Women’s march: standing up to Trump

Among the thousands gathered was a handful of Dollars students, some there to celebrate the incoming president, others to demonstrate.

“I know there are all of these sister marches in NY and Philly, I just really wanted to be a part of the one, one of the largest marches in history”, she said.

“For me, being a Republican, that was really cool”, Hanson said.

The site also outlined multiple “Unity Principles” describing how these women would stand together to fight for the rights of all humans as a collective, including immigrants, workers, LGBTQ+ identifying persons, those with disabilities and more. But Chait was wrong on another level: Outrage is almost always personal, and huge turnouts only really happen when the majority, namely white men and women, can identify with what they feel is a virtuous, specific cause. They marched, not to support the new president, but to express that after almost a century of fighting for the right to vote, women are still fighting for their right to live with pride and dignity. The photo of the oblivious women and Peoples, sucking on a lollipop, holding her sign with an unapologetic look on her face, quickly went viral.

Arriving early was essential to seeing something so monumental, Lamberty said. They should get involved. At 10 a.m. I set off in search of a large contingent of New Yorkers marching with handcrafted Statue of Liberty torches under the banner of “We Make America”. It was incredible to go and stand at a place that was the epicenter of something so much larger than myself, to see how my devastation and the fear I saw in my friends could be used in such an effective way by so many people.

After the inauguration itself, Lamberty and his group went to the parade, which wasn’t much easier to access. I went to check out the walkout, but I did not feel particularly heartened to join.

The first thing I learned from my experience in Washington is that this is not going to get easier.

“It was an incredible weekend”, Huber said.

Teresa Shook, a retired lawyer in Hawaii, came up with the idea for the march after being depressed about Trump’s election.

“I could not believe how many people were there, it was just insane, even at seven in the morning”, Huber said. However, we must remember that showing up means listening to and advocating for the issues which affect any and all of us, not just the rights that affect oneself. “I want to take charge and help guide people, women especially, to find their handsome voice and speak out against injustice”, said Roth. I traveled to Washington D.C. from Minneapolis because I wanted to send a message and be part of a movement.

But some people of color felt marginalized at the marches, despite attempts at the highest levels of leadership to be inclusive.

“Honestly, we’re still trying to figure that out”, said Ben Tulchin, a pollster for the insurgent presidential candidacy of Bernie Sanders. It’s like loneliness mixed with apprehension.”You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful – I just start kissing them”. “It was just so cool to see her there with everyone else in the march”. When a group of men and women unite with hopes of bringing people together, a real force to be reckoned with is created. In watching Ashley Judd, Madonna and others use foul, hateful language toward Trump, I am more sure than ever that the left “hates” the most. I marched, because I was angry and scared and needed to see that I was not alone in dreaming of an America of greater diversity and acceptance.

Many had never been to a big D.C. protest before. “It was very uplifting”.