The Restroom Laws Movement

We set up a booth for the Restroom Laws Movement at the Eugene Pride Festival on August 14th, and it sure was a blast! There was a low attendance of festival-goers this year, but we got to meet lots of really great people and spread the message about the Movement. We handed out copies of the ‘Restroom Laws’ letter, and free Hall Passes that only the students can sign, proclaiming their choice to use the restroom when they need.

Out of about a hundred people we spoke to, only three of them, none of whom have been a compulsory student for probably 50 years, were in disagreement with the Movement. I had a conversation with one of them who claimed that the few people who would abuse the system are justification enough for enforcing such rules on students as asking permission to use the restroom. If you ask me, I think it sounds like “guilty until proven innocent,” and, frankly, that practice is solidly against the ideal of liberty and justice for all.

We generally received great thanks for starting the Movement, many words of support, and questions about if there was some kind of petition or declaration to sign (I will be posting a declaration on the website later this week). While we didn’t have a declaration to sign there, we did collect 19 newsletter sign-ups!

We spoke to a social worker who works in schools directly with children, and he expressed that he would like to help as an advocate in the Movement.

Later, we caught the attention of Joshua Keim, a renowned Eugene restaurateur, and founder of 1WorldCurrency.Net. Mr. Keim, amidst hosting the beer garden he set up at the festival, took the time to grab a copy of the ‘Restroom Laws’ letter, and after reading it he returned to our booth and requested an extra copy of the letter, stating that he would like to place it on his bulletin board at his 1WorldCurrency.Net booth he will be taking to Burning Man 2010, in Nevada’s Black Rock Dessert (August 30th through September 6th, 2010).

For quite a while, we dialogued with a person who works in the prison system, and she said that there is a school-to-prison pipeline. She elaborated on that, telling us that many public schools treat the students with so little trust that it trains them to act like they are in prison, and she has noticed a strong correlation between the students acting like they’re in prison, and eventually acting out in ways that land them in prison. She said that when the students are automatically treated as though they cannot be trusted, they reflect that attitude because that is essentially what they are being taught to do.

We also talked to a handful of parents and they took copies of the ‘Restroom Laws’ letter to bring home and share with their children attending elementary school. I got to speak directly to the child of one of these parents, a seven-year-old boy, who, despite my using too many words, after a little thinking was able to wrap his head around the whole idea and was in full support. The boy wanted me to know that if a teacher were to come to the booth and realize what it’s all about, the results were likely to be greatly in the Movement’s favor.

A kinesthesiologist told us that in hypnosis sessions with her adult patients, most of them dredge up memories of fear surrounding the requirement to ask permission to use the restroom in school, and they drew a clear connection between the restroom permission requirement and how they have been stuck their whole lives in an endless loop of needing permission in order to feel comfortable doing virtually everything they do.

At least 80% of the adults didn’t have a clue that students, particularly junior- and high-school students, were asking permission to use the restroom and getting denied. When they learned about it, they were in support of the Movement.

Most rewarding was talking to the students currently in the compulsory education system. We got to see a lot of faces light up when they would realize what exactly the Movement is all about. Many of them took several copies of the ‘Restroom Laws’ letter and Hall Passes to hand out to their friends! The most common response we heard from students about school restroom permission was “I know! Isn’t it stupid?”

We set out a donations container for printing, transportation, etc. We got one dollar from an amazingly enthusiastic person who seemed overtaken with excitement about the Movement. She told us “Eugene really needs this to happen!” Small festivals can be a hard places to get donations, considering most people are buying their food a few booths down, but that single dollar really seemed to mean a lot to her, and it did to us. Thank you!!!

Thanks to all who stopped by the Restroom Laws Movement booth at the Eugene Pride Festival 2010. Your support is greatly appreciated and we really hope to see you in Eugene at one of our next events. Until then, spread the word. It’s time to stop asking permission!

Remember, if you don’t ask for permission, nobody can deny you permission.

Peace,
Brandon R. Farmer

P.S. Sorry for the lack of photos, I know photos would seriously add some more weight my reports on the Restroom Laws Movement events, but I still don’t have a working digital camera (mine unfortunately drowned recently in the care of a friend who doesn’t have the ability to replace it), and I’m not sure when I will be able to afford another one. Want to get me one?