We've Had Enough

We’ve Had Enough

We, the people, have had enough. We are angry and anxious about the unrelenting barrage of crazy, threatening, intimidating messages from the authoritarian person who calls himself president. This is not the first time we’ve had enough.

I was reading about Rosa Parks this week as February 4th was the 113th anniversary of her birth. Here’s what I learned about Americans being fed-up: On December 1, 1955, Rosa was arrested for refusing to move from her bus seat (Jim Crow racial segregation was alive and well in 1955 Alabama.) She was physically taken off the bus and arrested. The Women’s Political Council organized a one-day Montgomery bus boycott on the day of her trial. But when she was found guilty of violating state law, the boycott was extended indefinitely and lasted 381 days!

On June 5, 1956, a Federal Court ruled segregation on public buses unconstitutional, saying it violated the 14th Amendment. On November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS) upheld the ruling – thereby banning it nationally. Of course, that decision was appealed, but on December 20, 1956, SCOTUS upheld its original decision. The bus boycott ended.

Wow! A bunch of determined citizens stood for what they knew was right – for 381 days they stood strong. And they got the result they aimed for. Too cool. We the people….

Dan Harris, journalist and author, said “action absorbs anxiety”. So, if you are anxious about all this “stuff” join other brave folks of Curry County and take action. We cannot let up. And this time we’ve only got 265 days to go.

Gold Beach is planning peaceful demonstrations every Saturday from 12-1 PM in front of the County Courthouse. See ‘ya there.

Be tenacious. Be vigilant. Resist.

Janet E. Jeffery, Gold Beach