A group of Disability Rights activists staged one of the many sit-ins around the country this week. The activists stayed overnight outside the office of Colorado Republican Senator Gardner. At one point, the police arrived to ask the protestors to leave or be arrested. That is when the activists peacefully educated the officers on aspects of the bill, and how they may also be affected.
Here is the video captured by Carrie Ann Lucas and posted on NOW THIS, followed by the video transcription.
Transcription:
Activists chant: Rather go to jail than die without Medicaid. Rather go to jail than die without Medicaid.
(Police showed up to arrest these disability activists who had taken over their senator’s office, but instead the officers got educated on Trumpcare.)
Activists chant: Senator Gardner, shame on you. Senator Gardner, shame on you.
Officer: Don’t you guys think you’d be more effective protesting outside?
Activist: No. We’re good right here.
Officer: If you go to jail, how are you going to protest?
Activist: We’re not going to engage in that kind of garbage.
Officer: I didn’t know they were going to get rid of Medicaid, I had no idea.
Activists: It affects everybody. It could affect you. God forbid you get shot on the job or something and you are disabled. Will the cops take care of you for the rest of your life?
Officer: I don’t know
Activist: Or would you need Medicaid or something?
Officer: I don’t know, I don’t know.
Activist: That’s the scary part. You don’t know, do you? I would be asking because in your line of work, even walking across the street, anything can happen.
Officer: Instead of protesting, tell me about it. I don’t even understand. So who would get cut off by the bill?
Activists: All of us. Everyone here
Officer: What do you guys want to do?
Activists: We want Senator Gardner to commit to vote no.
(The disability rights activists slept in Colorado Senator Gardner’s office over night.)
Activist: Without Medicaid, I could not live in the community. I could not parent my children. I could not go to work. This is not a rollback of the ACA. This takes us back 50 years. We’re gong to be here until Senator Gardner agrees to vote no on the anti-healthcare bill.
Cheers to the Disability Rights Resistance and to millions of world citizens who have shown up to sit-in, march, rally and protest this year. It sure is something to see and hoping to see more.