What Are You Willing To Risk?

Twenty-two million people may lose health coverage. Another 28 million still lack coverage under the Affordable Care Act. What are you going to do about it?

Derrick Crowe
Jul 10, 2017 · 4 min read
Congressional candidate Derrick Crowe speaks at a #sitinsavelives rally in Austin to protest the so-called Better Care Reconciliation Act outside Sen. John Cornyn’s office. Photo credit: Dave Creaney

Congress is back in session this week, and Republicans are pushing to kick 22 million people off of health insurance. When that happens, almost 100,000 people per year could die due to lack of care.

We need you to do two things to help protect the lives threatened by the Republican attack on our right to health care:

  1. Call your members of the House and Senate at (202) 224–3121 and tell them you oppose the BCRA and that you support Medicare for All.
  2. Join our campaign to unseat Lamar Smith in Texas’s 21st Congressional District. People who vote to let people die without health care don’t get to stay in Congress.

If you need some motivation to get you going this Monday, read the following excerpts from a letter that a friend of mine, Robin Derton, sent to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Dear Senator Cornyn:

…If the BCRA passes…people like me will never be able to afford health insurance again. It will kill us. People with pre-existing conditions will be unable to afford to live AND pay the premiums for their health insurance…If I die, my family can’t survive without my income…Please, Senator, don’t issue the death warrants of millions of people. Please vote against the BCRA. Medicare For All is the only choice for ALL Americans.

Robin understands through painful personal experience what it means to lack health care in this country.

Now let me tell you what she was willing to do about it.

Robin Derton protests the BCRA outside Sen. Cornyn’s office on 7 Jul 2017. Photo credit: Dave Creaney

On Thursday, Jul 7, 2017, Robin took a day off without pay to join a protest she’d helped plan outside the office of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Cornyn is one of the major backers of the BCRA, so the marchers had a simple message for him: “Cornyn, vote no!” After the scheduled speakers gave their remarks, Robin joined several other people — including others who still lacked health insurance under the ACA — to blockade the sidewalk in protest as an act of civil disobedience.

Robin Derton, Shane Filiatrault, Dave Pinkham, Sarah Goodfriend and Heiwa Salovitz participate in a sidewalk blockade protesting the BCRA. Blokcading but not shown: Alice Embree, Suzanne Bryant, Heiwa Salovitz, Jennifer McPhaul, Glenn Scott, and Derrick Crowe. Photo credit: Dave Creaney

At around 12:30 p.m., Robin, myself, and the other protesters were taken into custody by police and moved to the Travis County Jail, where most were held for seven hours. One of our number was held hours longer for no discernible reason, but even he eventually exited the jail the same day. We were aided by incredible lawyers who donated their time to assist us, and we were met by friends at the door of the jailhouse with food, drink, and support. The experience allowed us to face our fears, enjoy the camaraderie of other resisters, and meet and learn from other people facing the full force of the criminal justice system.

Robin Derton, Shane Filiatrault, Dave Pinkham, Heiwa Salovitz, Alice Embree, and Derrick Crowe blockade the sidewalk outside the Austin office of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in protest of the BCRA. Not pictured but part of the blockade: Glenn Scott, Sarah Goodfriend, and Suzanne Bryant. Photo credit: Dave Creaney

Robin had this to say about the experience:

I think everyone should be arrested at least once. The experience, so far, was one of the best things I have ever experienced. The women’s stories, healthcare and personal struggles, were very moving.

Why would we do this? Why block the sidewalk? Why go to jail in an act of civil disobedience?

The answer is simple.

We want other people, be they activists or Capitol Hill Democrats, to ask themselves,“What am I willing to risk to save the lives of people dying from lack of health care?”

We also wanted to show who is favored by the rigged system. We were arrested for impeding pedestrian traffic on a sidewalk, which endangered no one. Yet, Sen. Cornyn and my opponent, Rep. Lamar Smith, continue to walk around free and living privileged lives while trying to impede 22 million people’s access to health care, which could cause almost 100,000 deaths per year.

Smith voted for the House version of this bill. If Smith and his GOP colleagues force this legislation into law, people we know will die. It’s just that simple.

My question to you, reader, is this: What are you willing to risk to get health care for the people who need it? The seven of us arrested last week gave you our answer. We can’t wait to hear yours.

Call Congress and tell them you oppose this horrific legislation. Then find a way to escalate your activism. This is an emergency, and we have to act like it.

Congressional candidate Derrick Crowe (TX-21) is led away by Austin police after being arrested for protesting the BCRA. Photo credit: Dave Creaney

Derrick Crowe is a progressive Democrat running for Congress in Texas’s 21st District. He’s running against a climate-change-denying, Trump-backing supporter of the Republican health repeal. Join Derrick’s campaign for liberty and justice. For all.

Derrick Crowe

Written by

Liberty & justice. For all. Democratic socialist, former congressional candidate. https://derrickcrowe.net

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