After yesterday’s announcement that a New York grand jury decided not to indict NYPD officer David Pantaleo — whose videotaped chokehold on New York resident Eric Garner caused his death — outraged citizens in the Boston area have planned a rally in solidarity that will coincide with the tree-lighting on the Boston Common tonight.
Nearly 5,000 people have RSVP’d on the Facebook event for #EnoughisEnough: We Are the Ones, Justice for Eric Garner, which is scheduled to be held from 7-11 PM. That means at least an hour of the 73rd annual Boston tree lighting ceremony, scheduled from 6-8 PM on the Boston Common, could be interrupted by a somewhat less festive crowd.
The rally follows similar protests in Boston and Harvard Square following a Ferguson grand jury’s decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown.
The description from the #EnoughisEnough event page:
In response to the no indictment verdict of the police officer who murdered Eric Garner. We will be standing in solidarity at the Boston Common Tree Lighting! Bring your signage, energy, and a friend!
We will be meeting at the Boylston St. entrance across from the Lowes Move theater.
Before anyone considers complaining about protesters ruining the holiday magic, please watch this video of Fox News host Gretchen Carlson worrying about the same thing in New York.
A tree lighting ceremony. Another unarmed black man is dead at the hands of an armed police officer, and Gretchen Carlson is worried about a tree ceremony. Boston residents, don’t be Gretchen Carlson.
Aside from the fact that Boston already had a tree lighting ceremony at Faneuil Hall last weekend, we’re talking about a lovely but ultimately unnecessary bit of yuletide pageantry versus a rally in solidarity for the death of a man many people are justifiably upset about. Priorities, people.
[h/t Digboston]
