Inspiration.
I’ve always held out hope for this small city. I have struggled with it and grown tired of it, tried to get away from it only to find myself back in it. It’s a weird and seductive place, and I have lived here longer than I have lived anywhere. It is the city of my home and my hometown.
I have recently fallen in love with it all over again. With Columbia, and with about 19 people. And it all happened last night. Well, it's been brewing for awhile, but these Occupy Columbia kids have really been tugging the heart strings. Last night was an intense night. Around 4 PM the governor held a press conference and told the Occupiers, who have been protesting at the state house for 24 hours a day for 33 days, that they were being evicted. In an hour and a half. Things moved quickly. Eviction was at 6 PM. I got off work and headed over to the state house to meet with the Occupiers. Certain people wanted to stand their ground and stay there after 6 PM. They knew it was going to end in arrest. As 6 approached, this amazing group of men and women sat around the base of the Confederate Flag (ironic?), linked arms, and waited. 6 PM came and went. The surrounding law enforcement officers didn't move. 6:15 came, and around the side of the state house emerged about 20 more officers. Not in riot gear. No weapons that I could see. They formed a line and announced that it was time to go. No one moved. Not the 19 with arms linked, not the people standing around. Rain started coming down, and then it started pouring down. Wind blowing like mad. Leaves hitting us in the face. The police started to move forward, keeping their line, moving everyone towards the road. After all others were removed from the lawn, the officers went up to the protesters remaining, arms still linked. Asked them one by one to stand to be arrested. They did. One by one the protesters were led away. One by one.
It was one of the most intense things I have witnessed.
I’ve always held out hope for this small city. I have struggled with it and grown tired of it, tried to get away from it only to find myself back in it. It’s a weird and seductive place, and I have lived here longer than I have lived anywhere. It is the city of my home and my hometown.
I have recently fallen in love with it all over again. With Columbia, and with about 19 people. And it all happened last night. Well, it's been brewing for awhile, but these Occupy Columbia kids have really been tugging the heart strings. Last night was an intense night. Around 4 PM the governor held a press conference and told the Occupiers, who have been protesting at the state house for 24 hours a day for 33 days, that they were being evicted. In an hour and a half. Things moved quickly. Eviction was at 6 PM. I got off work and headed over to the state house to meet with the Occupiers. Certain people wanted to stand their ground and stay there after 6 PM. They knew it was going to end in arrest. As 6 approached, this amazing group of men and women sat around the base of the Confederate Flag (ironic?), linked arms, and waited. 6 PM came and went. The surrounding law enforcement officers didn't move. 6:15 came, and around the side of the state house emerged about 20 more officers. Not in riot gear. No weapons that I could see. They formed a line and announced that it was time to go. No one moved. Not the 19 with arms linked, not the people standing around. Rain started coming down, and then it started pouring down. Wind blowing like mad. Leaves hitting us in the face. The police started to move forward, keeping their line, moving everyone towards the road. After all others were removed from the lawn, the officers went up to the protesters remaining, arms still linked. Asked them one by one to stand to be arrested. They did. One by one the protesters were led away. One by one.
It was one of the most intense things I have witnessed.
Then things got nuts, and I ended up at the jail at 11 PM for bond hearings with an attorney who drove in from Charleston, another who drove from Anderson, and one who just called and offered to help. Everyone was released on a PR bond. When we came out of the bond hearing around 1AM, the lobby was filled with friends and family who came in support.
The upshot is that these people, all of them, have humbled me and inspired me and reminded me of something I haven't seen in a while. Hope. Idealism. Showing up when it's time to show up. It's so important.
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| waiting for something to happen. |
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| this doesn't do it justice |
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| after the bond hearings, those who came to the jail in support of those arrested. |
Good, honest, genuine people joining together for a common cause for the common good. It's a beautiful thing.
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