by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
July 4th, the anniversary of our nation's independence from an oppressive foreign government, is a holiday that traditionally recognizes the liberty that so many Americans have fought to preserve - at least the ones without bone spurs. Americans celebrate the Fourth in a variety of ways, often through relaxing activities like picnics, parades, and fireworks. Sometimes, however, they get more creative in recognizing and honoring the importance of our independence and civil liberties.
Many celebrate the holiday by visiting Liberty Island in New York Harbor and touring our national symbol of freedom - the Statue of Liberty. This year a few of those visitors staged peaceful protests during their visits to Liberty Island. Early in the afternoon a group of seven individuals from a group called "Rise and Resist" unfurled a large banner at the base of the Statue of Liberty with a message that said "Abolish ICE." Those seven were escorted from the island by members of the National Park Service.
Later in the day another member of "Rise and Resist" made a spur-of-the moment decision to launch her own protest. Patricia Therese Okoumou, age 44, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was originally from the Congo, decided to try and climb the statue. She made it over the base and up onto the platform where the statue stands - without the aid of any climbing equipment (other than a pair of pink tennis shoes). Ms. Okoumou eventually achieved a perch on the lower folds of the robes of the Statue of Liberty.
She was protesting the Trump administration's practice of putting children and families in cages.
After occupying the Statue of Liberty for four hours, Ms. Okoumou was finally talked into climbing down by members of the New York Police Department's Emergency Services Unit and charged with misdemeanors of trespassing, disorderly conduct, and interfering with government agency functions. She appeared in court yesterday wearing a shirt which said "White Supremacy Is Terrorism," and pleaded "not guilty" to the charges. As she left the courthouse, Ms. Okoumou again stated her opposition to putting children in cages. In paying a bit of homage to former First Lady Michelle Obama, the protester also said, "When they go low, we go high - and I went as high as I could!"
Right wing pundits predictably went nuts in discussing the incident, saying that the climber was an ungrateful immigrant who had put people involved in her "rescue" in unnecessary danger. Other Americans, however, were inspired by the very effective peaceful protest.
One suspects that Henry David Thoreau, the grandfather of American civil disobedience and the man whose writings inspired Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr, would have been especially pleased. A lone woman, a person who had experienced the awfulness of life under an oppressive government, bravely took a stand to protest her displeasure with the actions of the government of her adopted country - and she did it in a non-violent manner on an island called "Liberty."
Patricia Therese Okoumou, one of the "huddled masses" who had been welcomed to our shores by Lady Liberty, returned to that iconic symbol of freedom to have her say about securing freedom for others who were seeking sanctuary in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Patricia Therese Okoumou has proven that she understands the promise of America. Her actions on Liberty Island were brave and eloquent, and they elevated her onto America's ever-growing roster of national heroes.
She went as high as she could go - and she forced us all to raise our eyes to the heavens.
Citizen Journalist
July 4th, the anniversary of our nation's independence from an oppressive foreign government, is a holiday that traditionally recognizes the liberty that so many Americans have fought to preserve - at least the ones without bone spurs. Americans celebrate the Fourth in a variety of ways, often through relaxing activities like picnics, parades, and fireworks. Sometimes, however, they get more creative in recognizing and honoring the importance of our independence and civil liberties.
Many celebrate the holiday by visiting Liberty Island in New York Harbor and touring our national symbol of freedom - the Statue of Liberty. This year a few of those visitors staged peaceful protests during their visits to Liberty Island. Early in the afternoon a group of seven individuals from a group called "Rise and Resist" unfurled a large banner at the base of the Statue of Liberty with a message that said "Abolish ICE." Those seven were escorted from the island by members of the National Park Service.
Later in the day another member of "Rise and Resist" made a spur-of-the moment decision to launch her own protest. Patricia Therese Okoumou, age 44, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was originally from the Congo, decided to try and climb the statue. She made it over the base and up onto the platform where the statue stands - without the aid of any climbing equipment (other than a pair of pink tennis shoes). Ms. Okoumou eventually achieved a perch on the lower folds of the robes of the Statue of Liberty.
She was protesting the Trump administration's practice of putting children and families in cages.
After occupying the Statue of Liberty for four hours, Ms. Okoumou was finally talked into climbing down by members of the New York Police Department's Emergency Services Unit and charged with misdemeanors of trespassing, disorderly conduct, and interfering with government agency functions. She appeared in court yesterday wearing a shirt which said "White Supremacy Is Terrorism," and pleaded "not guilty" to the charges. As she left the courthouse, Ms. Okoumou again stated her opposition to putting children in cages. In paying a bit of homage to former First Lady Michelle Obama, the protester also said, "When they go low, we go high - and I went as high as I could!"
Right wing pundits predictably went nuts in discussing the incident, saying that the climber was an ungrateful immigrant who had put people involved in her "rescue" in unnecessary danger. Other Americans, however, were inspired by the very effective peaceful protest.
One suspects that Henry David Thoreau, the grandfather of American civil disobedience and the man whose writings inspired Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr, would have been especially pleased. A lone woman, a person who had experienced the awfulness of life under an oppressive government, bravely took a stand to protest her displeasure with the actions of the government of her adopted country - and she did it in a non-violent manner on an island called "Liberty."
Patricia Therese Okoumou, one of the "huddled masses" who had been welcomed to our shores by Lady Liberty, returned to that iconic symbol of freedom to have her say about securing freedom for others who were seeking sanctuary in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Patricia Therese Okoumou has proven that she understands the promise of America. Her actions on Liberty Island were brave and eloquent, and they elevated her onto America's ever-growing roster of national heroes.
She went as high as she could go - and she forced us all to raise our eyes to the heavens.
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