicycle seat must have been a drag! The whole lot of them need fig leaves! I'm not prudish either but cycling wearing all say .... funny hats (and clothes).. probably would have been just as effective! Great reporting Chuck! Way to whip out your cell phone cam in the nick of time!
A naked protest ride? I'm all for it, whatever it may be.
Speaking of no clothes... It's that time of the year when (apparently) it's okay for anybody to unleash their skin on the public. There is a virtue called MODESTY, and mine is offended by women who think it is okay to wear their bikini top (or bra) and shorts to the grocery store. And that goes for the guys as well. I don't need or want to see a bunch of naked skin while I'm purchasing my Post Toasties, so I'm with RT on this one.
If chickens can run around naked I don't understand why people can't run around naked.
I am amazed, Chuck, your iPhone was able to catch them all very well balanced on their bikes. Not one leg is thrown out for balance. :)
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Your right, Paula, this is turning into a swell discussion; particularly nice is the civil tone; a real change of pace for the Internet. I suspect it reflects the high class of people who read Chuck's blog (and admire his art!)
Ham, please re-read my original post. It's not the human body I find lewd, but the behavior. There is a time and place for everything, and some places are inappropriate for certain behaviors. It all depends on the prevailing cultural mores of a given place. Public nudity is perfectly OK in some cultures and places, but it is not appropriate in most public places in American culture. When you get a bunch of different people together in a society, you find an acceptable common standard of behavior so you can all get along; that's called civilization. That standard is different in different places, so the rule of 'when in Rome...' applies. You wouldn't eat an Sausage McMuffin in a Iranian mosque, would you?
Suppose our protesters chose to draw attention to their point by marching through the market, and at the same time dropped their drawers and defecated in the street (creating pollution to protest pollution?). That, like nudity, is 'natural'; so that would be OK then? In some cultures, it's perfectly normal to relieve oneself in public in full view of others; the point is neither nudity or relieving oneself in public is generally acceptable behavior here. By deliberately flaunting commonly held social standards (not to mention possibly breaking the law; isn't public nudity in violation of the Seattle Municipal Code?), these people exercised poor judgment and were selfish. If I chose to walk naked among the Market stalls, I'd probably get arrested, not to mention cause a lot of folks to 'lose their lunch', and compel a bunch of Greenpeacers to try to push me back into the water! What makes this group's behavior OK? 'Free speech'?
It all comes down to balancing the desire express one's self against the requirement in any civilized society to respect the sensitivities of ones fellows. This is why we generally moderate our behavior in public (most of us, anyway), and save the more extreme aspects for more private venues.
RT
PS: I don't have a huge problem with the Fremont Solstice Parade nude cyclists. While I still consider public nudity in poor taste, they have tradition on their side. You know they'll be there, so if you don't care to see it, go elsewhere. The PPMarket patrons didn't have the benefit of that kind of forewarning, hence my disapproval of this groups boorish behavior.
I'd have guessed that World Naked Bike Ride would be held on the same day in every city. It was held here a few weeks ago. Thankfully cyclists tend to be quite fit.
Seattle must have quite the unusual happenings if it didn't even make the news. Glad you had your phone. I think more should have been wearing helmets, but I assume they were trying to be true to their agenda. I hope they were not riding through traffic as crazily as some cyclists Iv'e seen in Seattle, because in that case, a helmet would have been a must! I love your photo.
For a second I thought this was the Fremont parade!!
Well, what can i say. As the local news didn't tell the story and get people talking you did instead! great photo, post and comments.
RT, my problem is with your use of the word "lewd".
It means a moral looseness likely to deprave. Things have come to a sad state when we regard something like this as indecent and yet accept the overt sexualisation and deliberate titillation that passes for entertainment these days. Have you picked up a teen girl/boy magazine lately?
I'm aware that there still are differences between the US and the UK, but in the UK, a large number of (so called but best selling) newspapers provide a photograph of a bare breasted girl for your visual pleasure over your cornflakes. And yet, it is somehow seen as wrong and shameful for a mother to breast feed a child, even subtly, in public.
I have no problem with your preference for people wearing clothes. Chuck managed to capture a fairly flattering photo, I'm sure the reality was a lot less visually attractive. But please, this in not lewd or obscene.
Your comparison with people defecating in public is specious. And whether or not you want to encourage public nudity (and I count myself in the camp that think it would be a BAD thing) I think it has to be good that people understand the difference between reality and marketing.
If it were a parade of skimpily dressed men and women, oiled up, simulating sex, THAT would be lewd. It would also be quite similar to the pap pumped out into your living room via television.
Ha ha. I haven't tied that. Yet! Too bad that you only had the iPhone. Would have been interesting to see if they would have been up to a few portraits!
It's a nice shot for a camera phone! I notice they picked a nice day for this naked protest!
Ham, thanks for the clarification. I agree with you; I think my choice of the term 'lewd' wasn't the best choice in this case. Their judgment may not have been so great, but all in all, they're no more obscene than Michaelangelo's 'David'. Many Americans (myself included) can be a bit prudish on such issues, and see the prurient where it's not. I must confess I find the 'Page 3' girls in your country a bit racy, but once again, you know they're going to be there, so if you don't like it, don't look. I think your argument clarifies the issue very nicely, and proves my point that folks who follow this blog are a really classy bunch.
Thanks again for helping create an excellent discussion!
RT
Yeah, great capture with just an iphone. You are a true professional! And I am amazed that you were able to take non-revealing photos of naked bicycle riders!
You expertly managed to covered the R-rated parts and kept this photo PG-rated. Bravo!
Okay, I'm going to jump into the fray and debate the propriety of public nudity.
I grew up in a very conservative home where nudity and sex are considered "lewd" in the most extreme sense. It was to my amazement, later in life when I went away to college and had to shower with other naked bodies, that I realized nudity is actually very natural and liberating.
Granted, I won't go biking around naked in public -- more so for job security issue than modesty -- but I think this stunt is brilliant.
When I can afford to quit my job, I will definitely like to participate in this nude riding event -- with comfortable cushion seats, of course.
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