On Jan. 20, I woke up, packed a bag and headed to Washington D.C. The next morning, I waited an hour and a half to get on the metro and shoved my way through the station just so I would make it to the Capitol in time for the Women’s March.
I stood beside my fellow sisters in solidarity as I looked out across a sea of pink hats and posters. It was truly remarkable to be a part of such a historical moment. The atmosphere and positivity of this experience left me on a cloud of hope for change.
That is until I came home to see the hundreds of hateful, ignorant and irrelevant comments on all of my social media accounts. Many of the comments were biased and often disregarded any of the facts and goals of the march itself. So in an attempt to educate those who seemed to have missed the message completely and so that they will stop clouding my newsfeed with ignorance, I will take it upon myself, as a good citizen, to explain and break down the purpose of the march.
Alright, Tammy, I get it. You grew up in an upper class, white family. Your parents paid for your education. You met the love of life in college and you have three kids, a nice job and a house in the suburbs. For you, it probably feels like the second wave of feminism secured your rights. The key word here is: You. The Second Women’s Liberation Movement did do a lot to secure the rights of white women; the ones it forgot are the ones marching.
- People of Color, for example, have consistently been marginalized throughout the history of the United States and before you say, “racism no longer exists” you should probably take a good hard look at Flint, Michigan. You should turn on your television and see how many white faces you see. You should take a look at the police brutality against people of color in this country and then realize that the United States has masked racism through systematic oppression. Our nation went from slavery, to Jim Crow, to mass incarceration. This is why people march.
- Members of the LGBT+ community, for example, face oppression every day from a society dictated by heteronormativity. The past few years, events have threatened the lives and well beings of many queer individuals. From the issue regarding transgender bathrooms to the potential of a repeal of the Supreme Court decision for equal marriage. So, again you might can see why these individuals would want to stand up and have their voice heard.
Are you starting to see the bigger picture? Oh, but wait I have also seen in recent posts that you claim Trump has only been in office for one day so “all the marchers” should give it a rest.
Well, that’s an excellent point but many women are fearful for their rights as Trump has repeatedly said he wants to repeal Roe v. Wade, criminalize abortion and defund Planned Parenthood. Before you start preaching about the plight of the unborn children please realize that government funding does not go towards abortions. Government subsidizes for Planned Parenthood go towards free health screenings and birth control.
Not to mention, Trump’s cabinet is littered with deviant, self-involved bureaucrats. Many women chose to march because Betsy Devos, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education, does not believe in public schools.
Or how about immigration rights? That seems like a pretty worthy thing to march for considering Trump wants to build a wall and has placed bans allowing Muslims to enter the country.
These are all valid reasons to march. If none of these reasons affect your life directly then congratulations, you are lucky to have such privileges. Most women do not share your same fortune. However, it is up to you to separate your position in society from the rest of the world and put it in perspective. It is up to you to see this perspective and empathize with fellow sisters and supporters. Choose to be on the right side of history.