I wanted to take a second to write about the women’s march this weekend. It was the largest march to ever occur in the history of the United States of America. Women and men who care about women gathered together to organize and be visible. These marches were markedly different from any other larger protest in that no one was arrested, no one was raped, and no one was murdered. These women did not break windows, turn over cars or burn down buildings. They assembled and acted like good citizens.
After the march was over, I listened as people who were not involved attempted to label and turn the women into straw-men. These people said:
- “The march was about the election. “ It could have been but maybe not in the way you think.
- “This march was all about Trump.” I know he would like for it to be. More people turned out for it than for the inauguration.
- “This march was about Hillary. Although she won the popular vote, she worked hard to win a contest that did not matter. Trump targeted the areas he needed to gain the electorial votes.” This march was not about the convoluted political process.
- “The march was about abortion.” If you can get it to be about that a divide can be created but it was not. I am not saying there were not women there who may have been marching about these things but the women I know marched to end domestic violence and other violence against women.
So why did they march? The women I know marched to end domestic violence and other violence against women. They marched to end the practice of light sentencing for violent rape. They marched to protect their disabled children by raising their visibility. They marched to raise awareness that more than half of the country is female. In a representative country, shouldn’t their perspectives be represented? There were many Godly women, who pray everyday to Yahweh, who were marching. These women recognize the scripture that tells us to speak up for the voiceless and that is what they are doing.
Even though the event was unusually peaceful I noticed there were several people who attempted to shut them. Some attempted to shut them down by shaming the women or making fun of them. One noob in the US senate said that Trump had managed to get more fat women walking than Michelle Obama ever had. That is an example of the nonsense that has been shared. Some people beg to be ignored. Others attempted to stop the momentum by telling all of us ‘why these women were marching.’ I am disappointed in the people who feel the need to do this. These people seem afraid to politely engage their neighbor and ask why she marched or why she supported the march. These women managed to march without becoming violent. I think engaging them would be physically safe, so why not talk and hear a different perspective? It’s not as if there weren’t so many of them you don’t know anyone who participated. There is no reason for such a fearful reaction when a group of women assemble peacefully.
I recognize there were a million different reasons the women assembled this weekend. I am just so glad to see them waking up. The civilizations/times when women were treated equally tend to be marked by an explosion of arts and innovation. This is a rising tide that can raise all ships.
Credit these women. They were able to run this march with class and dignity. Women of all ages, sizes, attractiveness, education, height, income, shade and any other delimiter you care to choose, assembled. Even though they greatly outnumbered the police and could have torn the cities down, they came together to build one another up. I hope the movement continues and women take their God given place in the C-Suite, in America, and in the rest of the world.
Next on my Reading List:
https://www.amazon.com/Black-White-Bible-Blue-Wife-ebook/dp/B010R0I6DU/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=teachersandco-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=da42915cf5ed9fcbaf5abe608591ad41&creativeASIN=B010R0I6DU
