(from Living Blue in North Carolina/Facebook - Thanks for this great image, Neighbors.)
Our North Carolina neighbors have been gathering in impressive numbers for "Moral Mondays" at the statehouse in Raleigh. They're protesting ghastly laws recently hatched by Republicans. Since Republicans took over the governorship and the legislature for the first time in over a hundred years, they've bullied some devastating bills into law. Devastating especially to the working poor and the most fragile citizens of the state. They rejected the expansion of Medicaid, cut unemployment benefits and introduced legislation to alter voting laws. They've also been busy trying to roll back women's rights. In addition to all that, Governor Pat McCrory just handed a sweet gift to the Tea Party constituency by announcing a reduction in corporate and personal income taxes. No wonder liberals and progressives are rising up and risking arrest. I read yesterday that about 900 peaceful protesters have been arrested since the current legislative session began.
The Moral Mondays protest is inspiring. It's one aspect of the state's political landscape that even the vast wealth of Republican Tareel Art Pope can't buy. In other words, it's priceless.
While our neighbors are rising up, South Carolinians (and that includes me) have been sadly passive as we drift along in the same leaky boat. We've had the voter suppression laws ("voter ID" and no actual voter fraud to warrant it), horrific new gun legislation, bills to put women "in our place"via restricting reproductive options, and ohhh so many more. Our state's Republican legislative takeover happened long enough ago, so it's now the not-so-new normal. And we've had Republican governors for too long. Y'all remember Mark Sanford, right? And then we got Nikki Haley, a Tea Party sweetheart supported by Sarah Palin herself. That says enough, but there's a whole lot more.
With all the gun violence in this country—tragedies that should crack the coldest of hearts—our Governor visited a gun factory that's operated in South Carolina for a decade or so. She took time for photo ops, apparently enjoyed handling a big gun. Yesterday my Facebook feed was littered with pictures like this, our Governor with what looks like a weapon capable of mass destruction. I'll spare you a comment on the comments. Geeez.
(Photo posted on Facebook.)
So, with the overwhelming problems facing our state and the humans who live in it, she's out showing the NRA she's worthy of big support? Who knows why else she'd opt to do such an inappropriate, insensitive thing. This is but one of too many reasons to work hard for a strong Democratic gubernatorial candidate next year. Keywords: work hard—because it will take a lot of that along with a near miracle to get a Democrat in the Governor's office. I once heard this in a meditation group: "There is no order of difficulty in miracles." Comforting thought, but we still need to work!
Seems we complacent Sandlappers could take a cue from the Moral Mondays activists and do some protesting of our own. A great crowd did assemble at our statehouse on Saturday to honor Trayvon Martin's life and protest the "stand your ground" laws. The crowd was estimated at between 5,000 and 7,500. Not too shabby. I know some dedicated activists who drove to Columbia and were glad to be part of such an uplifting experience. Maybe it will motivate us to protest on a regular basis when our lawmakers come back in January.
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