[ad_1]
On a sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court, school teacher Amanda Stafford carefully chalked the words: “That is the hope of the dissenters: that they write not for today, but for tomorrow.”
It was a quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a judge better known for her dissenters than for her majority views, including the Bush v Gore case that decided the 2000 presidential election. Ginsburg died of pancreatic cancer on Friday at age 87, shaking most recent for an angry, divided and fragile nation.
On Saturday night, as summer succumbed to the fall chill, thousands came to mourn her at a vigil outside the courthouse in Washington. Some made speeches. Others sang songs. More joined hands or put flowers and candles. Stafford paid tribute in chalk.
“I wanted to show words that are empowering at a time when many people feel exhausted,” explained the 31-year-old from Alexandria, Virginia. “As a woman in a country that is increasingly divided, it is important to come out and stand up for someone who made this her life’s work.”
Like many others, including numerous mothers and daughters, Stafford was deeply affected by the loss of the feminist pole star.
“I burst into tears and went to sit in a park, sobbing. I called my closest friends and we cried together. What is the state of American democracy in which the death of a single woman feels like an omen of hopelessness? We are already in a pandemic and losing it felt like the end. “
The Stafford tribute was one of many outside the court, built in the 1930s in classical style to project the full majesty of the law, its 16 marble columns lit up as two American flags flew at half mast. “RIP RGB” read a banner in the colors of the rainbow of the LGBTQ movement. “For my daughter,” said another, simply.
“Real change, lasting change, happens step by step: Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” was written on a cardboard sign amid a sea of images, candles, and flowers. “She kept theology out of our biology” was one of the acknowledgments of Ginsburg’s support for reproductive rights.
One of the most popular posts was “When there are nine,” a reference to Ginsburg’s comment, “When sometimes they ask me when there will be enough [women on the supreme court]? And I mean, when there are nine ”. There were nods to a hip-hop-inspired nickname, “Notorious RBG,” and a tribute that read, “Though I was little, I was fierce,” a quote from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ginsburg, 5 feet 1 inch tall, was a lover of theater, especially opera.
But in front of the court stood the equally imposing United States Capitol, a reminder of the political war to come. Just weeks before a presidential election, Donald Trump appears poised to nominate a Conservative to succeed Ginsburg, sparking a fistfight in the Senate.
There was pain for what the nation had lost and fear for the future of its democracy. But especially in a gathering that was part wake, part demonstration, there was a sense of determination and a willingness to fight, a word repeated by many of those who made speeches.
In front of a banner calling for “RGB Honor, No Confirmation Until Inauguration,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Ginsburg “was an icon, a pioneer, a role model, a friend. We are here tonight to cry but not to despair. The stakes are high for the future. “
Warren accused the Senate Majority Leader of trying to hijack the confirmation process. Today, Mitch McConnell and his henchmen believe they can get through a supreme court judge just 45 days before the election.
“Mitch McConnell thinks this fight is over. What Mitch McConnell doesn’t understand is that this fight has just begun … Tonight is the time to say from the heart, with conviction, to ourselves and to anyone who is listening: when it comes to the fight to protect the right of a woman to choose, fight. “
The senator led chants of “I will fight!” and “I will fight!”, concluding: “It is an honor to be in this fight with you.”
Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, told the meeting: “The horrific tragedy right now is that a man who was credibly accused of assaulting some 20 women would have the recklessness to name the replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” .
Someone yelled, “No way!”
Almost everyone wore masks. Five people were sitting cross-legged and holding hands in a circle around two dozen candles. Some carried placards and banners celebrating Ginsburg and denouncing Trump.
Amber Jones, 65, a retired writer, held a sign that read, “Honor her wish. No vote. “She admitted,” A lot of my friends couldn’t be here tonight. They’ve turned off the news and are trying to distract themselves.
“Most of us are preparing for battle. The incumbent is undoing everything we’ve worked for for 50 years. If he stays in office, it could be 50 years before we get back to where we were. I hope RGB is looking down on us and going to intercede. “
In the combustible mix of the pandemic, the presidential elections and the fight in the supreme court, anxiety was high. Jones said: “I am concerned about something approaching civil war because one side has all the guns. It’s not our side. “
Kia Hamadanchy, 34, a lawyer, said frankly: “I was worried about the future of America before this. Just when you think things can’t get worse, they get worse. “
Amanda Barber, 35, a nurse holding a sign that read, “Honor your precedents, honor their legacy,” said she had come to a home search website. “I started with Zillowing places in Toronto. It’s just for fun. But I’m not sure I can take another four years of this. “
[ad_2]
