A busy few days
I took an hour out of my work day on Friday to join in a family Zoom call with my uncle Will, who had scheduled his death for later that afternoon. He appeared mentally sharp, with the same dry humor as ever, but (whether because of Parkinson's or because of medications) his face didn't move, no expression at all, except when he was actually talking. My cousin and half-brother were there in person, as were his four-month-old grandson, his first wife (whom I hadn't seen in fifty years or so), and presumably an offscreen nurse to manage the assisted-suicide process. My other uncle, my sister-in-law, my brother, and I joined by Zoom from our respective homes. It was good to see all these people, and the prevailing mood was one of tender humor.
After the Zoom call ended, my brother reported by e-mail that Will took his pill, went to bed in the living room facing the window with a spectacular view of Mt. Hood, fell asleep, and stopped breathing two or three hours later.
Saturday we went to another protest march in Manhattan. This one's theme was "declaration of interdepence", with specific emphases on due process for immigrants and environmental protection. I re-used my sign from the last march, which said on one side "The Bill of Rights is not limited to citizens" and on the other "WASTE + FRAUD + ABUSE = DOGE", while![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shalmestere made a new sign about clean air, clean water, and clean energy. We stood around for an hour and a half in front of the Central Library before starting to walk, ending up at the corner of Central Park. No incidents that I noticed, no counter-protesters even, and we got gestures of support from the tourists passing by on buses and the drivers crossing our path. There was one guy, right at the end of the march, who used his bullhorn to exhort everyone to not patronize the horse-carriages of Central Park -- a legitimate issue to discuss, but not the main focus of the day, and he was unnecessarily insulting about it. Anyway, we took a subway back to Penn Station, and an LIRR to Queens, and walked home with our protest signs. One lady on the street asked what the signs were about, so I showed her mine, and she explained "Actually, the Bill of Rights is limited to citizens."
"It doesn't say so; it uses the word 'person', not 'citizen'."
"Trust me, I've read the Constitution, and even studied it. The whole Constitution is only for citizens."
"But the authors of the Constitution knew the word 'citizen', and used it in other places; they didn't use it in the Bill of Rights. Everyone deserves due process."
"You want to give due process to murderers and rapists who aren't even in the country legally in the first place?"
"Absolutely, because if they haven't had due process, we don't know that they are murderers and rapists."
Anyway, she got angrier and angrier, accusing "you people" of putting the interests of murderers and rapists and terrorists ahead of real Americans and the victims of murder, rape, and terrorism. We walked away.
Then spent the rest of the afternoon recuperating from the physical stress of standing or walking-slowly on pavement for several hours. It was a gorgeous day, high in the low 80's (and three days earlier I was wearing a winter parka!), with blue skies and light breezes.
After the Zoom call ended, my brother reported by e-mail that Will took his pill, went to bed in the living room facing the window with a spectacular view of Mt. Hood, fell asleep, and stopped breathing two or three hours later.
Saturday we went to another protest march in Manhattan. This one's theme was "declaration of interdepence", with specific emphases on due process for immigrants and environmental protection. I re-used my sign from the last march, which said on one side "The Bill of Rights is not limited to citizens" and on the other "WASTE + FRAUD + ABUSE = DOGE", while
shalmestere made a new sign about clean air, clean water, and clean energy. We stood around for an hour and a half in front of the Central Library before starting to walk, ending up at the corner of Central Park. No incidents that I noticed, no counter-protesters even, and we got gestures of support from the tourists passing by on buses and the drivers crossing our path. There was one guy, right at the end of the march, who used his bullhorn to exhort everyone to not patronize the horse-carriages of Central Park -- a legitimate issue to discuss, but not the main focus of the day, and he was unnecessarily insulting about it. Anyway, we took a subway back to Penn Station, and an LIRR to Queens, and walked home with our protest signs. One lady on the street asked what the signs were about, so I showed her mine, and she explained "Actually, the Bill of Rights is limited to citizens.""It doesn't say so; it uses the word 'person', not 'citizen'."
"Trust me, I've read the Constitution, and even studied it. The whole Constitution is only for citizens."
"But the authors of the Constitution knew the word 'citizen', and used it in other places; they didn't use it in the Bill of Rights. Everyone deserves due process."
"You want to give due process to murderers and rapists who aren't even in the country legally in the first place?"
"Absolutely, because if they haven't had due process, we don't know that they are murderers and rapists."
Anyway, she got angrier and angrier, accusing "you people" of putting the interests of murderers and rapists and terrorists ahead of real Americans and the victims of murder, rape, and terrorism. We walked away.
Then spent the rest of the afternoon recuperating from the physical stress of standing or walking-slowly on pavement for several hours. It was a gorgeous day, high in the low 80's (and three days earlier I was wearing a winter parka!), with blue skies and light breezes.