{"id":3808,"date":"2020-09-24T20:32:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-25T03:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/portland.raginggrannies.org\/?p=3808"},"modified":"2020-09-24T20:32:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T03:32:00","slug":"memorial-vigil-to-honor-ruth-bader-ginsburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.raginggrannies.international\/portland\/2020\/09\/24\/memorial-vigil-to-honor-ruth-bader-ginsburg\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Vigil to Honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Portland Raging Grannies held a vigil for the Notorious RBG on Thursday, September 24.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After a brief memoriam and readings, we marched across Tilikum Crossing, the Bridge of the People. Words and photos of the event follow.<\/p>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

\"The
The Raging Grannies held a vigil for Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 24, 2020.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Preparing
Preparing to begin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Speaking
Speaking with attendees who joined the vigil.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Preparing
Preparing to march.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Beginning
Beginning with some remarks (text available on the event web page).<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"The
The march begins.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Crossing
Crossing Tilikum Crossing, the Bridge of the People.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Marching
Marching at dusk.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"A
A plein air painting of the event by Jonathan Luczycki (courtesy of luczycki.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Lovely
Lovely weather and a beautiful city.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"In
In honor of an inspiring lady.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPrevious\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNext\n\t\t

WELCOMING WORDS FOR RBG MEMORIAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hello and thank you so much for joining us, the Portland Raging Grannies, here tonight on The People\u2019s Bridge<\/em>, as we take time to honor, perhaps the greatest of America\u2019s Great Ladies.<\/p>\n

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a woman who loved life and lived it large in every sense of the word. The brilliant light of her indomitable spirit has shone far and wide, and though the tiny body in which that spirit was housed for 87 and a half years has left us, there is no doubt that<\/strong> light will continue to shine as a beacon for generations of women to come.\u00a0 As admired and \u201cnotorious\u201d as she was, Ruth Bader Ginsburg never lost her humility. She was always ready to recognize and honor those who paved the way for her, even as she was breaking new ground for us and for our daughters and our granddaughters and for all Americans, regardless of their race or disability or gender expression. And not the least of those she credited was her mother, Celia, who according to Ruth, had proudly marched in the Suffragette Parade to Get the VOTE for women, and had advised her daughter from a very early age, to \u201cBe Independent.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

In an interview at Columbia a few years ago, when the conversation turned to opportunities her mother didn\u2019t have, Ruth answered in her typical hint-of-a-smile fashion: \u201cWhen I talk about my mother I sometimes like to ask the question, What\u2019s the difference between a bookkeeper in the garment district and a Supreme Court Justice? \u2013 one generation<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 \u2026. One Generation.<\/p>\n

Ruth was both a fighter and a lover. She was as funny as she was serious. She was open and honest and said things about herself like: \u201cI struck out on three grounds. I was Jewish. I was a woman, and I was a mother. The first raised an eyebrow, the second raised two, and the third made me indubitably inadmissible.\u201d\u00a0 But Ruth was never one to take \u2018no\u2019 for an answer, and never one, as she put it, \u201cto sit in a corner and cry.\u201d\u00a0 She was not afraid to dissent and we know how beautifully she could do that. In the case of Shelby County vs Holder when \u00a0the court gutted the Voting Rights Act,\u00a0 her dissent included these words: \u00a0Throwing out pre-clearance when it has worked and continues to work is \u00a0like throwing away your umbrella in the middle of a rainstorm, just because you\u2019re<\/strong> not getting wet<\/em>\u00a0 \u2026.\u00a0\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t she have made a great Raging Granny? \u00a0<\/p>\n

Once upon a time, so the story goes, Ruth wanted to be an operatic diva. Instead, she became a pop culture icon and a Rock Star of the Supreme Court.\u00a0 But her love for opera and theater never went away and over time she became so loved by the opera community that last Friday night upon receiving word of her death, every opera house across the country dimmed their lights.\u00a0 \u201cArt is what makes life beautiful\u201d she said, and what was she, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, if not a magnificent piece of timeless art?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While it is true that our country has lost a hero, it is the World and the Human Race that has lost one of our finest Beings.\u00a0 May she rest in Peace and Power as we walk together in her memory across \u201cThe People\u2019s Bridge\u201d carrying her light and her courage and her wisdom.\u00a0\u00a0 And let us not forget what she said about not sitting in a corner and crying<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Tonight we grieve. Tomorrow we fight!\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Thank You.
Sulima Malzin,
for The Portland Raging Grannies<\/p>

Media:<\/p>\n