May First

    May First is tradition rooted in upholding principals of labor and respect for workers in Seattle and globally. This year people marched for worker’s rights in Mexico at the Driscoll Berries plant, for an end to police violence, and for curbing deportation in battleground states. It was a vibrant, positive march downtown, but as the daylight disappeared, the divide between police and civilians widened. Around 9pm I witnessed a young man named Samm (yes, with two m’s) stand between a crowd of young people and a wall of officers on bikes, and take a megaphone from a young woman yelling aggressive, accusatory things at the unmoving officers. “We have to stand together!” He yelled. “It isn’t us against them, it’s all of us trying to thrive in a system that is against us.”                                                                                                   The crowd rebuffed him, then as his acuity became clear, they listened, and the mood changed. The police walked away, and the crowd dispersed into the lively streets of Capitol Hill. Regrettably, I didn’t have my camera at this point. I did approach Sam as he left his sidewalk stage and walk alongside him for a while. He told me that growing up,he was embarrassed when he had to tell friends that his mother was a police officer, but that he”s sick of that and it shouldn’t be that way. We are individuals. Some of us will abuse our power, and that needs to be addressed, but others are there to protect, there to serve, or maybe just there for a job. It is worth remembering. that there is never one side to a story that merits listening.