How Much of This Are We Supposed to Take?

12/1



The Riverside orchestra fills the sanctuary for their rehearsal.



12/2



I began the day at the Federation of Protestant Welfare Organizations with my            friends from the SWEAT campaign. (I finally learned that SWEAT stands for               Securing Wages Earned Against Theft..) We’ve come to one of the largest oldschool  antipoverty agencies in the city to seek their support for a bill in Albany to stop wage theft. At  least we’ve succeeded in getting the concept into the public consciousness. 


Pat O is in to review everything we’ve got to be dealing with
this week. Wanting to  get construction
underway before the weather is too far gone.


The Mass Incarceration Network has called an emergency meeting. Wanting to rally  their supporters to join in the ongoing Ferguson demonstrations. The meeting was      called for West-Park but got changed to SPSA so we have a steady stream of people  coming in looking for the meeting. The last one through is Noche Diaz, a young    leader in the struggle against  the NYPD stop and frisk policy. He is definitely unpopular with the NYPD so early in the Ferguson protests he was singled out and taken off the streets. A steady stream of phone calls to Central Booking got  him out.


My son Nate comes by to take me to dinner for my birthday,coming up tomorrow.



12/3



I get to the office after walking back home from lectionary study then busing in. I just miss    Jeremy and Priska. It’s one of those days…Russ waited for an hour not realizing our meeting was for Thursday and I double booked and forgot both meetings. It’s a bit of an off birthday.



I was at a meeting at presbytery about Ferguson and our response. Only 4 of us were there.   My friend Cornell the only African-American. Trust is low. New York City Hair barbershop  and salon brings another arrangement of fresh flowers. They’ve doing this for about a month now.



I’ll go to the Composer’s Concordance Concert in honor of Anton Webern’s birthday and feel happy to get a name check the end of the concert. Me and Anton.



Then I’ll meet up with Pat O to hear love music. The verdict
comes in. The Grand Jury brings no indictment against the NYPD officer who
threw a chokehold on Eric Garner on Staten     
Island. The one they called a gentle giant went down. Told them
he couldn’t breathe. He lay there. No
one offered CPR. Everyone’s seen the video. (http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2014/dec/04/i-cant-breathe-eric-garner-chokehold-death-video)
An unbelievable verdict. I look outside on Amsterdam Avenue. A steady stream of    people hitting the streets. 



My friend Sekou will post on Facebook, How much of this are
supposed to take?