Crossposted at Texas Kaos
Yesterday in Austin, Texas, under the hot, blazing sun, I was certainly proud to stand with like-minded citizens in favor of health care for all.
As you might expect, there was a counter rally of people who do not wish to show compassion to their fellow human beings. According to some on that side, somehow people who insurance companies REFUSE to cover are to blame for the fact that they do not have health insurance.
So much ignorance and hate, so little time. More below.
When my friend and I arrived for the event, a little early, the only people we saw were the anti-health care reform crowd with their usual signs depicting our president either as the Joker or as Hitler. Sprinkled amongst them were the Texas secessionists waving their "Don't tread on me" signs.
We found a bench under a big shade tree and enjoyed our lunch and then ventured into the Capitol to the restroom. I took my friend up to the third floor just off the rotunda and showed her the office where I once worked. We were in the Capitol for probably no more than 6 or 7 minutes.
When we emerged, there was quite a crowd of pro-health reform people covering the steps of the Capitol. The "anti" crowd was just below the steps, and more "pro" people on the other side. In other words, we had them surrounded.
One particularly intellectual individual infiltrated our side and positioned himself right beside me and my friend on the steps. He held up his offensive sign and began to chant, "Healthcare sucks" over and over. Chant is probably too kind a word; it was more like bellowing. I turned to him and said, "Yes, it does. That's why we need to fix it." That set him off on a "socialist" rant to which I responded by turning back to the crowd and holding my sign supporting the public option high. He sputtered to silence and skulked off to rejoin his group.
We then walked over to a health care rally being held at a church a block from the Capitol. When I RSVP'd to attend the event, the website originally said they would be limiting tickets to 500. Well, that changed dramatically. The church was filled to capacity -- 1200 people! An arrangement for an overflow facility had been made (a union hall) which was ALSO filled to capacity. There was an overflow of people lining the block outside the church. Some pro, some anti. We could hear them yelling from time to time from inside the church.
Congressman Lloyd Doggett was the keynote speaker at the forum. When he entered the building, it was to a standing ovation that lasted as he walked down the aisle greeting people as he went, and for several minutes after. When it was his turn to speak, he started by saying that some people remarked that he didn't look the same in person as he did on tv. He said he told them, "Yes, I know. Since this forum was being held in a church, I thought it best to remove the red horns."
Several people spoke including a pastor, two doctors, the mayor of Austin, reps from public policy groups, the NAACP, veterans and several people telling their personal healthcare stories.
The pastor who spoke, Jim Rigby from St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Austin, was inspirational. Two quotes from his too-short talk (speakers except for Congressman Doggett were limited to 5 minutes):
"If you talk about helping the poor, they call you a Christian. If you actually help the poor, they call you a Socialist."
"The American dream is not about property rights. It is about human rights."
I took a few pictures at the Capitol event and will share a couple of my favorites:
I will close by saying "amen" to that sentiment. Let's git 'er done!