You got a dictionary kicking around?

[sovay]

Our internet is no longer ass because it is now supplied by RCN instead of Verizon, almost exactly two months after I reluctantly signed up for Verizon because RCN had misinformed me that they did not cover our address. This whole chain of events has been something of a comedy of monopoly, but since it means I no longer have to leave the house to get my work done, I can live with it. Which is a good thing, because due to a holiday-related deadline I spent almost this entire weekend glued to my computer working and today was no exception.

I did take some time in the afternoon to call the office of Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and leave a message encouraging him to make—and live up to—the same offer of refuge as Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and the California Legislature. I got the idea from a friend on Facebook, who had gotten it from a friend of hers. She was hoping for the telephone equivalent of a flash mob. It was a surprisingly nerve-wracking experience for three minutes of conversation with a tired-sounding aide. I paced around my living room talking about the examples set by the aforementioned states as well as the mayors of Chelsea, Cambridge, and Somerville who have all pledged to stand by their immigrant communities and their status as sanctuary cities and stressing that since Massachusetts' traditional reputation as a liberal hotbed (when it wasn't having blue laws and inspiring banned-in-Boston jokes) has demonstrably not inoculated it against the opportunistic expressions of racism etc. that we are seeing all over the country, it is all the more important that its governor be seen to take an official position and a progressive one; in short, I ran off at the mouth, but I did take care to mention that I am a taxpayer and registered voter and I have no interest in re-electing a governor of Massachusetts who supports, even through silence and inaction, the ideals and programs of Donald Trump. The aide said she would tell him. I hope she does. I hope she had to tell him about a lot of calls and some letters and e-mails and that they make a difference to him, if only when he contemplates the disappointing returns of his midterm election. In the meantime, I was pleased to learn that although Boston is not formally a sanctuary city [edit: see correction in comments], Mayor Walsh has spoken firmly in favor of its immigrant population: "If they come out and say we're building a wall around America, we are not doing that in Boston, Massachusetts." Right on. Someone has to make up for the Alien and Sedition Acts, John.

So that was one thing. Not a big thing. There will need to be others. First, sleep, and getting up in six hours to catch a train to New York City.

Comments

[kore]

Might not be a big thing, who cares, but it sounds like a very good thing.

[spatch]

Bravo, phone cat.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Excellent work!

Nine

[gwynnega]

That is excellent. I hope the governor hears from lots of people about this.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It is a very good thing, and inspiring. I appreciate you sharing it, because it's a very concrete and worthwhile thing, and I hadn't known about it, and now I can do it, and I will do it. And hopefully other readers of your blog will, too. Thank you--very, very much.

[pameladean]

Oh, well done! I need to find out if Minnesota's governor has said anything, and ask him to do something similar if he hasn't. I am very certain that he has the right ideas, but he's trammelled by a very regressive legislature. He should still speak out. The Mayor of Minneapolis has.

P.

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

Yay internet! And I will try to remember to call the governor. Though I may have to call him from New Hampshire, ironically.

[teenybuffalo.livejournal.com]

Congratulations. You're inspiring me; I just spent some time drafting my statements ahead of time, so I won't stammer or hesitate too much on the phone. I'll call the Governor tomorrow morning, first thing. I know I could call now and potentially get a machine, but now that I've committed to this course of action I want to say my say to a live person.

I did succeed in calling the City Council while they were still open, and getting to talk to the aides of City Councilor Tito Johnson. I was just calling in support of his statement, so it was less intimidating because there wasn't any expected conflict. Everyone was cordial.

This might interest you. I got as far as recapping what Johnson had been quoted as saying, and the aide I spoke with contradicted me, "That is incorrect -- Boston already is a sanctuary city, and the Councilor was saying that it had to continue to be one."

There you have it: Boston is officially a sanctuary city as far as its own City Council is concerned, at any rate. I'd had no idea of any such thing, so I'm sure lots of other people are also uninformed.