What Does Community Look Like?
On Saturday, July 11, we gathered for another Bagel Saturday at Lotus Legal.
Nearly 40 members of our community joined us, making this our biggest Bagel Saturday yet. We shared coffee, bagels, conversations, and enough questions to keep us talking well past our scheduled end time. We also handed out pocket Constitutions because, if we are going to have conversations about constitutional rights, everyone deserves to have the document itself in their hands.
This month's discussion focused on a handful of topics that have been dominating headlines.
We spent time discussing the recent sentencing of the Prairieland Defendants.
**The rhetoric used in these DOJ publications is powerful, and worth reading critically. Government press releases shape public understanding long before appeals are exhausted or legal issues are fully litigated. They tell a story and it is important that we ask questions about the stories our government tells.
We also discussed the recent federal indictment charging 15 individuals here in the District of Minnesota with conspiracy and related offenses arising out of protests earlier this year. We focused on understanding what the government has actually alleged and, more importantly, what it must ultimately prove in court beyond a reasonable doubt before anyone can be convicted of conspiracy.
Finally, we explored how the Federal Sentencing Guidelines work which sparked thoughtful conversations about judicial discretion, sentencing policy, and what justice should look like.
But the best part of Bagel Saturdays is never about the presentation (though our incredible law clerk, Greta Lahm, did an incredible job). It is really about neighbors meeting each other. Exchanging contact information. Learning from one another. And feeling a little more connected than when they arrived. Every month we make new friends, strengthen existing relationships, and remind ourselves that community is something we build intentionally.
Thank you to everyone who spent your Saturday morning with us. We are continually humbled by this growing community and grateful that you trust us to learn alongside you.
What's Next?
Our August gathering will look a little different…
Instead of meeting in the Minneapolis office on the first Saturday of August, we are inviting you to join us for a Counterparty on Saturday, August 1, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Boom Island Park in Minneapolis.
On the same day that others have chosen to gather around fear, anger, and division elsewhere in the country, we are choosing something entirely different.
We are throwing a Counterparty.
Not a counterprotest.
A celebration.
We need you there.
Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring your neighbors.
Most importantly, bring the thing that you do to express love for your community.
Are you a musician? Bring your instrument.
A bubble artist? Fill the park with giant bubbles.
Do face painting? Bring your paints.
Love folding origami? Teach someone how.
Do you bake? Feed someone.
Do you dance? Dance.
Do you tell stories? Tell them.
Do you read books to kids? Bring a blanket and a stack of favorites.
Do you organize? Introduce people to someone new.
Do you garden? Bring seeds to share.
Do you knit, crochet, write poetry, make art, lead yoga, play board games, or simply have a gift for making strangers feel welcome? Bring that.
Whatever your thing is, bring it. Share it. Let someone else experience the joy that you create.
We want Boom Island Park overflowing with the beautiful, quirky, creative, generous ways that people care for one another. We want children chasing bubbles, faces covered in paint, paper cranes folded together by strangers, music filling the air, conversations between neighbors who have never met before, and people leaving with a renewed belief in community.
This is what community looks like.
We cannot wait to see what you bring.
Love wins.
Because of Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah, we will not hold a Bagel Saturday in September. We will reconvene in the office for our next Bagel Saturday on Saturday, October 3.
As always, if there is a legal topic you would like us to cover please let us know. Bagel Saturdays exist because of this community. They exist because you keep showing up. And we cannot wait to keep building it together.
Disclaimer
This post is for general informational purposes only. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Lotus Legal PLLC.
If you want to change that, request a consultation.