Wendy continues her series designed to translate our anger into meaningful action by highlighting those who make a difference. Today she writes about the Women's March.
Like so many of you, on Friday I watched, and I wept. And like so many of you, on Saturday, I
marched. Marching was a temporary
antidote, a period of solidarity with like-minded Americans walking in protest
and with some measure of disbelief.
The marches across our county and the world -- the world!
-- are historically unprecedented. As we
traveled together to the march on a standing room only train, one woman said,
"This is great." Yes, but it
would have been even greater if this expression of outrage were unnecessary.
We -- readers of this blog -- participated from sea to
shining sea. In Washington, of
course. Women from two extraordinary
organizations with which I volunteer -- Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic and
Hope's Door -- drove to Washington to raise their voices and one of my nieces
traveled from California to be in DC. Tom and I marched in New York City as did
many, many of our friends. My
sisters-in-law and a niece marched in California. A friend rallied in Chicago and a friend of
hers in Seattle. And we marched in
smaller cities too. A group from Women
on Watch, about whom I wrote last week, marched in Stamford, Connecticut. A Facebook friend marched in
Poughkeepsie.
Marchers carried signs, not just about women's rights, but
about gay rights, racism, the environment, education. The signs ran from the blunt to the clever,
but all spoke of deep conviction. "I Stand with Planned Parenthood."
"If my daughter had another 23 cents for every 77 cents she earned, she'd
be my son." "Women Organized This." "A Woman's Place is in
the Revolution." "Not Putin Up With This." "Nasty Women Are
Watching." "I Can't Believe I Still Have to Protest This Shit."
"Fight Like A Girl." "Not My President." "None of This
Is Normal." "We Say Nyet." "Hate Won't Make Us Great."
"Pussy Power." "I Am a Strong Woman Because A Strong Woman
Raised Me." "Resist." "Girls Just Want to Have Fun-damental
Rights."
The marchers were women, they were men, they were black,
white, Hispanic and Muslim. They were
young, they were old. For many, it was a
mother/daughter day. So many little girls were walking with their mommies, not
understanding the crowds, the noise, the very long day, but being taught,
early, the importance of speaking up and speaking out. The marchers walked with groups they
supported, with their book clubs, with their churches and synagogues, with
their friends, their families and some, on their own.
And they chanted. "This is what democracy looks like."
Indeed.
For me, the most poignant moment came as we neared Trump
Tower, the march almost at a standstill but electric with energy. To my left was a little girl, maybe four
years old, holding her young mother's hand and peering through the barriers at
supportive onlookers. And to my right,
sandwiched amongst thousands of chanting protesters, was an elderly woman. She had gray hair. She wore a pink coat. She wore a pink hat with cat ears, a
"pussy hat," as they were called.
And she pushed a walker. Every step of the way. I think she pushed it for that little girl.
Did it matter? I
believe it was an excellent start. Trump
seems to have an ability to craft his own reality, so I have no doubt we'll
hear that the media has overstated the numbers of protesters, that somehow the
pictures of wall-to-wall marchers in city after city were photoshopped. But we who were there know that the streets
were so crowded with angry but peaceful protesters that New York City came to a
complete standstill. And our Senators
and Representatives know it too.
Heading home on the
train, a fellow traveler said to me, "It was a great day. But it can't only be a day. We have to keep it up." Couldn't agree more. Let's keep it up.
The work isn't over !!!
ReplyDeleteIn my town, Westfield, NJ, right after the presidential election, a small group of women started a secret Facebook page to mobilize like-minded people to take action. Members invite others to join the group. The group continues to grow (including women and men). Because of the group's posts on FB, I have made several calls to our senators and our Republican congressman about a couple of key issues. Now we are talking about next steps to unseat members of our all-Republican town council and our mayor, and more importantly, to try to band with other towns in our Congressional district to unseat our Republican Congressman. He won with 54% of the vote, last November, while the largely unfunded, very young, no-name-recognition Democratic candidate garnered only 43%. I urge people in other towns to do the same. You start with a few people, who then invite other Democrats, and the group grows and grows until you have a local movement. Last Wednesday, 100 people showed up outside our congressman's office in our town and demanded that he oppose repeal of the ACA. He seemed very surprised, and then invited about 20 people into his office to talk. They told him to repair the ACA, not repeal it. He said that repeal and replace IS repair. We're not buying it. We are getting ready to bring pressure to bear. He won't know what hit him. You all can do the same. Let's take back Congress in 2018, and start now.
ReplyDeleteSusana, this is a great suggestion, thank you! I truly believe that grassroots efforts such as this will be critical to the 2018 midterms and to influencing politicians as best we can in the interim. Please post updates on your group's activities -- it's motivating to read about what others are doing. I hope others will follow your example.
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