I had the privilege to attend the Bernie Sanders Rally in St. Paul, MN last night on 1/26. The experience started off with long line to park. It was a pleasant realization that he had built such large presence here in Minnesota. Event parking was as expensive as it gets over by the Xcel Energy Center. $15 just to park. It seemed like a very small price to pay to get a chance to see and hear from Bernie directly. We stood in a line that had snaked in the skyway across Kellogg Blvd. Then the wait started. In 40 minutes our line had moved just 15 feet. I started to feel disheartened at the missed opportunity to see the man I wished to see. It seemed people were registering at the entrance, I assumed to gather more data for the campaign. The problem came that the internet site used to gain entrance was down. Too many people were there for Bernie that it had crashed the site. Again encouraging, but also disheartening that this trip may not result in seeing Bernie.
We felt close to just leaving and grabbing dinner. But soon after that discussion we got a resurgence as the doors seemed to fly open. All of a sudden, in a span of just 10 minutes, there we were standing on that hard concrete floor staring up at a large American Flag, like Perkins Restaurant big (yes a corny joke!). We were there ready to hear the man I support. I didn’t know how this whole experience would go. The energy filled the room, or maybe that was the Thousands of people in there, or maybe a combo of both. It was warm and uncomfortable to stand and wait. The concrete floor hurt our feet before he even stepped on stage. But it was all worth it. To me the experience was an exciting moment of support for the person I believe most represents my views, and my agendas for changing our country for the better; and to build upon the successes Obama has done so far. We have so much further we can go.
The crowd was very loud and supportive. There was love and acceptance being yelled. There were boos though. The crowd booed at the mention of how Wall Street’s greed has left the economy in shambles for the middle and lower classes. There were boos when the mention of the bigotry and hatred that has been spread by the Right-Wing and their candidates. There were boos when there was mention of how corporate media has now decided what news we should hear, and forget to actually push back when people are spewing out lies. There were boos when mention of the racism within the justice system, and the unarmed killings being done by our law enforcement. There were boos when we were told once again, that even though we are the richest country in the history of the world, we still do not have healthcare or paid family leave guaranteed in this country, while all advanced countries do. To sum it up, there was some anger. There was anger at the rich robbing the poor, anger at hate and bigotry that would set our country back a century, anger at media not truly giving facts that can be trusted, anger at when law enforcement takes the law into their own hands and do not represent justice, anger that despite how rich of a country we really are, we do not have health care and family leave for all families; you know those “family values” that the Right “claims” to be fans of.
There was a lot of hope in that room. The room felt inviting. The room felt safe. The room was invigorating. The room was inspired for change. The room was filled with over 10,000 people. The room was “Feeling the Bern.” #MN4Bernie
The crowd was very loud and supportive. There was love and acceptance being yelled. There were boos though. The crowd booed at the mention of how Wall Street’s greed has left the economy in shambles for the middle and lower classes. There were boos when the mention of the bigotry and hatred that has been spread by the Right-Wing and their candidates. There were boos when there was mention of how corporate media has now decided what news we should hear, and forget to actually push back when people are spewing out lies. There were boos when mention of the racism within the justice system, and the unarmed killings being done by our law enforcement. There were boos when we were told once again, that even though we are the richest country in the history of the world, we still do not have healthcare or paid family leave guaranteed in this country, while all advanced countries do. To sum it up, there was some anger. There was anger at the rich robbing the poor, anger at hate and bigotry that would set our country back a century, anger at media not truly giving facts that can be trusted, anger at when law enforcement takes the law into their own hands and do not represent justice, anger that despite how rich of a country we really are, we do not have health care and family leave for all families; you know those “family values” that the Right “claims” to be fans of.
There was a lot of hope in that room. The room felt inviting. The room felt safe. The room was invigorating. The room was inspired for change. The room was filled with over 10,000 people. The room was “Feeling the Bern.” #MN4Bernie