I could’ve written my own article about how I wanted so desperately to be at the Democratic National Convention last week, about how I wanted to join in the protests and rallies and keep fighting for the ideals I’ve been supporting for years.
But instead, I want you to see the words from people who actually did just that. Josh Gacita and Eva Jones, classmates of mine at the University of Rochester, went to the DNC in Philadelphia and spent several days fighting for their beliefs and hoping to push the Democratic Party to the left a little more before Hillary Clinton was officially named the nominee.
Eva and Josh went through this journey together, already being very close friends prior to this and both feeling the Bern from the beginning of Sanders’ campaign. What follows is the interview I had with them:
How long were you in Phialdephia?
Josh: I'm actually from Philly, so I'm there all summer.
Eva: I traveled from Rochester, and I was in Philly for two days.
What did you do there?
Josh: Eva and I went to the protest on Monday afternoon at city hall and we talked to a lot of protestors about important issues.
Eva: We protested the convention on Monday the 25th, marching with Equality Coalition, who had organized the demonstration, as well as countless other groups and activists representing their organizations. There were also many people unaffiliated but in solidarity with everyone who came out. That's really the beauty of what Bernie's campaign was/is: an umbrella, a common ground that diverse demographics can stand together on, while representing different concerns that affect their identities directly.
Why did you want to protest the convention?
Josh: I wanted to join the protest mainly because I feel like I've been with Bernie since day one and I wanted to be there until the end. I acknowledge that Bernie did in fact lose the election, however, there was lots of rigging and unfairness with the media, superdelegates, closed primaries, etc. I wanted to make it clear to the Democrats that this is much larger than Bernie and we aren't just gonna go away after the election.
Eva: Aside from wanting to be immersed in woke folks for my own spiritual nourishment, I wanted to protest the actions of the DNC in this election, as Josh said. The emails confirming DWS and other officials purposefully rigged the election to exclude Bernie from the race and her consequent resignation just proved to the nation that those who have been alleging that this shadiness is taking place are not paranoid conspiracy theorists, we were absolutely 100% correct.
How would you describe the sentiment of the people at the protests and rallies?
Josh: The sentiment was a respectful passionate frustration...everyone we talked to had educated responses and knew the issues...there was no violent rhetoric or disrespect towards law enforcement.
Eva: It was such a grand coming together of people and the potency of everyone's pain, frustration, optimism and determination is endless. It is a powder keg of potential for the connectivity necessary for activism and concrete progress. I can only imagine how many names and numbers were exchanged on just day one. People came from all over the country to make their voices heard and to get in touch with others who are down for the struggle too. I know that Josh and I alone met a variety of people whose passions we had the opportunity to listen to (shoutout Vermin Supreme) That's what real coalition work looks like I think. "We have these interests in common, I'll show up for you and you show up for me on everything else". There is power in coming together like that, especially if it's not to fight for just your cause, but for many intersections of causes. Every last person in attendance at the protest understands the concept that none of us are free until we are all free, and that true liberation only exists when we claim empowerment without dis-empowering someone else.
What do you have to say about the outcome of the convention?
Josh: The outcome is disappointing but not unexpected. I hope Hillary Clinton addresses our concerns directly in her acceptance speech and promises to listen to us throughout her presidency. I also hope that Bernie Sanders supporters don't just resort to cynicism after this election and understand that this is much larger than winning a single election...we can hold Hillary accountable while still voting for her in the general because we have a neo-fascist running on the other side. I respect those who want to vote Jill or write in Bernie, but if you’re in a swing state, the stakes are too high.
Eva: Hillary's nomination was inevitable because it was meticulously planned for at least an election season for a fact, most likely since the last election. But exposing the dirt under the rug means that we can plan how we are going to clean it out. So to my fellow Berners: don't get discouraged. Proudly put forth the courage of conviction that the Sanders campaign allowed you to bring into the political arena and remember that you are integral to the work we will all continue to do.
To anyone who was not necessarily down with Bernie but who may feel disillusioned by the political process or terrified of either party nominee becoming president, please remember that there are entire networks of people actively working to change the things that you care about for the better and that they are waiting for you to reach out to them to help. There are issues in politics that we can all agree on, like campaign finance reform and the need for open primaries in every state.
I would say also that most Americans believe that without multiple party candidates being equitably represented at the table, we cannot have a real choice in our elections. The two-party system is not democracy and I think we all know this and desperately want to see it change. Now it is time for us all to continue communicating as a nation in our day-to-day interactions about EVERYTHING we have seen in this election so far, so that we can better hone our ideals and opinions, get our facts straight, and find what we need the future of politics and social progress to be. We need to talk about scary things because they are real and happening right now. That doesn't mean run for the hills or turn on your neighbors though, it means that we sit down and we calmly discuss how we're going to deal with it.
