What You Won’t Read about the Women’s March Elsewhere

A world united in solidarity.

Marchers in DC literally broke the internet. People in Antartica with photobombing penguins marched for climate change. A sea of pink was seen worldwide, all united to stand as the Women’s March may have been the largest in history.

Why Women Marched on Washington

Fearing the large sea of people and security risks of modern times, it was hard not to feel a slight anxiety about Saturday. Out of the estimated 500,000+ participants that marched on Washington (and an estimated 3+ million worldwide), the sentiment was optimistic. Every person I crossed paths with was kind. And not a single person was arrested or reports of riots.

Walking through the crowds, there was a sea of witty signs. Some funny, some serious. From Hamilton references to Putin, all signs had a clear message: ranging from women’s rights, immigration, minority rights, LGBT rights, Black Lives Matter, climate change, a woman’s control over her own body, Russia – and the list goes on.

Chants reflected the crowd sentiment. From “We want a leader; not a creepy tweeter” to “This is what democracy looks like.”

What you won’t understand from reading news coverage was the contagious sense of empowerment. How it was impossible not to feel connected with thousands of other strangers. Smiling at strangers. Reading signs and understanding why that person had chosen to travel to our nation’s capital. Making eye contact with a stranger and feeling safe.

Thousands of Women’s March participants didn’t show up for one day. As Americans, freedom of speech is our first amendment right. Politicians take note of protests as a form of citizen’s concerns. The Women’s March group is continuing the action by initiating the 10 actions in the first 100 days campaign. Concerned citizens are encouraged to take action, including the first call to action: send postcards to elected officials.

Why I Marched

We started the weekend on Friday, visiting President Lincoln’s cabin in DC. Our lunchtime tour of 40 was filled with Marchers from all over, including Montreal, San Francisco, Minnesota, Portland, London and more. During introductions, we heard about those traveling from afar and heard stories about a leader who was willing to do what was right for the nation over his personal views. This was a perfect political pregame for Saturday’s events, as ALL references about Climate Change were removed from the White House website also on January 20 (AKA Apocalypse, Day One).

Climate Change is Real. Once again, 2016 shattered records as the hottest year ever. At a time where experts have repeated that we have to take actions now to reverse the damages of climate change forever, we’re still fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline and fossil fuels. This isn’t a matter of resources: Scientist Bill Nye has declared we have enough wind and solar to power the WORLD.

Although I’ve never been one to protest, nothing about this election has been normal. Although the election results are something that we’ve had to accept as a nation (regardless of interference by a foreign country), it doesn’t mean we have to accept messages of hate and sexual assault as the norm.

As a small business owner, I was able to start my business due to the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare). Previously, I had been denied coverage due to a preexisting condition – a regular screening that came back irregular.

I marched on Saturday for thousands of rights that are threatened. And until everyone is treated equally regardless of race or sexual orientation, women are paid equally, the pink tax is gone, have 50% representation in Congress and are in the White House, our fight will not be done.

We’ve just begun.