Expecting Rights after
Losing Rights
Janet Kuypers
11/23/22
Okay,
I have heard
That peaceful protests can lead to change...
I mean,
Consider this:
For years I have purchased iodized salt
From Morton’s, in part because that logo of that
Little girl holding an umbrella was on display
At a huge manufacturing building
Downtown in the city where I worked for years.
(when my friend from England visited,
this citizen of the once British Empire,
He even photographed that building...)
But just once, I had to buy
Iodized salt from
Swad
Because of its logo
Of Mahatma Gandhi
Holding his now iconic cane...
For it’s not that I lived through the Salt March in India,
But I was in India,
I saw that march emblazoned on their money,
I saw that march as their statue in New Delhi,
So... I connected with that image of protest
For something as basic as salt, and I
Love that I am not the first to realize
That peaceful protests can lead to change.
But really,
Ladies,
When some basic rights have been taken away from you,
What made you think
That after peaceful protesting
You would have other basic rights to help you?
How silly of you.
How foolish of you.
You should have known better.
#
Three different women, from
Three different parts of these United States,
Attended a hearing open to the public
At the Supreme Court on the 2nd of November.
Now, I know protesting in the Supreme Court is
Forbidden, despite laws guaranteeing the
Right to peaceful protest, so I guess it’s no
Surprise that these women were stopped,
Including a 71-year-old who needed a cane,
Or a CEO who, after protesting with a
Single statement in court, held her hands out
To show she carried no weapons.
Now, as I said, I know pretesting like this is
Illegal, but when non-violent protests like this
Happen, protesters may be arrested —
But they are not detained. But as for these
Three entirely different women... They
Were put in ankle, waist and wrist manacles,
transferred four times in dark, tightly packed
transport vehicles that were ~ 100°F (38°C)
with bars over their laps and under their chins.
They were jailed with no right to counsel,
Detained overnight in tiny feces-laden and
Urine-spattered cells, where they each
Had to sit on either a metal toilet
Or a metal bed-frame with no mattress, as
Bright lights kept them all awake all night.
Yes, they’re looking into their mistreatment,
Which, in more than 30 hours of detention,
May violate constitutional and international rights.
(For yes, it’s not like they want any iodized salt
Rubbed into their already festering wounds...)
And yes, they were let go and never were actually
Charged, so in some senses these jailhouses
Seem to be able to do whatever they want...
So really, when it comes down to it,
Ladies,
You should have known better. If these
Primarily bible-belt southerners with that
White male supremacy mentality — who
Prefer to repress women — can take away
Some of your rights, then did you really think
They’d let you keep any sense of your own
Morality if you tried to talk back? Because,
Really,
I’m sorry,
Ladies,
But you should have known better.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/12/abortion-activists-
night-of-hell-us-supreme-court
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