I often shake my head that more people are concerned about the tiddlewinks that goes on in DC then in what goes on every Tuesday at our city council meetings.
Tonight I was presented that cold hard facts again. I attended the Dakota Access Pipeline protest at Falls Park, there was several hundred people in attendance (many local, including former state lawmakers). They were protesting the section of the pipeline several hundred miles away.
I ask where were these people when the 1st and 2nd reading of the easement of this pipeline to our very own landfill was voted on? (March 1 & 8, 2016).
1st Reading (FF: 27:00 – also listen to my public testimony)
At the 1st reading, I was the only one to speak out. At the 2nd reading only one person (a landowner that was affected) spoke out. At first, the easement failed 4-3 (councilor Erickson recused herself) It needed at least 5 votes to pass. At the end of the meeting, councilor Rolfing had a brain fart and didn’t realize his protest vote counted as a real vote, and he changed his vote to pass the easement.
The councilors who voted for the pipeline easement argued that we already have several gas lines running through our city, so what is another one?
My bigger question is where were these hundreds of people those nights? Well I blame apathy of local government. Just think if several hundred of these people, including former lawmakers would have shown up those nights to protest this easement, maybe all of the council would have voted differently, maybe it would have failed unanimously, maybe Rex would not have changed his vote.
I even spoke to a local journalist tonight who said he had written several stories about our local easement, so the information was out there.
This is further proof that local politics do matter, get involved on a local level, you can make a difference, or you can hold hands, burn sage and sing songs of mother earth in a park. Speak out on a local level as well as on a national and state level. All protest is important, make it count where it matters most, right here.
Why did Erickson recuse herself?
Why does a pipeline matter so much? We’re about to elect a president. Both candidates are to old. Fortunately, they picked good VP’s to take over. The national election process has been entertaining. Who has the better hair style and blue suit. There’s old and new blond jokes!
Perhaps if you had been listening to the speakers you’d discover that they were delivering the exact same message, the importance of local action. They were delivering this message while you had your back turned to them bragging about your own great deeds
But they did it without the condescending comments about other people’s religious practices.
First off I wasn’t bragging. It actually irks me that I have to remind elected officials that oil pipelines are bad. I don’t like protesting, but some people think of it as fun thing to do with their friends or a church service. A protest is just that, a protest. It just seems people wait until something gets national attention before they think it is worthy of ‘protest’.
“the importance of local action.”
and you just proved what I said above, where were these people back in March when DAP was abusing landowners right in our backyard?
As for your comments about religion, you surely don’t know much about me, I am non-religious, and in all fairness I treat all religious faiths the same, don’t care.
The only one that can save you is yourself.
anon – A DAP employee was occupying a rental property of Erickson.
There’s no reference to religion. Keep your faith but what’s it got to do with pipelines or council meetings? There’s a prayer before the meeting. I’ll face Mecca if Cheeses shows up. Which way is it anyway? Sorry, I’ll not crawl there. Can’t swim.
Scott, this rally was for and by the only people who have gotten any positive results accomplished at any level. They’ve been fighting this and other projects for years with several successes under their belts.
I certainly appreciate you speaking up at a meeting or two but they have been in the local, state and federal courts for years with an army of lawyers fighting this every day.
The rally was to gather material support and expand awareness and recruit political support, to gather the public support and awareness that is vital to any political or environmental battle. They didn’t “ignore” the importance of local action as you claim, it was the central theme of the entire rally and the entire movement from day one. But surely you’re aware of this if you’ve been following the issue for all the years they’ve been on the front lines of the battle.
Spin: The comment “burn sage and sing songs of mother earth” was a direct reference to the spiritual practice of burning sage and the prayer they opened with.
I’m not terribly fond of protests and rallies either, chants and sign waving leaves me cold. But it’s pretty damned hard to ignore the benefits of protests. The protest in Cannonball and in cities across the country and around the world have brought awareness of the issue and support worldwide. Those protests brought support from the UN.
Public support for an issue is vital in politics, the temporary halt on federal land would not have happened if the public had not been aware due to the protests on Standing Rock. It’s easy for politicians and corporations to do what they want if the masses aren’t paying attention. Rallies and protests get the issue into the news, getting it into the news brings awareness and awareness prompts people into the practical actions like going to local meetings to speak up, which is nothing more than another form of protest.
Everyone fights in their own way and all are needed.
But all that is beside the point that your headline, “Dakota Access Pipeline protest in Sioux Falls ignores the importance of why local politics matter” is blatantly false reporting when almost the entire focus of the rally was to emphasize the importance of local politics. You would have realized that if you had turned around and listened.
This was a classic example of lazy journalism, you can do better.
I agree with everything you are saying Cheeses. We all have our way of protesting. You have yours, I have mine, we disagree on that. But I do support the group and hope they stop the pipeline.
You disagree with my way of protesting? You don’t even know what my way of protesting is. I’m financially supporting the legal fight in the courts, do you really disagree with that?