A Proactive Rally

This past Saturday, there was a pro-SB 1070 protest outside of Congressman Grijalva’s congressional office. In response, therewas an anti-1070 rally at his campaign office. That morning, Anna, Shaoli and I went to Congressman Grijalva’s campaign office, just a couple blocks away from Borderlinks. When we got there, we were very surprised at what we found. There was a speaker talking about Grijalva and all around, there were families and people of all ages and races. This gathering was completely different from the pro-SB 1070 rally, Phoenix Rising, which a few of us had attended in Phoenix on June 5th. Phoenix Rising had involved hateful speeches, yelling, and gun-carrying. At Congressman Grijalva’s campaign office, people were gathered eating breakfast, listening to speakers. Afterward, some people went into the surrounding neighborhoods to register people to vote. Meanwhile, others made phone calls to recruit volunteers and ask for contributions on behalf of Grijalva and Vince Rabago, the Attorney General candidate sponsored by Grijalva. Shaoli, Anna and I made phone calls for Vince Rabago for about an hour. Around lunch time, there was a BBQ for the participants.Not only was the atmosphere calm and pleasant, the gathering was productive. Instead of simply cheering on speakers, the attendees were proactive and took action to support their cause.