Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Pinback

(12,909 posts)
Thu Jun 30, 2022, 02:46 PM Jun 2022

Watch: ACLU Emergency Town Hall -- Our Fight for Abortion Access

Last edited Thu Jun 30, 2022, 04:13 PM - Edit history (1)

Today's video webcast is available for streaming:


Note for hearing-impaired DUers: ASL interpreters were present for the entire program.

On June 24, the Supreme Court issued a shameful ruling explicitly overturning Roe v. Wade — turning its back on 50 years of precedent. The consequences of revoking the federal constitutional right to abortion will be immediate and far-reaching.

During this emergency town hall, an expert panel of ACLU attorneys and advocates discuss the devastating impact this decision will have on reproductive rights across the country, the ACLU’s short- and long-term response, and the path forward. The speakers include Brigitte Amiri, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project Deputy Director; David Cole, ACLU Legal Director; J.J. Straight, ACLU Liberty Division Deputy Director; and Rebecca Lowell Edwards, ACLU Chief Communications Officer.

Important links from the webcast:
1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Watch: ACLU Emergency Town Hall -- Our Fight for Abortion Access (Original Post) Pinback Jun 2022 OP
Nugget from ACLU's David Cole Pinback Jun 2022 #1

Pinback

(12,909 posts)
1. Nugget from ACLU's David Cole
Thu Jun 30, 2022, 04:32 PM
Jun 2022

Toward the end of the call, ACLU Legal Director David Cole said this:

In these dark times, I often take comfort from a quote that I read years ago in a book by Cornel West and Roberto Unger* that is about hope. They said, “Hope is more the consequence of action than its cause. As the experience of the spectator favors fatalism, so the action of the agent produces hope.”

To me, what that is about is, you are not born with a “hope gene” or “non-hope gene.” It is not hope that leads to action, but it is the other way around. It is action that leads to hope. It is also true that spectating and sitting back leads to fatalism. They both build on each other.

We have two choices: We can sit back and breed fatalism, or we can act and produce hope.

* The Future of American Progressivism, 1998
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Activist Headquarters»Watch: ACLU Emergency Tow...