Newark, NJ: "Me lastimé en Jersey"

As a couple of us from Kampven met up to travel to Newark this past Sunday, we were excited to arrive and provide whatever kind of support we could. After our time in Portland and Minneapolis, we had a little better grasp of what kind of items to fill the trailer with and more efficient ideas of getting things where they needed to go. Or at least we thought.

After arriving and heading out to the Delaney Hall area, we kept noticing a billboard with the phrase, "Me lastimé en Jersey." On the flipside of the billboard, the phrase was translated to say "I got hurt in Jersey." We figured out that the billboard was a typical one seen on the sides of major highways and interstates advertising services for an attorney- but it began to mean more to us.

When we thought of "I got hurt in Jersey," we began to realize that we actually did. Our hearts got hurt. We arrived to see the embittered faces of the New Jersey State Police blocking roads, appearing like the uniformed phallic symbols that they are. Within the past 24 hours, these same people, sworn to "serve and protect" were treating other human beings in such a way that one would think- "why those must be the demi-gods of NJ."

These human beings being beat on, pepper sprayed, and assaulted were there for the absolute most noble of causes; love. Our hearts hurt for the ones inside, taken from their families. The ones outside standing and fasting in solidarity. And the communities who have to endure the violence.

We finally made it into the Delaney Hall area to hand out care packages containing toiletries and other essentials along with water- not only to drink but also for flushing eyes of pepper spray. We see you Newark, everyone does, and we love you.