Tell me what Democracy looks like?
This is what Democracy looks like.
A remarkable day. The pictures tell the story.
Folks started gathering at the Jubilee Center around 12:30 PM, for today's 1PM March for Life in Hoboken. In front of the Jubilee center were a voter registration table, a sign-making table, and a t-shirt table. Folks I spoke to came from Weehawken, Union City, West New York, Newark and yes, Hoboken, too. The diversity of the crowd was amazing- so were the signs.
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| sign-making table |
Yep, folks kept coming until there was quite a crowd. Hey, that guy looks familiar... is he stripping? Oh, it's Mayor Bhalla and he's putting on a t-shirt! There's his family!
These two lovely young ladies taught the crowd a few cheers.
Oh look, it's the lovely Leah Healy with the lovely Jim Doyle!
Okay people- we're off!
The route went down Jackson, then a left on 5th Street, we cut through Church Square Park and walked up to Washington Street...
... arriving at City Hall!
Check out the crowd size!
At City Hall, the Mayor spoke briefly to welcome us and express unconditional support for the safe schools and gun reform movement. He also announced the Council members in attendance, plus Freeholder Stick Romano. Councilwoman Vanessa Falco spoke briefly as well.
But it was not a day for politicking. It was a historic, remarkable day owned by the kids of America, led by the brave Parkland teenage survivors. Their message resonated through the 800+ marches happening simultaneously throughout the world: "ENOUGH"; we are interconnected by fierce determination to let those in power know: action now or we throw your asses out of office.
Oh yeah, this is what Democracy looks like.
The activists are the voices of this movement.
Oh yeah, this is what Democracy looks like.
The activists are the voices of this movement.
Among the speakers were the family members of Parkland victim, Alyssa Alhadeff. Her mom sent a heartbreaking message read by their cousin, a Hoboken resident- who also spoke of losing her dear Alyssa. Another cousin, a little boy, spoke as well. The messages from Alyssa's family, about losing her, were so painful to hear. This movement will not go away.
A Stevens Cooperative student read a beautifully-written essay which articulated her fear that kids like herself, 14 years-old, will not survive a day at school.
Then two sweet young ladies read messages sent by NJ Senator Cory Booker, and Hoboken Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro neither of whom were able to be there (Chapparo had a death in the family.)
And, the founder of the Hudson Country Chapter of Moms Demand Action, Councilwoman Emily Jabbour spoke passionately about what made her get started- safety drills at her child's pre-k. Emily's Chapter is growing by the day. Contact her if you would like to join the group.
Last but not least, GA would like thank Reverend Elaine Thomas of All Saints, who ran today's events.
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| Alyssa Alhadeff's cousin |
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| A 14 year-old Stevens Cooperative student addresses the crowd. |
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| LOVE it. |
@MomsDemandAction
@AMarch4OurLives
#MarchForOurLives
The great tragedy of Sandy Hook was not that another emotionally imbalanced shooter with unlimited access to semi-automatic weapons turned another school into a killing field. It was that the slaughter of twenty 6- and 7-year-old children didn't break our hearts sufficiently to do anything about it. It lowered the bar to nothingness. Nothing requires a response. Nothing is to be done. Nothing matters, particularly "our thoughts and prayers" which were thereby forevermore divorced from meaningful action.
ReplyDeleteSandy Hook established that there was no line we wouldn't cross, that hell on earth was fine if the alternative were restricting access to guns and ammo. It was an inoculation into a bottomless amorality where no viral feeling of our connectedness to each other could touch us.
Legislative non-responses to Pulse and the Vegas shooting, save for doubling the usual quantity of thoughts and prayers, were to be expected. The punchline of the old joke goes, we already established what you are, now we're just haggling over the price. After Sandy Hook, even the haggling was gone. A nation that can be induced to ignore the most primal human instinct -to protect its children- does not need to be negotiated with.
So one can be excused for not expecting much to come of the mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneham High. I certainly didn't anticipate looking for my orange hat and hauling my ass over to Ferris HS in JC on laundry day. But here we all are. In Trump's America no less.
Let's be honest - America has really only had a few great presidents, absurd federal holiday built on the notion that "all presidents' lives matter" notwithstanding. We have had them when we absolutely needed them and skated by on our (fading) good looks and (fading) prospects for the future the rest of the time.
The great American leaders have usually been situational. The right person at the right moment. The message of those leaders has always been essentially, "you know better than this." The "better angels" of Lincoln's inaugural address. The subtext of every paragraph of the Letter from a Birmingham Jail. This time of year Jackie Robinson always comes to mind. Right man, right time. Daring you to deny him his place on that field or by extension any field anywhere. And now we add Emma to that list. Why? Because of everyone that tried, of everyone that should have gotten through to us -- she did. We do know better than this. You can't look at that face and claim you don't. Time to put some muscle behind those thoughts and prayers. See you at the highschool.
Beautiful, Info. I will say that the grassroots gun reform movement, Moms Demand Action, was started in response to the Sandy Hook shooting by an Indiana mom, Shannon Watts, as a Facebook group. MDA grew to 4 million members before the Parkland shooting-- I'd venture to guess that number is exponentially larger now. That's based on the growth of the Hudson County Chapter of Moms Demand Action, started by Emily Jabbour. Her last new member meeting in Hoboken attracted over 100. There's an active Jersey City group now. When I wear my MDA t shirt around Hoboken I get smiles, strangers say "great message"- like Emily said yesterday, we are at a tipping point in our history. Politicians need to act or get out of our way.
DeleteThis is what Democracy looks like.
Thank you for these wonderful photos!
DeleteYou're very welcome, Pastor Thomas. You did such an amazing job putting together Hoboken's march- what a turnout!
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