Heroes: Raise the Wage Activists
On Tuesday, hundreds of workers from across the Commonwealth braved freezing temperatures and icy conditions to make their voices heard on raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour in Virginia. Currently, Virginia ranks as the worst state in the country on workers’ rights; raising the minimum wage would be a huge step toward bringing Virginia up to speed with the rest of the country.
The group at the Capitol on Tuesday was made up of union members, faith leaders, workers, and small business owners who have grown tired of watching their community members be hindered in their pursuit of the American dream by special interest groups who have lobbied lawmakers to keep wages artificially low.
Major props to all of the activists who were hardcore enough to show up on a freezing cold morning in January! They told their representatives that “Enough is enough!” by demanding better rights for Virginia’s working families!
Missed the Raise the Wage rally? Watch the video here!
Zeroes: Donald Trump and Alex Jones
It’s hardly news that these two are zeroes in general, but this week they felt the need to insert themselves into a place they had no business being: Virginia state politics.
Despite being unable to say a single positive word about Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Trump managed to tweet support for the gun rally, even as Neo-Nazi terrorists plotting to carry out acts of violence during the event were arrested in Maryland by the FBI.
Alex Jones, a conservative talk show host who pushes conspiracy theories in order to sell low-quality nutritional supplements and other dubious merchandise, arrived in the morning to drive an armored vehicle down Richmond streets and scream vitriol into the crowd. It’s unclear why Jones, who’s spent his entire life in Texas and claims to be an ardent supporter of states’ rights, felt such a strong need to get involved in the affairs of our Commonwealth.
These entitled men can throw as many temper tantrums as they want, but they can’t change reality–– we made our voices heard at the ballot box by electing a progressive majority that campaigned on enacting common-sense gun violence prevention measures. Let’s show them that no matter how loud they scream, they can’t drown out our voices that are unified for a safer Commonwealth!
