Big Day for Me

[ruckman101]

Ayep. Got up earlier than my comfort zone, and got out from my rationalized "I'm doing enough" desk and facilitated some vid capturing of an actual political protest.

Friday before I have to be at work, first anniversary for the corporate funded astroturf Citizens United legal challenge stamped yes with the Supreme Court decision that opened the corporate cash flow to interests seeking to ensure biblical end times. And world dominance.

Gotta cover this event of civil disobedience.

Street theater antics, c'mon, the people. Those opened purse strings co-opted, stole, funded and mockingly stoked and encouraged the ignance that became the bagger movement.

So as I was saying, up active out of my sedate comfort zone, and we drove downtown to cover the event before I had to be at work. That's like two or three hours challenging my normal awakening routine. I'm committed. And it's wet and rainy. Duh! I live in a temperate rain forest climate.

I'll cut to the chase. A group of nine citizens collaborated and agreed to don judicial robes and represent the members of our country's Supreme Court at the time the decision was ratified. Made legal. Cash flow is a freedom of speech right according to the decision of our Supreme Court.

There were four dissenters I believe. A narrow decision.

And those nine did don robes, five of those robes were festooned nascar style with corporate logoing, four were merely black robes.

It was all kinds of fun, but at the same time pathetically futile. The representative justices, all with umbrellas*, walked around this and that block about PDX's downtown Pioneer Courthouse Square, a public open space in downtown that dates to the '70s. Goldschmidt. Trolleys.

Ya know how you can get lumped in with the dude with the big Jesus save you repent sign carrier? Almost as much attention.

Every one was very tolerant. Yeah, whatever. Portlandia. Well, almost. We did have a spontaneous expression of outrage happen. She dogged and loudly hounded the tolerant lethargic public at large to see the reality.

And then there was the inexplicable collision of the group of supreme court justices carrying protest signs lining up next to a "in the field" local network affiliate television crew.

Talk about street theater. Network crew was not even seeing, although standing next to, the street theater assemblage. When the lens meat was cued to spout, he did, about the weather. We left.

Sure, a baby step out of the comfort zone, but what have you done for your democracy today?



neal

*NW, DUH! True, I have great respect for rain and protecting expensive production equipment from it.