This evening close to 200 individuals picketed in Kansas City at Mill Creek Park, adjacent to the Plaza, against Donald Trump’s (r) escalation toward war with Iran. The protest rally was organized online (via social media) and sponsored by Indivisible KC.
Shouted from a pickup truck in traffic: ‘Trump 2020.’
Response from the picket line: ‘Fuck you.’
From the pickup truck: ‘If you don’t like it, leave.’
Wait a minute. How can that last retort make any sense? That’s not how it’s supposed to work. While the minority may possess power, they can’t dictate or control how anyone else chooses to respond to it.
A Fascist in a pickup truck. Go figure. Welcome to America in 2020.
This afternoon around 100 individuals rallied and picketed in Kansas City at Mill Creek Park, adjacent to the Plaza, against Donald Trump’s (r) escalation toward war with Iran.
“Give peace a chance”
“This asshole is going to fuck around and get us all killed”
“Diplomacy, not war, with Iran”
“No more wars. No innocent blood spilled over big oil.”
At 5:00 p.m. this evening close to two hundred individuals gathered in below freezing temperatures to stand in day old snow at Mill Creek Park near the entrance to the Plaza in Kansas City – in support of impeaching and removing Donald Trump (r). This was one of over 600 hundred such rallies organized across the country on the eve of the House debate and vote on articles of impeachment for Trump.
“Trump is not above the law.”
Media coverage included at least two Kansas City metro area television stations.
Interview with the metro area ABC affiliate.
“Trust America, not Russia”
“Impeach!”
The Four Horsemen of Impeachment:
“Extortion, Bribery, Obstruction, Emoluments”
“Impeach Trump”
“Putin on the Grift”
“Trump is not above the law”
Interview with the metro area Fox affiliate.
For the most part the reaction from passing traffic into the Plaza shopping area was supportive – consisting mostly of sustained car horns. The occasional Trump dead ender shouted at the protesters. The response from the picket line was a group chant of “lock him up.”
“…Raise your hand if you’ve lost a loved one to violence. Just raise your hand. Keep your hand up. Raise your hand if you know someone who’s lost a loved one. Keep your hand up. Look around. Just look around…” [almost everyone in the room of around 250 people had a raised hand]
Wednesday evening on the Penn Valley campus of the Metropolitan Community Colleges Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) hosted a town hall of sorts on gun violence. The community event included elected officials, law enforcement officials, and leaders of community groups.
Damon Daniel, Ad-Hoc Group Against Crime.
Damon Daniel, Ad-Hoc Group Against Crime:
…I think it’s important for us to stop and recognize the fact that you don’t know what people are going through. And when you talk about the issue of violence people are walking around the city, next to you, they’re your neighbors, they’re the folks that wait on you at the cash register, these are the folks that teach in your classroom, these are the students in your classrooms, these are folks at your pharmacy, these are the folks that pull up at the light next to you that are hurting. And as some people say ‘hurt people sometimes hurt people.’ But healed people heal people as well…
…The vision that I have is a vision where people, especially young people can grow up with an understanding of the value of forgiveness. And that they know and understand how to resolve conflict without violence. I have a vision that one day Congress will pass common sense gun legislation that puts people before profits…
“…I see so many mothers crying on crime scenes, ‘they killed my baby’. But we have to tell the truth, your baby didn’t know how to resolve conflicts. Your baby can’t jut hit somebody and expect their response to be, ‘okay, that’s okay’. We have to teach our young people conflict resolution…”
Wednesday evening on the Penn Valley campus of the Metropolitan Community Colleges Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) hosted a town hall of sorts on gun violence. The community event included elected officials, law enforcement officials, and leaders of community groups.
Rashid Junaid, Aim 4Peace.
Rashid Junaid, Aim 4Peace:
…You can’t run from it. You gotta deal with this. Today. [applause] So they first shot at experiences of the trauma that we see happening in our community, we gotta deal with it. We gotta make sure we get the proper help to these families…
…So I’m saying conflict resolution. I’m saying trauma informed care. And I’m saying the third thing, it ain’t free…
“…After Sandy Hook we were all quite sure that something would be done. Now is the time. Something would be done. And nothing was done…”
Wednesday evening on the Penn Valley campus of the Metropolitan Community Colleges Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) hosted a town hall of sorts on gun violence. The community event included elected officials, law enforcement officials, and leaders of community groups.
Judy Sherry, Grandparents Against Gun Violence.
Judy Sherry, Grandparents Against Gun Violence:
…We’re already hearing the usual responses from those unwilling to face the facts about gun violence. Of course, mental health and video games ae to blame for these horrendous events. And background checks simply don’t work. But data tells us something different. What we know is just four percent of gun crimes are committed by people with known diagnosed mental illness. Now we would certainly say that anybody who commits one of these crimes is, at that moment, mentally unfit. But these, this is not an invasion, not an issue of people all over the country afflicted with mental health issues that are causing the gun violence. We know video games, they’re played the world over. Yet we know that Americans are twenty-two times more likely to be killed with a gun than people in any other developed nation. That’s a crime. I’m beginning to wonder if we get to say ‘developed nation’ too much longer. That is a crime. And background checks? No, they don’t always work. But speed limits don’t always work either. I’m here to tell you that. But we don’t say, ‘let’s not have speed limits anymore’ because some people break the law. You just do it…
“…What they’re trying to do is tell you, stop worrying about guns. What they’re trying to do is tell you, nah, nah, you’re not empowered to make a difference…”
Wednesday evening on the Penn Valley campus of the Metropolitan Community Colleges Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) hosted a town hall of sorts on gun violence. The community event included elected officials, law enforcement officials, and leaders of community groups.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.
Mayor Lucas:
…What you are seeing on the streets, and I know there are a lot of victims, there are a lot of people touched, but I know in the community I’m from you are seeing nothing less, nothing short of a mass genocide. Right? You are seeing nothing short of a devaluing of lives, particularly in black lives. And what we’re seeing in our community is consistently, year after year, is people that are trying to tell us that doesn’t matter. That it doesn’t need to change. What I’m saying right now is, no, it does. It does…
…You know what I want the next group of people to say [in the future]? To say, wow, it’s different now…
“…I’ll start off with telling you that I’m mad. I’m not hopeless. The day I become hopeless will be the day I turn over the baton to someone else. Because you deserve leaders who are not hopeless. Because this problem is not hopeless. It’s hard, but it is not hopeless. We must demand more of our leaders [applause]…”
Yesterday evening on the Penn Valley campus of the Metropolitan Community Colleges Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) hosted a town hall of sorts on gun violence. The community event included elected officials, law enforcement officials, and leaders of community groups.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker (D).
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker (D):
…I want to be specific about what I mean about that. Jefferson City has passed, over about the past fifteen years, a series of law that have greatly impacted my work and my life as a prosecutor. These laws were not initiated, even though they greatly impact my business, they were not enacted by or screaming by prosecutors to have these changes. No prosecutor in the State of Missouri asked for ‘Stand Your Ground’ law. Even though prosecutors must run on a political platform – you’re either a Republican or a Democrat in the State of Missouri when you run for elected office as a prosecutor. But not one of those elected officials went to that capitol building and said, we want ‘Stand Your Ground Law’ in Missouri. So, why do we have it? Why did that happen? [voices: “NRA.”]…
…It’s time for us to move this further. Because gun laws matter. It is one thing, it is one tool. But it does matter. Because if you look at Missouri it is not an accident that we are in this position. It is not an accident. It is because we have deregulated weapons to a point that it is dangerous here. It’s dangerous. You deserve better. You deserve better, you should demand better of those who represent you and those who don’t…
Yesterday evening on the Penn Valley campus of the Metropolitan Community Colleges Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) hosted a town hall of sorts on gun violence. The community event included elected officials, law enforcement officials, and leaders of community groups. Approximately 250 individuals and members of activist groups from the Kansas City metropolitan area attended. Media from the Kansas City metropolitan area covered the two hour long town hall.
“Do something”
“We must stop killing each other”
Patty Lewis (left), a Democratic Party candidate in the 25th Legislative District.
Representative Ashley Bland Manlove (D).
Patty Lewis (left), a Democratic Party candidate in the 25th legislative District, and Elad Gross (right), a Democratic Party candidate for Missouri Attorney General.
Representative Richard Brown (D).
Kansas City, Missouri Police Department Chief Richard Smith (left), Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) (center), and Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker (D) (right).
Speakers included Representative Cleaver (D), MCC Chancellor Dr. Kimberly Beatty, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, and the leadership (and members) of Moms Demand Action – Missouri, Grandparents against Gun Violence, Mothers in Charge, March for Our Lives – KC, Aim 4Peace, and the Ad-Hoc Group Against Crime.
[….]
I love you Kansas City. For the last 20 years I have dedicated my life to making this city a better place. For the last 250 days I’ve had the honor and privilege of traveling to every corner of this great community — talking to our neighbors and connecting with thousands of residents about the future of our home.
We walked the length of the city. We took the time to tour neighborhoods with leaders who work hard every day to build a better community. One neighbor called it – leadership by walking around. We saw first hand what we are getting right — and got an up close look at the problems we still need to solve.
Through it all we were always able to find that Kansas City Spirit. A pride that is bigger than all of us. A desire to make sure that Kansas City’s success continues in every neighborhood.
Along the way, people stepped up to help. We shared a vision. While we didn’t get the outcome we wanted in this election, that vision has not changed.
Thank you to the Justus League and all our generous supporters. Your time, generosity, sweat and passion were felt throughout the city and I appreciate each and every one of you.
So what’s next? First and foremost, I won’t disengage and neither should you. We must support our city’s leaders and keep working to move our city forward. I know that’s exactly what you will do.
Kansas City is on a roll – and we are just getting started. I know you love this city as much as I do and I know you have it in you to stay in the game. Let’s dig deep and make sure we build the safe, diverse, and equitable city that we deserve.
