Hands Off Rally Speech

Bless Their Hearts

Hey, folks. I’m Brooks Cato, and I do my preaching at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church just a block back that way. I’m grateful to get to speak today, but I really wish I didn’t have to. We’re in trouble, folks. Before I say anything else, I wanna acknowledge that I am, in fact, a Christian. I know a lot of y’all aren’t, and that’s just fine by me. I don’t care what or if you believe. But I do care about mercy, justice, and human dignity. So as long as we can agree on that, we’re good. That said, I might slip into preaching a little bit out of habit, so buckle up and please, forgive me.

One of the many prophets says, “Seek justice, do mercy, and walk humbly.” That’s a big one for folks like me. Seek justice? I wonder what Sackets Harbor thinks about justice. Do mercy? I wonder how empty food banks do mercy. Walk humbly? I’ve seen drag queens with more humility -- and better eye-shadow -- than the crew down in Washington.

When I was baptized, I promised to respect the dignity of every human being. That’s one of our vows. I vowed to respect the dignity of every human being. I cannot stand by while supposed Christians berate the already oppressed. I cannot stand by while supposed Christians criminalize people. I cannot stand by. But ‘stand by’ is the message we keep getting. “Just wait and see, let it play out, give it time for people to see their true colors.” Y’all, we knew their true colors a decade ago. We didn’t have to dig for proof. They told us. And they told us again in 2020 after hundreds of thousands died. And they told us again on January 6th -- that’s a holiday in the church’s calendar by the way. January 6th is The Epiphany. It celebrates truth coming to light. Y’all, this whole country should’ve had an epiphany on January 6th. That should’ve been the end of it. But it wasn’t, and here we are again. And now that they’re back in power, all who speak up get lambasted for telling the truth. Imagine if I were an international student: ICE woulda scooped me up weeks ago. But I’m not. I mean look at me, can you imagine why they wouldn’t’ve taken somebody that looks like me yet? Mmhmm. The hard truth we’re getting now is an epiphany of its own. That hard truth is that not a soul in the White House cares about you. Or me. Or any human that doesn’t put another dollar in their pocket. If you aren’t made of gold or rare earth elements, they ain’t fighting for you.

Ya know, in the old scriptures, there’s all sorts of stuff the wealthy are supposed to do. Jesus says rich folks should take everything they’ve got, sell it, and give the money to the poor. Now, I don’t know if you know this, but I’m no Jesus, so maybe we could just start with making billionaires pay their taxes. That same Jesus fella wanted all the sick brought to him to get healed. I’m no Jesus, but maybe we could start with universal healthcare. That same fella feeds thousands just ‘cause they’re there. Maybe we could start with feeding the hungry. Creation? Maybe we could start with saving a National Park. Foreigners in our midst? Maybe we could start with those who can’t afford a golden ticket. Forgiveness? Maybe we could start with not confusing what they call “disagreements over politics” with what’re actually threats against my existence. Look, I’m not greedy. So maybe we should start with something kinda basic like, oh I don’t know, respecting and promoting fundamental human rights. Call me old-fashioned, but I just don’t think state sponsored kidnapping without due process does respect the dignity of every human being.

Now, I know this is true for lots of religions, my tradition’s no different: the underdog gets special treatment. As liberation theologians say, there’s a special place for the oppressed, and that special place prioritizes them over all others. In other words, if the world’s out to crush you, Christians and other people of faith, shoot, all people should be out to help you. And “help” means actually help. Need a place to sleep? Here’s a bed. Need a bite to eat? Here’s some bread. Need a place to hide? Well, we used to offer you sanctuary, but now we gotta fight to get that back. The point is, you are who we serve. If we’re talking Hands Off today, I’ll tell you what I want to get their hands off of. You. They grope for purchase anywhere their cruelty can take hold, and that starts with the most oppressed. They search out scapegoats and turn modern browncoats loose with just enough plausible deniability to get off scot free with a wink into a camera. Let me put a finer point on this. Get your hands off of Pride. Get your hands off of the wealth of human diversity. Get your hands off retiree’s savings. Get your hands off my doctor’s clipboard. Get your hands off bathrooms, hands off lost children, hands off Title IX, hands off marriage, hands off my freedom of religion and hands off my atheist neighbor’s freedom from religion. Hands off! I know this isn’t a sermon but if I’m not careful I’m gonna get to preaching for real!

So I’ll step back here in a second, and make room for somebody else. But first, there’s gonna be a lot going today. There’s things to study, things to learn, things to try, things to avoid. But let me go on and commend you for doing the hardest part, getting out here in nasty weather and standing up for what you believe. Keep at it, please. We need your help, we need your ideas, we need your energy, and we need the unique gifts you bring to this work. But more than anything, we need your desire to make this country good. I’m not sure if I can say Make America Good Again, but at least we can get the arc of the moral universe to bend toward justice again. Maybe not the catchiest slogan to put on a hat, but I’d wear it.

Actually, I already do wear it. That’s what this collar means. That’s what that pride flag waving in front of my church’s door means. That’s what the flock of people I care for means. But this isn’t just Christian stuff. This is human stuff. That smile you’re wearing, that’s humanity. That tear you shed, that’s humanity. That hope welling in your chest, that’s humanity. That’s all humanity wrestling with the atrocities of our time. I’m here to respect the dignity of all that humanity, and unless I miss my guess, you are, too. Now, it’s going to take that humanity or faith or conviction or whatever it is that drives you, it’s going to take every aspect of that motivation to win. But make no mistake, we will win. In time, we will win. Together, we will win. No matter how far their hands reach, they can’t take us all, and so, good people of Hamilton, we will win.