Moral Monday

So I went to the 'Moral Monday' rally in downtown Raleigh for the first time today.  For those who aren't familiar with Moral Monday, it is a protest rally that has been going on every Monday since April. The protest covers a wide range of issues such as a voter ID law, cuts to unemployment benefits and refusal to accept a Medicaid expansion under federal health care reform.

This is the first protest I've ever attended (shocking, I know). People were so upbeat and energized at the rally!  There was this great feeling of all working towards something wonderful together, this feeling of hope.

There I'm so glad that people are standing up for what they think is right and trying to make a difference.  I'm not sure how many people were there today, but somebody mentioned last week about 3 thousand people attended the rally.

I'm shocked at the laws that are being passed.  These are laws that are really going to impact people and their daily lives and seriously cause a lot of misery.  A close friend has already been affected by the new unemployment laws and had her unemployment just abruptly cut off.  Can you imagine?  

The local paper has run several articles on the rally and the issues being protested: "Because the state cut benefits for out-of-work North Carolinians who file new claims, it is the first state to be disqualified from a federal compensation program for the long-term jobless.  “Having worked in that field for several years and to know personally and to have seen the heart break among the people getting benefits, this is just cruel,” Payne said."

To give you an idea of how many people where there, here's a pan of the area taken right after the protesters were lead away to be arrested.