Saturday, June 13, 2015

10th June, 2015 : SB277 protests- at the State Capitol , Sacramento

Yesterday's experience at the Capitol was unique and a living history experience for our family. We were there to protest against SB 277 that requires mandatory vaccinations for public education in the State of California. So initially there was the actually rally with many speakers coming in to say why something like this is so wrong.
Chellu and Kunju certainly found it very interesting initially to experience the whole atmosphere. They keenly listened to the speeches, flaunted their message boards and intently soaked in everything in the scene. Then they eventually joined the Biesmeyer children to play in the grounds since the speech and all the protests was getting too loud for them.
After the rally we decided to go into the Capitol building to at least check it out and when we saw scores of folks waiting in the line to testify in front of the law makers, we decided to jump in too. Interestingly before that when the girls were hesitant about wanting to go in, we got to talk about why it's important to sometimes do stuff for a cause or for the the sake of others. There was also this other family that talked about how it came from the south of California sitting for 8 hrs in a bus . And how sometimes even if we are bored we must pursue a cause for ourselves as well as for others. I think that piece of conversation really helped in to convince the girls that it's at least worth checking out.
As soon as we got in they were much at ease because of the AC and the restrooms. Once we joined the lines ,we and the girls spent our time eating at the cafeteria, watching stuff online, sleeping and of course playing and doing workbooks with a girl standing next to us.
Im so proud of my girls to have waited with us for 5 hrs in the line so that we can testify in front of the lawmakers in addition to two hrs of the rally.  It gave them a glimpse into how a government works, how we as citizens have a say in everything, the power of community and how sometimes have
to set aside our personal comforts for others or for a cause. It also led to talks on how courageous leaders like Gandhi, MLK wuld have been to dedicate their lives for a purpose. Thr girls can now relate to what a peaceful protest is.
We also remembered our dear friends like Manish Jain, Vidhi Jain, Sachin Desai, Meenal Desai , Shammi Nanda and so many others who have the guts to go against senseless main stream thought process and work for they truly beleive in.
So much learning even in the midst of all that anger and frustration . And guess what? The Capitol floors resembled a massive playground with all the kids deciding to play with each other! There were some 900 folks in the line!!
Im so glad we decided to stay back and participate in the testifying process. Im sure we will all talk about this unique day for many years to come. 

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