Stuttgart Chapter April 2021 Newsletter
Happy Earth Week! In the words of Mahatma Gandhi “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”
This month has really whizzed by, greatly due to the 10 day spring break here in Baden-Württemberg. We are currently in partial lockdown again, with only essential stores and schools being open (an odd mix, I should say) and a nine pm curfew in place. While inthe States millions of people have already been vaccinated; here in Germany vaccination is coming along a bit slower, people being put in categories depending on urgency.
In March we had our chapter elections. Please welcome WY Ming Lin as our new Vice Chapter Chair, Brigman Kinard as our new Treasurer and Kristy Lutz will continue to run our chapter phone banking. We say farewell to Dory Estrada, who is moving back to the States. She has been a long-time super-volunteer whom I give a huge thank you to!
All eyes and ears were glued to the Derek Chauvin trial. As Rachel Maddow pointed out, “this is not justice, this is merely accountability.” Instead of picking out the “bad apples”, perhaps we should take a look at the “tree”. Since testimony in his trial began, at least three people a day have been killed by police. We need to look at who is policing us, and give them better training, including much needed, mandatory de-escalation classes. When calling 911, emergency call centers should direct the correct help, depending on the situations of urgency, such asmental health experts, social workers and child services. This would lessen the burden of the police and get the right help for each situation. This could certainly save lives.
Leaders and activists are now calling for the Senate to pass a policing bill, named the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (authored by Karen Bass of California). It has already passed the House of Representatives and is headed for a debate and vote in the Senate.
Join the DAG GOTV team to help fight voter suppression and spread the message that every vote counts by hosting voter information tables, join our post card team or become a phone banker!
As always, we have great merchandise for sale to show your DAG support and help spread our message! Your donations are always appreciated, too!
Upcoming Events:
May 5 at 7:30 pm
Wishing you sunny days ahead,
Sasha Arrington
Stuttgart Chapter Chair
Democrats Abroad Germany