Hesitation, Hope and Kermit the Frog
On Saturday, June 14, Jim and I celebrated our anniversary a day early with a sushi meal in downtown Decatur followed by participating in the No Kings, Just Pops event.
https://www.whenwestand.org/
We’ve been to a lot of protests over the years. The times have changed, however. It was hard to know what to expect, and after the assassinations in Minnesota of Democratic politicians, the fear level was real. I also made the mistake of reading some comments on social media with threats of driving into protests or shooting protestors in south Georgia. While Decatur is safely and solidly progressive, there was still doubt in my mind about whether we would be safe. I was hesitant to even leave the house. But after seeing photos of brave people protesting in Minnesota, we took the leap.
What we found were hundreds of people standing up for our country. The signs were clever, the mood was joyful, and ages ranged from 0-99. Family friendly was an understatement. Kids ran around playfully under the statue of John Lewis as we assembled and heard speeches and instructions. A highlight was Kermit the Frog leading us in singing Rainbow Connection.
It was a peaceful and hope-filled experience, and even the pouring rain toward the end of our march did not dampen spirits.
Unfortunately, a few miles up the road in Chamblee, a more Hispanic area of our county saw their peaceful protest met with police over-reaction in the form of tear gas and arrests. They arrested a journalist and turned him over to ICE. Video shows clearly that the protestors did nothing to provoke these actions. The difference between these two neighborhoods is limited to the racial demographics. Thankfully, our elected officials here in Dekalb County have promised to investigate. It will be up to us to hold them to account so this is not forgotten and doesn’t happen again in our county. If they don’t respond appropriately, the next step will be the ballot box.
Speaking of the ballot box, today is election day for the Public Service Commission primary here in Georgia. If you haven’t voted yet, you have time! Help choose the people that will make decisions about what we pay for power and how green our Georgia energy will be in the years to come.
