On Tuesday, Rep. Athena Salman shook up Arizona House of Representatives’ staff and fellow elected leaders when she and others ambushed them in honor of the 2018 National Day Of Empathy. Although mass actions had been announced days before, Salman’s attack on staff surprised even the most seasoned politicians.
Salman’s stunt was part of mass action organized by #cut50. #cut50 is led by CNN commentator Van Jones, formerly of the Obama administration.
“It’s hard for legislators to look at a woman like Sue Ellen Allen and say no, we’re not going to give you the feminine supplies you need.” Supporting dignity for incarcerated women, @AthenaSalman helps deliver pillows made from feminine pads to #AZLeg w/ #Cut50. #DayOfEmpathy pic.twitter.com/FOK06Ltvqh
— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) March 6, 2018
Coming soon to the state Capitol: Kotex pillows (pillows made from feminine-hygiene products) to highlight the need for prison reforms. Reminds me of the pink uteri created several years ago.
— Mary Jo Pitzl (@maryjpitzl) March 2, 2018
Activists were encouraged to “generate empathy for millions of Americans impacted by the criminal justice system.”
Salman’s stunt not only failed to generate empathy, it soured the Republican lawmakers, who had previously supported the efforts currently under way in Arizona’s Capitol such as “ban the box” and sentencing reforms.
House Majority Whip Rep. Kelly Townsend stated, “I am greatly disappointed and angered by the political stunt pulled by a freshman House Democrat yesterday. To storm a fellow member’s office without permission, barging past their staff member and shoving a camera in their face along with maxi pads in the shape of a pillow carried by strangers was shockingly unprofessional and not representative of how we run the people’s House. In fact, it was reminiscent of the tactics of Union thugs and far-left radical activists. Upon further examination, there was indeed a national push to speak with legislators across the country about the plight of prisoners. However, I did not see anywhere in those communications that they should force themselves uninvited into the representative’s office. I am left to wonder if this was Rep. Salman’s idea or if she received her instructions from higher up.”
“The positive working relationship that we have made great efforts to build with the Democrat Caucus could very well be permanently damaged after yesterday’s shameful event. We are either going to have professionalism and decorum in the Legislature or we are going to allow the national leftist agenda to continue to infiltrate and disrupt the Arizona House.” Townsend concluded, “This going to be up to the Democrats as to whether or not they want to work with us or against us. The ball is in their court.”
Fortunately for the over 3,000 women in Arizona’s correctional facilities, Salman’s fail on Tuesday will not impact them. In February, Arizona lawmakers in response to Salman’s bill, HB 2222, instructed the Department of Corrections to revise its administrative policy on feminine hygiene products. Inmates had claimed that they were denied adequate supplies.
Awareness of the issue had become so keen that on Monday, upon receiving word that Rep. Isela Blanc had been arrested in Washington DC during a DACA protest, lawmakers discussed collecting an emergency fund to cover the cost of shipping sanitary products to Blanc by overnight mail.
Arizona representatives, out of concern for traumatized staff, are now calling for a formal admonishment of Salman.
Check out the one and only @ShakaSenghor in Michigan today for @cut_50‘s #DayOfEmpathy.
Don’t miss out on that if you’re anywhere near Lansing, MI! https://t.co/Y6gC6dZKf0
— Van Jones (@VanJones68) March 6, 2018
From #cut50’s website:
HOW WE DO THIS:
On March 6th, organizations and criminal justice advocates across the country activate for a single day of action to spotlight their local efforts and unite under a unified banner to highlight the strength of the bipartisan criminal justice reform movement.
“Ambassadors of Empathy” meet with elected officials in State capitols and Governors’ offices across the country. They share their experiences and how they have been impacted by the criminal justice system. Legislators gain first-hand experience of the human consequences of a criminal justice system that has gotten too big, too unfair, and too brutal.
The Day of Empathy features storytelling, digital media, and virtual reality content to humanize formerly incarcerated people, survivors of violent crime, and millions of others. By delivering a set of powerful, emotional experiences to lawmakers and fellow Americans, the Day of Empathy accelerates the bipartisan drive to create more effective, efficient, and humane criminal justice system.
Her fellow lawmakers say that Salman definitely delivered “a set of powerful, emotional experiences,” but they were not the stories of those trapped in a broken justice system. Instead, lawmakers heard from shaken staff and fellow representatives, who felt like they had been violated.
#cut50 is “an initiative of the DreamCorps, a social justice accelerator for transformative campaigns, ideas and innovations,” headquartered in Oakland, California.
