the list of now

This is a follow-up to my previous post on how the Governor of RI is an Asshat.

The protest was well attended and beautifully planned/designed.  There was no yelling or signs and although I understand how powerful large people in groups with anger can be… this was totally different.   Everyone was there because of the outrage over this veto, but it was peaceful and a little bit somber.  The crowd with the candles lined the walk up to the state house and there was an actual mock funeral procession up the walk and onto the stairs, accompanied by organ funeral music over a PA.  It was very visual and in that way, very powerful.

It’s important to note that this was not a protest planned by a particular organization or a coalition of organizations, as they often are.  This was a few citizens calling up to get a permit, and organizing all their friends and people in their immediate communities to actually DO something instead of sitting around and complaining.   They did it with no budget and within a very short amount of time.   That’s excellent and inspiring.  Proof that we can ALWAYS do something and sometimes that something ends up being very powerful and getting recognized locally by the people who can make changes.

There was coverage by local news.  The Providence Journal:

PROVIDENCE — About 150 protesters lit candles in the dark Thursday night and followed a black casket up the walk to the State House steps.
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Six pallbearers placed the coffin on the white marble steps, a seventh placed a wreath of white roses upon it, and Joe Roch, 29, of Providence turned to address the somber crowd.
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“We’re gathered here tonight out of a mutual sense of anger and frustration at Governor Carcieri’s recent veto of the domestic partners funeral bill” Roch said. He drew applause when he referred to comedian Stephen Colbert’s “shaming” Carcieri on national television.
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Although Carcieri killed the bill, Roch said, “Tonight we present you not with the mangled, defeated corpse of a dream deferred, but with a greater hunger for progress and equality for every man and woman in Rhode Island.”
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Lt. Gov. Elizabeth H. Roberts told those attending the protests that “almost every single member of the House and Senate supported the legislation,” called the governor’s veto “a cruel act” and promised the next session of the General Assembly would overturn the veto.

And on local news network WPRI:

Posted on November 21st, 2009 under Everyday Life, in the news, local, politics • Tags: politics, Rhode Island. • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback