Saturday’s Women’s March was a bigly event. It was even more bigly than Emperor Baby Fist’s inauguration in Washington DC. By many estimates, the Women’s March had double the crowd as the inauguration, if not more. What was even more incredible is that in every major city in America, women marched and protested. Women marched in Nashville and New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, Raleigh and Memphis, Portland and Seattle, Austin and Philadelphia, Lansing and St. Louis, Denver and Miami, Boston and Indianapolis and more. The Women’s March went global too as our brothers and sisters in Canada, Great Britain, India, Mexico, France, Australia, Argentina and Antarctica marched in solidarity.
At the Washington rally, a whole host of speakers addressed the assembled crowd. Some of the speakers: Madonna, Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Warren, Scarlett Johansson, Angela Davis, Ashley Judd, America Ferrera, Cecile Richards, Melissa Harris-Perry, the Mothers of the Movement and more. There were so many good speeches, but obviously the celebrity speeches got a lot of attention. Madonna in particular, because many cable news channels were airing live feeds of the speakers and Madonna dropped several f-bombs. Here’s Madonna’s speech (NSFW for language):
Here’s Scarlett Johansson’s speech:
If you were following the march on Twitter (through the #WomensMarch hashtag), you probably saw the thousands of absolutely amazing photos from all of the marches around the world. Here are some of my favorites.
Fave sign #womensmarchlondon #witchesunite #nastywoman #LoveTrumpsHate pic.twitter.com/CP8BSIRGHK
— Emh (@emilyhilton) January 21, 2017
Spotted, Blake Lively in New York City in the #WomensMarch! pic.twitter.com/7T57UhyCys
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 21, 2017
I'm a nasty girl #WomensMarch pic.twitter.com/GjFriucGUY
— Nick Offerman (@Nick_Offerman) January 21, 2017
My favorite signs so far #WomensMarch pic.twitter.com/F01IoO4djm
— Common White Girl (@girlposts) January 21, 2017
I know where she stood. You know where she stood. Such an honor to see her standing with you today. Bigly. #Resistance #WorldWideWomensMarch pic.twitter.com/cwsgoYVSU7
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) January 21, 2017
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN, Twitter.
Yayyyy give it to them!!!!! So good.
So proud of all of the women, men and children out there. This has to be the beginning of sustained resistance activity. NJ & VA next year have elections for Governor get out there and vote a non-TrumPlican into office. We will need safe havens against the horror that is POTUS.
One of my favorite signs: “We’re not PUTIN up with this”
The signs were amazing. As for the speeches, most were overlong and redundant, but those worth watching on You Tube include America Ferrara, Roslyn Brock, Ashley Judd, and Sophia Cruz.
We arrived early and had a great view of the stage, but were unable to March because the crowd size prevented us from moving north to the route. We tried to go south and then west to catch the route further down Constitution Ave, but the lower streets were just as packed as the official route. There is no way we will ever get an accurate count of the March because it was happening everywhere!
Proud to have marched in little Buffalo, New York!!! Favorite sign was “shed walls, don’t build them” with a pic of a uterus. Also, “Go home Kellyanne, you’re drunk”. Also, we are home of the wreched, disgusting Carl paladino so there was a fair amount of protest against him as well. I was so emotional…the day before a large group shut down a few major streets chanting “no hate, no KKK in the usa”. Hearing the voices, feeling the energy…I still get tears in my eyes.
I am so, so proud to have been a part of this. My city may be small but our women are mighty.
My favorite sign was “If progressives are snowflakes, Winter is coming”!
A fave sign: “Fake Tan, Fake Hair, Fake News, Real Danger”… But after seeing the overwhelming solidarity, not only in the US but around the world, against the Orange Twitterhead, I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling some cautious optimism. Way to go, sisters! (and brothers…).
I just hope this is just the beginning, it was a beautiful sight. In order to get results we have to March as long as it takes to get this ignorant liar and buffoon out of office he stole. Can you imagine the first order of business was DT arguing with the press about crowd size. We all have eyes and can judge for ourselfs who had the biggest crowd, the women’s March had the biggest crowd. Heaven help us from this buffoon.
I was in a ticketed section at Obama’s first inauguration. We were elevated enough to see the mall behind us and I really think the women’s March had a bigger turnout. The March stage was on Independence Ave, so the crowd pictured on the mall was spillover because Independence and the numbered streets from 3rd to 17th were completely packed.
It took us over an hour to walk from Independence and 3rd to the Capitol Hill metro because the crowd was so thick. Normally, that is a 10 minute walk at most.
Megan, I think you’re right. I was on Constitution thinking the parade route had been moved when it simply had overflowed from Independence onto the side streets along the Mall, onto Constitution AND onto Pennsylvania Avenues.
Fantastic day without one arrest and with great cooperation from law enforcement.
There was a march in the snow at Sundance too.
And they have an anthem! (Quiet by Milck) She and 25 other women performed it acapella around D.C, and it’s kind of become the anthem for the women’s march!
I went to one of the marches, it was so uplifting, still on a emotional high from it. Great day.
I SO LOVED IT!! and all the sister marches all over the world!
My Twitter feed was full of so many amazing pictures and posts yesterday, it warmed the cockles of my cynical heart. (Also, I laughed so hard when I saw Ian McKellan’s sign…leave it to him to work in Patrick Stewart somehow!)
Big <3 to all of you!
I reached ‘Twitter peak’ and I couldn’t retweet anything anymore yesterday, images from all over the world were so many! 🙂
Big <3 back from UK!!
Fun fact: Amber Tamblyn was at the one in DC with America Ferera and then traveled to the one in NYC to be with her other sisterhood co-star, Blake. And she’s 8 months pregnant. I LOVE her. But I love every single person who participated in this march. Really warmed my heart and gave me hope.
I was at the Nashville march and you could look around all day and see people crying tears of joy. My friend said that this was the first time she felt hope since the election. For me, it felt like the most American thing I have ever done. While I hated the circumstances, I felt so honored to be a part of such a historical event. I hope Trump took notice and it was a visual reminder that most of America did not vote for him. What stuck me the most was the number of people who brought their kids-it made me think the future is going to be better because of those people.
Denver was INCREDIBLE yesterday. Marchers for miles, as far as the eye could see. Hope we keep this momentum going for the next four years, because we have the numbers. We are here to fight.
I was also at a secondary march; one of the best signs was “You can’t comb over racism.” Also, someone saw Ivanka’s brother-in-law at the DC March. No sign of Karlie.
yeah josh kushner was at the march. karlie is in paris, dunno if she marched or not. but she apparently voted for clinton going by her insta post.
I’m so sad I was/am sick in bed and couldn’t go. This makes me so proud and also a little frustrated that we didn’t get our sh*t together sooner. That we had to be pushed this far when really, women – especially women of color – were being treated appallingly around the world and right next to us all along. I love this, I LOVE the signs and I hope Hillary takes some comfort in seeing this.
Someone at the DC march had a giant HRC cutout and put a pussy hat on it. It was quite popular with the crowd. 🙂
I had two lots of Sixlet sportsing that had been pre-arranged for ages and Mr Sixer had to work, so I couldn’t go either.
But in between chauffeuring children around, I was glued to social media watching all the pink pussy hats, witty banners and inspirational speakers. I’m undecided between America Ferrera and Angela Davis for my favourite speeches. Angela Davis pips it, I think.
100,000 women in Trafalgar Square.
3.6 million women across the world.
Absolutely life-affirming and wonderful and brilliant.
(PS: Get well soon, darling.)
Thanks.😚
I feel a little less afraid of the various elections we have coming up in the EU if we can keep this going. It’s encouraging and god knows we need some encouragement. I’m convinced that the sane people just need to be more vocal and active. We really still are the majority, we’ve just been so complacent.
Hi Sixer, a line from me down under. There was a sizeable turn out, and march down here in little old Wellington. I joined in proudly and fiercely. They will not win, we will prevail, and we will continue to fight, we are a universal force!
I had to work- I took off last weekend for my son’s competition, so couldn’t do two consecutive weekends off. Paying mortgage on the home that I own myself and being the sole parent to a small child. Thank you sisters for marching for us! So brave!!
So many women came out in support which is really great. But let’s not forget white women were a key role in getting trump into office. Like those same ppl who voted for trump probably showed up in droves to pretend their not racist, care about civil rights and so on. I found that just as scary as his inauguration. And there were TONS of white women marching, with media also focusing primlarly on white women and not woc which hurt my heart. I was hoping to see more inclusion and representation across cultures and skin tones 🙁
I can’t speak to media coverage, but every color, religion, age group, etc was present here in Houston. It was incredible.
@kb same situation here in orange county, ca. people from all walks of life. it was one of the most beautiful things i’ve ever participated in.
My youngest daughter was amazed at the number of older people who joined the parade in St. Louis. I stayed home to watch younger ones so couldn’t go. Also popped up in my FB feed – march in Anchorage, Alaska where the temp was 16 below zero (F).
In DC the crowd was incredibly diverse by all metrics.
@swak, there were lots of elderly women marching and rolling in the Boston march many of them carried signs about not believing they still had to fight for their rights.
@lightpurple, that’s great.
I am so disappointed in myself that I went to work int he lab instead of going to the march here in Houston, 🙁
I hope we keep it going. I hope we have another one on women’s day (March 8th). I am definitely going to the next ones! 🙂
I live in Houston too and was at the march yesterday. “only” 25,000 people showed up but we also only had 11 days to organize it. It was INCREDIBLE energy, intensity, and resolve coming from every which way. The Police were awesome and there were ZERO adverse incidents. #winning
I thought the DC march did a good job of inclusiveness in its speakers, though I don’t know about media coverage either.
ETA: It didn’t occur to me that some of the protestors might have voted for him. That is a scary thought. But at least their numbers contributed to the march I guess. Much like the trumpster boycotts of Starbucks, that would be kind of counterproductive.
They maybe regretting their vote. If they are I’m glad they are standing with us.
It’s possible some Trump voters were there, but I think it would have been very few. The march was a direct response to Trump’s election and most of the speakers directly challenged his rhetoric and proposed policy initiatives.
Saw these yesterday and this morning:
The most adorable baby
https://instagram.com/p/BPjY5-Sjg7S/
Willow Smith and Cree Summer
https://instagram.com/p/BPiv_UpDOqq/
Aja Naomi King and Alfred Enoch
https://instagram.com/p/BPizfn5Dium/
This speech!
https://instagram.com/p/BPi0VCRj6Pi/
Janelle Monae
https://instagram.com/p/BPi1gCWgc1n/
Debbie Allen is everything!
https://instagram.com/p/BPjToaLAu9O/
Zoe Kravitz with Cree Summer’s daughter
https://instagram.com/p/BPi9GApDBus/
Tracee Ellis Ross and Yara Shahidi
https://instagram.com/p/BPjVHoHhd39/
Thanks for the links. Will give these a watch! Just to clarify though I was just saying it wasn’t as well represented as I thought it would be! There were millions of women that came out in support globally and used their voice for positive change and I don’t want to take away from that either. It was amazing to witness just more some more colour would’ve been great as my reality and countless others deal more w woc than white women
Jess: no, I completely understood what you were saying! Just wanted to share some really cool pictures that I figured many people haven’t seen. The support was amazing.
Almondjoy, I love Aja and Alfred! I know they’re not actually an item, but they’re a couple in my head. They are so cute and seem to have genuine affection for each other. It saddens me that they never even hooked up on How to Get Away With Murder. Anyway, thanks for the pic of my favorite fantasy couple!
WTW: omg I thought it was only me! I’m so obsessed with them and I also swear they’re a couple. They’re always together and have such a cute relationship 😍 Honestly I love the whole cast, they seem like genuinely people and they’re so close.
Love the links you posted Almondjoy. That first sign on the left had me wanting to high-five that guy. The sign around that baby’s neck is everything and he’s a real cutie too.
I marched in Texas and it was wonderful. They projected 30,000 people in Austin, and around 50,000 turned out. I have a hard time believeing there were any closeted Trump supporters in the crowd.
I had heard 10,000 in Houston and it was over 20,000. The organizers everywhere were shocked by the turnout. It speaks to just how intensely we feel about all of this.
I’ve got to say I felt so incredibly patriotic yesterday. Not just as an American, but as a citizen of the world. I was so humbled by the marches outside of the US. As an American, I just felt proud to be able to show the world that we are rejecting Trump and his rhetoric and we will not be complacent.
Yep I agree. I was at the march because a lot of my friends (many immigrants) were marching. But let’s not forget white women helped get us here. White feminism helped get us here. So the march was great but it does nothing if white women who see themselves as intersectional feminist don’t check their fellow WW.
Not only that but imagine if this many people marched for BLM? How amazing that would be? I said yesterday that if we could mobilize this number for black lives, natives, immigrants we could do amazing things. But people need to go BEYOND the marching. They need to begin the real work. WOC have been in the trenches it’s time for others to step in.
Also Ashley Judd’s speech was originally created by a black woman and it bothered me that she is getting credit for it. *side eye*
Can we just be happy that everyone supported this cause and stop with dividing us by color. I saw people of all color, size, age, including men and children. This was Bigly, jmo.
Um no because if we weren’t divided white Women’s wouldn’t have voted for Trump to uphold white supremacy. So no.
It’s always nice to say “let’s not be divided” if the division doesn’t effect you. Silencing the critics is exactly why there weren’t MORE WOC out yesterday. Because that’s what white feminism does…silences WOC.
So no I will not be silent. Next
Re: Ashley Judds speech. I felt within the first minute that this was a black womans voice and then wondered if I was just getting that vibe from Ashleys Southern roots. I love Ashley, she discarded much of her white Southern fanbase to come out very strongly as both feminist and Dem in the mid 90s, and has stayed true to that. She better publicly credit the woman who did write that speech ASAP before I change my mind about her.
Wasn’t sure if a link would go through but the original is on YouTube “Nasty Woman-Nina Mariah State of the World 2016”
I’m not here for WW co-opting the word of a black woman.
@ Ramona I watched a video of Ashley’s speech, and she mentioned the writer of the poem before she recited it. She also thanked her on Twitter and posted a video of the young lady performing it.
I was so impressed with it, it actually made me want to look up more slam poetry. Very moving.
@Ramona, Ashley Judd did give credit to the author, Nina Donovan, at the beginning of the speech. More on the poet here: http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/21/womens-march-ashley-judd-recites-poem-franklin-woman/96888228/
@B n A fn, we’re already divided by color. Acknowledging that divide is part of fixing it. Problems are being brought into the light, not being created.
@Nicole, slightly off-topic but the Flint Lives Matter shirts broke my heart. I’m donating to a Flint charity straightaway. Thanks for the reminder.
Ashley Judd did not take credit, she gave credit where credit was due. Please, check your facts before side-eyeing and getting offended.
My favorite comment about white women who got “us” here… someone snapped a pic of Debbie Wasserman Schultz at the march, posted to facebook and commented “Bitch ass Debbie out here actin’ like it ain’t her fault.” OK it’s not all her fault but that’s hilarious.
Jess1632 I am a white woman who did NOT vote for Trump and there was a huge percentage of us who did not who are still standing against him. If I can change the minds of other women to do the same, then great. But I think we all need to keep in mind that 1)women in general are not a voting block as that comprises far too many cultural, ethnic, historic and socioeconomic identities and 2) that also seems to be the same for white women. Please don’t lump us all together. People need to stop being angry that we’re not all united while simultaneously blaming all of us. We didn’t all vote the same way.
Plus too many women didn’t vote (of all colours) because they didn’t like Hillary, kept saying over and over again she was supposedly too elite, crooked etc.
Many groups of people on the left did not work for Hillary en masse, like Trump supporters did for him. Lots spent more time in the weeks leading up to the elections complaining about how Hillary was not Bernie Sanders than encouraging each other to vote for Hillary. Now they see the consequences. Bit late if you ask me, but better late than not at all.
Another white woman who spoke loudly against Trump all along, voted for Hillary (as an independent), and marched. Yes, I know white women who voted for Trump, but I am not my proverbial sister’s keeper either.
Jess why probably ? 53% of white women who voted chose trump and 40 something percent Hillary. Many fewer than 40% of the nations women/eligible voters were out in protests. Why do you think it’s probable there was intersection?
Unfortunately too many women didn’t vote.
Lots of whom let themselves be duped by thinking Hillary was just as bad. Hope they’re getting a clue now.
LA march was incredibly diverse. Hillary won women overall by around 14%. Those women were out there marching yesterday. The diversity of the crowd, the age range and how many men showed up made my day in LA an exhilarating patriotic celebration. We were 700,000 strong.
How did media “focus” on white women, exactly? I was at the march in DC. I was standing right next to 2 news vans. They filmed us a lot, mostly panning across the crowd. I don’t understand how they can possibly focus on a specific skin color in a crowd like that. The speakers were certainly diverse enough. What exactly do you mean by media focusing on the white women?
I understand what you’re saying about white women helping elect Trump (I sadly know many of them). But not a single Trump supporter I know would have been caught dead at that march. In fact, I got many a side eye from my family for announcing I was going and asking if they wanted to join. A lot of white ladies voted for Trump. But many did not. I would isntead be more inclined to guess that there were more white women who were third party voters or non-voters deciding that oh look we should voice our opinions now.
I was in DC for the march. It was very inclusive. Every age from babies to grandmothers. Whole families walking together. A rainbow of colors. Many men with their daughters and sons in tow. It was generous, peaceful, and inspiring. It was a beautiful thing.
I felt like I was walking on air all day yesterday, despite being down with a wretched flu. So much love and hopefulness and so many creative, kick ass signs. I could spend all day looking at them. I also love how the signs were piled up outside Trump hotel in DC and Trump tower in Chicago, so brilliant and sort of solemn.
But I have to confess, today I feel just as angry and helpless again as I did on Friday listening to Trump’s inauguration speech. Reading about his and Spicer’s tantrums made me realize that this demonstration was utterly lost on him (and his despicable supporters, judging from some of the online comments I saw).
The key will be finding a way to harness the energy from yesterday into meaningful action, starting with any and every election that comes up. I have never felt such desperate urgency.
I still feel hopeful after yesterday. I agree that the success of yesterday depends on how we move into action going forward.
Don’t be down – he and his minions were never going to get it BUT we got it, those that sat out the election got it, those on the cusp got it. It was a call to action that can have meaningful impact as long as it now moves forward. Based on his twitter comments this morning he’s scared, based on his supporter’s comments they are scared which = toxic. Let’s keep them scared so that they stop acting against our interests.
It might not reach trump’s band of crazies but apparently the numbers greatly worried the GOP. At least from the few articles I read yesterday. But you are right without further action the march is nothing more than a cute photo op
Check this site out for concrete next steps in your area… Swingleft.org
Already checked it out and signed up. Great website that could actually help the elections – we all need to be active.
As my name indicates, I’m old, I was a teen of the 60’s and hell we knew how to protest and march in the 60’s! So I was excited and happy to participate again. I was in Atlanta and even though it wasn’t as big as I hoped (weather was horrible) and GA is a decidedly a red state, it was still very successful. But nonetheless, it was one of the most important things I’ve ever done and I’m proud to be counted as a participant.
Thanks, all, for the consoling words. This is such an emotional roller coaster. The GOP should be worried — hopefully they will listen to their constituents who marched if they have any hope of being re-elected. Time to get out there and continue to resist!
I’ve never seen anything like this in my lifetime. I’ve never been more proud of the United States. I just hope this momeumtum carries through to the midterms.
I hope so, too. We need to keep marching. There need to be marches every few months. Let this not be a one-time thing.
And in Germany, Spain, Czech Republic and many more. It was a MAJOR worldwide event!
I marched in Atlanta yesterday. Powerful, powerful sh!t. Though I was further back in the crowd, I marched in the same march as John Freakin Lewis. Indescribable. It blasted my heart wide open to see so many people coming together, to stand and say that we are not going to be complacent. It was a day of unity. I am still proud to be an American.
I do know, however, that it won’t always be euphoric. I know it’s going to be long and messy. I know that I was still one of the most privileged people there. I will stand for equality for ALL at every turn. We don’t go until we all go.
Favorite signs:
Picture of Trump, “Does this Ass make my Sign look Big?”
Picture of Rizzo from Grease, “Keep your filthy laws off my silky drawers”
And, “Honestly, there are too many issues with this administration to cover with one sign”
Favorite chants:
“Show me what democracy looks like? THIS is what democracy looks like.”
“We need a leader, not a creepy tweeter”
“MOVE, Trump, get out the way. Get out the way, Trump, get out the way.”
✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
One of my faves was the one Charlotte Church had ‘I didn’t come from your rib, YOU came from MY vagina’.
@Digital Unicorn OMG! That’s perfection!
Shambles! I marched in Atlanta too. It was an incredible atmosphere. My fave sign: “If I make my uterus a corporation will you stop regulating it?”
One of my favorite signs , seen on IG was: “I have 99 problems & a white heteronormative patriarchy is all of them!”.
John Lewis!!! That’s awesome, saw the Atlanta march on the news, it looked like such a big success.
I’m so proud of all the women who marched, and loved, loved the pictures. It’s obviously getting to BabyFists! My favorite sign: They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds. (I think it’s a Mexican proverb.)
I kind of liked “If I make my uterus a corporation, will you stop regulating it?” But there were so many great signs and almost all of them different. Somebody should make a coffee table book of Women’s March signs.
Edited to add: oops…sorry Senebar – didn’t see that you had already posted that one!
A coffee table book is a great idea, with proceeds going to Planned Parenthood and the ACLU!
Thank you for marching, Shambles! love from us all
I was in Austin. Totally peaceful event and brimming with positive energy. The crowd was beautiful and diverse, and with almost as many men as women. I heard that it was the largest gathering in Texas history. One of my favorite signs said “The only minority destroying America is the rich.” My favorite chant was “Donald Trump can’t build a wall… his tiny hands are much too small!” Also, the women say “My body my choice!” and men respond “Her body her choice!”
I now have the slightest glimmer of hope that we can turn this shitshow around. Look for Indivisible groups in your area and band together to put pressure on local politicians.
Yesterday was the first day since election night that I’ve been able to watch the news. I was glued to CNN, awestruck by all those millions of beautiful marchers. I had to give up my spot on the bus to DC because my mom’s in the hospital, but I had friends keeping me updated. And I’ll have a chance to march in the future. This isn’t a one-time thing. THIS IS A MOVEMENT, PEOPLE!
I hope your Mom is doing OK. It was truly incredible to watch so many people in so many places participate. I was really buoyed by it, plus how the major media seems to be gearing up a little more to fight this fight. I’ve been disappointed in how sugar coated their coverage has been, and how some have fell for his team’s diversions. I think they MAY be waking up to both their own future, and what the majority feels.
Thanks for the good wishes, Christin! Mom is hanging in there. She’s 92. Daughter of Italian immigrants, lived through the Depression, adored FDR, made it through WWII. She’s one of the Greatest Generation, and she voted for Bernie in the primaries because she didn’t think Hillary was liberal enough:)
I live in rural Australia so I didn’t get a chance to march. I loved seeing all the pictures from all over the world. Fantastic signs, lots of unity from many amazing women and men. This warmed my heart, you could feel the love ❤️
It was encouraging to see! I couldn’t go, but I kept up with the Atlanta march. The cops high-fiveing the marchers in Atlanta warmed my heart. What didn’t do it was the tons of women in my social media speaking against the marches and being pro-Trump. Even going as far as saying women should be more like Ivanka. I still do not get how they can root and support him.
I was in Atlanta too, and I saw some of the cops high-fiving and hugging people. After I got home, I read a really interesting Facebook discussion about how white folks like myself should think about the fact that some people– people of color, gay and trans people, etc– don’t find the presence of police comforting. It was really thought-provoking. When we got to the GA state capitol, there were heavily-militarized police on the roof, and it was certainly a very unsettling sight. Not saying that the people high-fiving and hugging police were wrong, but I thought it the discussion about other people’s perspective on police presence was really powerful and timely.
Yea it also speaks to the difference in these protests. BLM marches that I’ve been to have had the fraction of protestors but have three times the police presence. The high fiving of cops and cutesy pictures were not cute for a lot of minorities. My friend and I talked about this while marching yesterday. And I said it’s because it’s not POCs marching so inherently the march is treated differently. It got their attention for sure.
@Shambles – Completely agree. As a woman of color, there have been instances I have been afraid of police. I am just so glad it was a peaceful demonstration all around. PS – Go falcons!!
Understanding police presence as it affects POC is incredibly important. I will say that Atlanta in particular has had a policy of community-based policing for decades now. I read several articles recently on how that is “paying off” for them in relation to the incredibly diverse public they serve. (I am NOT saying that there are not very sobering issues still, but that APD in particular tries to support community involvement by citizens and police in a way that improves quality of life for those often underserved.)
Not tons of women, but a few women in my social media feed were all offended by the marches. I wasn’t surprised. They were people I went to high school with. They married young, never left our tiny home town and have almost zero exposure to anyone that doesn’t look exactly like them.
Sounds like the women in my feed. I was disheartened by their vitriol — one woman actually ranted about how much garbage the protesters left. And even those who weren’t hateful were at best disingenuous — with questions like “what could Trump have possibly done in just 24 hours to protest about?” It makes me upset just typing this, that people — women!! — continue to insist on supporting Trump.
Same here. i have had enough of all of those people from my past that are still stuck in the past. Deleted all of them from the friends list.
I know a few who are threatening to cut others out of their social media contacts for marching and they don’t understand why anyone is marching, what could he have done in just 24 hours? – well, he did sign executive orders to throw millions off health care, allow insurers to discriminate in setting rates for women and allow corporations to pollute our air and water but just pretend none of that happened. – And why can’t we accept that he’s the president and we lost and they never did this to Obama? – well, except for the Tea Party marches and the birthers and yes, we have accepted that he’s in office, we don’t agree with his policies and we still have the right to protest them so go ahead and cut me out of your contacts.
As for the cleanup, we were advised to practice “carry in, carry out” and people were doing that, the Publics Works guys that I saw seemed to be having the best time of anyone, blowing the horns of the trucks and waving at the marchers. Our city has a public works department for the purpose of clean ups. We frequently hold very large public events, sometimes on very short notice, and it is something the City of Boston does very, very well. In fact, depending on the outcome of a football game tonight, many may start hoping our cleanup crews will be faced with a similar challenge after a victory parade in a few weeks time.
Regarding the clean up, I realize it was just BS this woman was spouting. In Chicago it is also not out of the ordinary to have a big crowd downtown with things like the marathon and all of our recent sports victory parades — because you know, priorities! And yesterday people were even careful not to step on the grass so as not to make the fields muddy! I guess I should take heart from the fact that this was the only thing this petty woman could come up with to complain about, as fallacious as it was.
A follow-up on the cleanup issue, Boston Parks & Recreation has posted pictures on its Facebook page of the Common after the march, looking just fine, and thanking the organizers and protesters for taking such great care of America’s oldest park.
@Tate, I think you and the others with friends like this need to reach out to these women. 53 percent of white women backed Trump, and they won’t change their minds unless friends and family members try to brief them on the issues. Women of color, for the most part, do not have access to middle-class white women, but you all do. Let them know Trump may cut funding for the Violence Against Women Act, that his ed secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos, won’t commit to fighting rape on college campuses or for gender equality in schools period. Let them know that single women with children are the group most likely to be in poverty, that the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is atrocious compared to other Western nations, that the push to make women pay out of pocket for birth control, which is estimated to cost $1,200 yearly, also affects women who meed bcp for a number of medical reasons, such as ovarian cysts, endometriosis, PCOS, following gynecological surgery. Let them know that simply being pregnant can be a reason for them to be denied health insurance coverage. Seize the opportunity to open their minds!
One in my feed is a woman my age who is a traditional Catholic that doesn’t view Vatican II as legitimate. She only went back to work on a part time basis because they couldn’t afford to send 3 kids to Catholic school at the time on an attorney’s salary. They’re now up to 5 kids, with another coming once the baby gets weaned.
She was sharing posts from pro-birther Catholics about how the March for Life which is planned for Friday is going to get less attention than yesterday’s Women’s March by the media and how more people are going to attend that. IRRC, it hasn’t been receiving as much media attention from the mainstream media in recent years for the March for Life due to various issues including last year’s blizzard that hit DC the same weekend it was held and the sad reality that they have been successful in getting many of their goals through including TRAP laws, restricting abortions to 20 weeks and under, etc. They got a major victory with the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision. Attendance was around 250k during the Bush II years, but went up to around 400 to 500k during the Obama years because their POV was in the opposition. I would honestly be surprised if this year’s march was close to that because the general momentum and mood of the country seems to be one of anger towards their GOP allies and shock that women who have taken for granted that they have access to women’s health care and reproductive choice that are now under threat.
@ WTW Thank you for your words. You are right. Rolling my eyes and scrolling past is not doing anything positive. I need to try and engage with facts.
@Tate DeVos is unqualified for her proposed position for multiple reasons. Her surreal and nonsensical response to Senator Murphy’s question about her position about allowing guns in schools is mind boggling. She also won’t commit to enforcing the IDEA Act, which guarantees a public education for special needs kids. Maybe some of these women who supported Trump may have regrets when their special needs kids are no longer in special ed classrooms, no longer have personal aides to help them function at school because of his appointment of a woman as disconnected from the reality of American public schools as Betsy DeVos.
Yeah, the garbage left by marchers must be an approved Breitbart talking point. I’ve only glanced at my FB feed today, but I saw several mentions of it. Every single one of the Orange supporters on my FB are people I went to high school with in a 100% white, rural, midwestern area. And yes, most of them still live there. I’ve been trying to engage with one woman in particular. She pretends to listen to reason and facts but she ends up twisting herself into knots trying to defend her overlord. I think she is actually less of a trump supporter than a Hillary hater. She hates hates HATES Hillary with a passion that is disturbing (to say the least).
There are several things the Orange people on my feed have in common: They are white, they are Christian, and even if they are “college educated” they apparently do not have much contact in their daily lives with anyone who is different from themselves.
They want to be seen, not heard.
Incredible. Mark Hamill’s tweet is everything!!
It is. And I saw lots of Princess Leia signs yesterday. I felt like Carrie was marching with us.
You know she would have been there too.
Even in my relatively small Ohio town, we had a crowd of 500 to 600 people marching. Best I’ve felt since last November.
I was at the rally in Dayton, OH yesterday–organizers anticipated 300-400 people, but the crowd was about 3000! We had amazing speakers: Native Americans (including a man), Latina women, African-American women, a Muslim woman, very young women, elderly women, women with disabilities, LGBT women, mothers, non-mothers. In the crowd, we had the full spectrum of diversity. It was beautiful and uplifting!
Now that we’ve marched, it’s time to fight! MoveOn.org is hosting an emergency call tonight for protests at local congressional offices this Tuesday.
Cool! I was at the same rally. I’m so glad I went.
The one in London was amazing and while Trump was the reason it happened it also serves to show that we girls still have a long way to go inall walks of live no matter where we live. Men of Trumps ilk beware, the Nasty Women are coming for ya.
I love that people marched for such a worthy cause but I am worried that people are not going to continue to be quite so vocal about their opposition to Trump. It’s clear, no one wants this baffoon, but are we going to become complacent or are we going to keep the momentum going? It’s been less than 72 hours since Cheeto took office and he’s already started doing major damage we need marches and public demands to impeach his a$$!
Well Done Girls! So proud of us all!
I marched in Charlotte yesterday…I honestly thought as a long-time resident of Charlotte “Eh, we’ll be lucky if we have 1000 show up.” I cried because I was so wrong – I’ve seen two estimates – one is “at least 10,000” and the other was “20-30,000”. That might be small compared to other cities, but for Charlotte, it’s huge! Nobody has shown up in a group that size for something that wasn’t a sporting event before 🙂 Now let’s all remember to give time and money to causes that advance the well-being of everyone in this country, and remember to vote for candidates who support that idea.
Favorite sign in my march on a small toddler “I heart naps, but I stay WOKE”
I was walking around the rally area in SF doing errands beforehand and worried similarly because Civic Center plaza is so big and rain was threatened. But it was huge! So much so that the body heat of everyone squished together and shared umbrellas really helped. Loved the kid with a sign saying “I’m only 8 and even I can’t believe this sh*t”
I saw a little girl, younger than 8, probably more like 5, with a heart shaped sign that said “No Donald Trumps allowed.” So cute.
Birdix, I marched down Market from Civic Center in the rain and it was GLORIOUS. That wave of sound that roared through the crowd every few minutes touched my soul. At Justin Herman Plaza the police were standing aside smiling and in some cases giving the thumbs up. I feel this is just the beginning.
If you haven’t yet, view Orangeman’s post inaugural motorcade (I refuse to refer to him by name or to acknowledge him as POTUS). The Stands were empty and it was so desolate. It underscores for me that voting numbers were changed and he didn’t even come close to winning. Yep, I believe there was a coup, and I believe eventually the truth will come out.
Yetanotherjudy, I’ve also been thinking, based on the same evidence you just mentioned, that the election definitely was tampered with. It’s funny how Trump was screaming about how it was rigged prior to Nov 8 and then nothing after that.
It was exhilarating to walk Market Street with you all!! Going to both senators’ district offices to make my opinion known about executive branch cabinet nominees. Hope to see some of you there this Tuesday!!
@Yetanotherjudy – I think the same thing. I was there in 2009 and it did looked way different. Yesterday’s low attendance was spooky. I don’t believe it, now even more than ever.
My cousin and his two daughters marched in Charlotte yesterday too.
While I think the Women’s March was great – and it was great to see so many men participate – I wonder why there wasn’t this type of support before the election. And while protests are fine, if it doesn’t translate to booting the Republicans from Congress in the midterms then it doesn’t mean much. There were people who were protesting the election results back in November who didn’t even bother to vote. That’s not okay. You can’t not vote and then protest the results you didn’t bother to contribute to.
So this is a great show of strength to say we won’t sit back and take whatever garbage the Republicans and Trump will throw at us, but we then have to not sit back and take whatever garbage the Republicans and Trump throw at us. Continue the fight and translate that to midterm election results.
#MakeMidtermElectionsCoolAgain
I love everything you wrote Trixie! I wondered the same thing…Where was this opposition and anger before? If these marches had been held after Comey decided to reopen the Clinton email investigation but before the election things probably would have turned out differently.
I voted (skipped to the polls happily, confidently, and as it turns out naively) but I can imagine not voting, especially in a state like California where individual votes feel like they matter less, and still being shocked and horrified by the results. And shocked and horrified that so many Americans voted for Trump. So many people thought it was a done deal that Hilary would win, myself included.
That said, I completely agree with your hashtag.
please please VOTE, DON’T Ever take anything for granted. . People should ALWAYS vote regardless of State. People NOT voting and taking things for granted that others will do the voting for them is how some States like Pennsylvania ended up in Donald’s column. ALWAYS, ALWAYS VOTE.
^^^. It’s a marathon. But we have to finish it. Bring water and Power bars. It can and will be done.
Hell yes.
Yes!
#Make Midterm Elections Cool Again
#Countdown to the Midterm Elections
2016 was the year of the populist candidate. If people didn’t hear exactly what they wanted, even if there wasn’t a plan to actually be able to implement any of it, people didn’t vote or voted for Trump, the populist who was still in the race. On both sides, supporters of the populist candidates attacked women and minority issues as being diversions though, granted, one side was far worse.
Here’s how I am looking at it: there’s a turning point in all things. Yes, apathy and over confidence ruled the day in November. This moment now is the turning point. Something this bad needed to happen to wake everyone up. For those who didn’t vote but got off their duffs yesterday to march, I bet they are never going to not vote again. I am choosing to believe the tide is turning. It would have been nice had this all been avoided but the reality is sometimes bad things need to happen to force change.
Yes, this is my thinking, too, because I also wondered at first how/why we couldn’t galvanize so many people before the election. Trump actually being elected was a HUGE (huge?) wake up call to those who assumed it could never possibly happen and like you said, sometimes bad things do need to happen to force change.
My big fear now is that Republicans will be more desperate than ever to hang on to their power, as tenuous as it may be, that who knows what means they will resort to to keep it.
ITA with both of you. With around 1/2 of eligible voters not voting, I’d say complacency may have been a big problem. Hopefully not any longer! Sometimes it does require a huge scare to get people’s attention.
I agree that complacency was a huge problem, and that the only silver lining is this election seems to have galvanized a new commitment to social justice and participating in the democratic process on the part of those who’d been checked out for a while prior.
There was this type of support before the election, Hillary won the popular vote by millions.
I agree with everything you said. It’s vital that every eligible voter makes it to the polls in November 2018. There are about a half dozen vulnerable Democratic held Senate seats up for re-election in red states. Several of them are held by women, including Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, and Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota. There’s also Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Jon Tester in Montana, Bob Casey in Pennsylvania and Joe Manchin in West Virginia. I’m in Wisconsin and Sean Duffy of Real World fame who now represents one of Wisconsin’s northern Congressional districts is probably the most likely challenger for Baldwin. He’s a frequent guest on Fox News who has complained about being unable his family of 8 children on a $170,000 a year Congressional salary.
We also have the chance to knock off some Republican governors including Scott Walker, John Kasich, Paul LePage, and Rick Scott. Rick Snyder is term limited in Michigan.
The House seats are all up for re-election. If anyone lives in WI-1, Paul Ryan’s district, you can do this country a favor by voting to make him unemployed. My father who thought that yesterday’s march was a distraction lives in that district but is planning on being at the polls on Election Day in November 2018 to vote against Walker and Ryan.
I will donate money to Ryan’s opponent. Of whatever party. Hell, if Vermin Supreme moves to Wisconsin and runs against Ryan, I’ll donate to Vermin Supreme.
Thank you Kelly, I appreciate having a local ally! I’m in Wisconsin too, preparing to call my Representative to ask that funding for the Violence Against Women Act is protected. Trump is looking to gut it, but can’t without congressional approval.
I agree, Trixie.
In the months before the election, it was highly annoying to see loads of women online complain about how Hillary was as bad as Trump. Many of them did not vote and even discouraged others to vote with this.
And with some I got the distinct air that they expected Hillary would win anyway, and just wanted to retain some pretentious false purity by not voting for her.
Now they see the consequences and are complaining about how Trump could be elected. I feel sorry for those who did go out and vote, but not the ones who didn’t (unless they really couldn’t for some reason).
It’s because no one believed a buffoon like the Donald would win. Everyone assumed Hillary would, which is what the polls and media led everyone to believe, which may have galvanized his supporters even more. In addition to the assumption that the US would not elect such an unqualified candidate for the highest office of the country, a lot of people were just tired of the election and waiting for it to be over because they also assumed that Hillary, though flawed, would win, and we could all get back to normal. Now we have this BS to deal with.
Trixie, I agree with you too. It breaks my heart that this massive turnout, momentum and Feminist solidarity didn’t occur ON ELECTION DAY! If we had half the motivation to go out and vote for Hillary as we did to attend a Feel-good-march we wouldn’t be where we are today. All that marching and solidarity as Trump gleefully started signing away our rights DURING the protests was darkly ironic.
I’d love to know how the mainstream media got it SO wrong. Reporting that Hillary had a 98% chance of winning ON election day was , in my mind, reckless and irresponsible. Now we ALL have to deal with the consequences.
Los Angeles was incredible yesterday! My fellow Angelenos did me proud, we were 750,000 strong! Men, women and children all came out to represent ⚡🎆
Everyone was so peaceful and it was nothing but good vibes. Never in my life had I experienced anything like this. It was magical!
Bonus: I saw Moby!
Well done!
Agree that the LA march was incredible, I went with my husband and my 8 year old daughter and was sorry my older one couldn’t be there as well. It’s interesting after the fact to listen to all the media chatter about celebrities and speeches. If you marched you didn’t hear the speeches, just listened to the crowd, which was full of witty, compassionate, wonderful women and me. Now what do with do with all that talent and outrage?
Marched in NYC yesterday…healing to talk to diverse people and soak in non-blase New York for once! It was much bigger than anticipated…took Mr. D and me 2 hours to move 7-8 blocks!
I’m kind of glad Trump’s doing all his usual BS plus signing his freaking exec orders…keeps people on the boil. I see this as a kickoff to many many important conversations about rights, political self-education, and change.
Love seeing pix of guys who are man enough to wear a pink pussy hat!!!
I thought it was great when my boyfriend wore pink with me in October, but this is wicked awesome!
Yeah, that’s awesome
My husband and daughter went to the Toronto march, which like all the others had a record turnout. It was a historic day. I was overwhelmed by the size and scope of demonstrations globally. Now there’s more work to do, but we can use this visibility to take heart, stay motivated, organize, act, resist.
Follow Michael Moore’s steps: Put Congress on speed dial, form your own 5-10 person Rapid Response Network, run for office (and encourage others to run, too). Join organizations that need your support. And stay visible. It helps to know we’re not alone.
To everyone who said a march doesn’t matter, part because it’s a march and part because it’s women, I’m with Madonna: FU.
Yes, Marches do matter. They stimulate change. They help us fight isolation and fear.
How do I know? Because 30 years ago I attended the 1987 Gay March on Washington, demanding rights with a large group of others. I was so afraid, but I went. Then I joined the 1993 Gay March on Washington, and it was with an even bigger group of other people. And I wasn’t afraid anymore. Today I am legally married to my wife and we have a daughter. We have things like hospital visitation rights, which doesn’t sound glamorous but it is hell if you don’t have it. There is still a long way to go to combat homophobia, but things have changed for the better. Things can change. Marches are a catalyst. I attended the DC March on Washington on Saturday, and I was not only unafraid, but I was elated to be with other people who care about positive change.
I marched in Nashville and it was exhilarating!
I marched in Dallas with my daughter. She wore her Girl Scout uniform and a sign that said “Fight Like A Girl”. My sign said “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” and on the back “Don’t Mess With Texas Women”. It was a glorious day, even though our crowd was on the smaller size (estimated 8K, I think). My sister marched in LA and other family marched in Austin. A day of unity and solidarity. I could not have been prouder of all of us.
Make sure your march/town is included on the Wikipedia page 😊
The turnout for the sister march in St Paul, MN was projected to be 20-30,000. The current police estimate is at around 100,000, making it the largest protest in my state’s history. After the strange and gloomy day Friday was, marching yesterday turned my anger, frustration, and fear into pure inspiration. The atmosphere radiated all around and it was magical. We exhibited our right to peacefully assemble and our march ended with no violence, destruction or arrests. Well…except for a lone counter-protester who went ahead and started pepper spraying protesters. The thing I loved most is how it all started as a Women’s March (and all life begins through women) but quickly opened its doors to any group who feels threatened by the great unpredictable unknown. Truly one of the most beautiful moments in my gay life. ::hugs to all who participated worldwide and in spirit::
Love your comment…I had friends marching in St Paul, too. And your name cracked me up.
So proud of Nasty Women everywhere (and sons fathers and husbands) who marched proudly in the streets of their communities peacefully.
Chicago was incredible and Los Angeles had a reported 750,000 yesterday (not confirmed). Former Soviet satellite Georgia had a march! Saw a sign of a woman’s midsection with a V at the spot and the sign read V is for Vendetta. !!
And Ashley Judd brought it to Diaper Bigly yesterday!
Even places like Nashville, Oklahoma City and Boise, Idaho had 10,000 people-plus come out. This is NOT a movement of “coastal elites.”
My two favorite signs were: “Super Callous, Racist, Fascist, Extra Braggadocios,” because you can’t help but sing it (pic: https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/822846586447396865) and “Now they’ve pissed off Grandma” (pic https://twitter.com/lwtlukas/status/822837381254377472).
LOL! Fantastic, witty and spot on!!!
Congratulations, Women Of The World! I am proud of all of you who were a part of the event, from every corner of the Earth. Amazing.
Proud doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt yesterday and again today! We must keep this up! Continue to march, speak out, donate and vote these jerks out of office!
I unfortunately had to work, but I showed my solidarity with what I could get away with…small pink heart earrings, pink chucks, and a soft pink undershirt. There were small marches all over the country as well. A small town about 15 minutes from mine had a women’s march, and over 700 women and men showed up to walk the streets. Even a few Trump supporters did, which seemed awkward in the news feed I saw. The women of the world made my heart so happy yesterday.
Some friends and I went to the one in OKC, took our 14 year old sons. They held their signs high, I was so proud. I cried to be with all of these people globally speaking out. And then we supported our local taco trucks.
Taco trucks are da best! Where I’m at in Florida, there are none!
Nooo! Food trucks are the only place to get good Mexican here. We even found one that fed people who couldn’t afford to pay, so we paid it forward. We will win, and we’ll do it with grace and our heads and arms held high.
That’s sweet squirrel
I wish I could have been there. Awesome. Friend and I wore our pussyhats while shopping at Target in Kissimmee Fl and people stopped to say loved them and wished they could have marched too
I was one of the 180,000+ crowd on Boston Common yesterday, along with my mother, aunts, sisters, nieces and two nephews and several cousins. Our group ranged in age from 6 years old to 88 years old. The day was magical, calm, peaceful, festive, determined. A sea of pink hats on the Common spreading out through the surrounding streets.. A rare January day that was not wintry – Mother Nature wanted this. An inclusive lineup of performers and speakers addressing so many of our concerns: equality, peace, our environment, control of our own bodies and destinies, education, the workplace, justice, our communities. The vow to fight on, to raise our voices, to petition our government and to sue it if need be, to seek elected office, to support candidates, and to vote. The spirit of cooperation as we all helped one another young and old, baby carriages and wheelchairs, to file out into the streets. The musicians that played their instruments as we marched. The houses along Beacon Street and Commonwealth Ave displaying signs and cheering marchers on from rooftops and windows and porches, the police, fire, and EMS workers high-fiving and hugging marchers, the Public Works guys in their trucks blowing their horns to the delight of the marchers, and the lovely welcome from Arlington Street church of bubbles and the Battle Hymn of the Republic played on the church’s organ and bells.
As our congressional delegation and our state’s attorney general assured us yesterday, Massachusetts will fight on.
Thank you for the description, it brought a tear to my eye, mostly because I could never have gotten my mom to march in Chicago. We can’t even talk about politics and I think it’s literally eating me away inside. It’s so wonderful that you had your family beside you on such an amazing, historic day!
So sorry your mom is apart from you on this, Esmon.
Yesterday, while we were out there, I couldn’t stop thinking of the family members who were no longer with us. My grandmother would have been so proud to see her sister at the age of 88 wearing a pussy hat and trying to learn how to operate a wheelchair (first time she ever used one and only because it would have been far too much for her and her walker to handle – more than a few of us suffered bruises from her efforts) and my Dad, a Hillary supporter from way back, would have been so proud to stand beside his daughters and granddaughters if he were still with us.
Thanks, lightpurple. It is what it is. I accepted long ago that it’s not something I can ever change. She’s endured her own hardships in life and so I try to think of that when I get frustrated with her. Your family sounds great, and I’m sure your beloved grandmother and dad were with you in spirit every step of the way yesterday.
@lightpurple
Your Dad and Grandma we watching and throwing good vibes your way.
Congrats Boston and all marchers everywhere. I hope those in Alaska and Antarctica (where it was well below freezing) are okay.
It sounds wonderful.
@Sixer
It does 🙂 I think in UK we only had a march in London, right? Even the Mayor was there…
Although we had to bear May saying the usual crap this morning on Marr, honestly… she’s totally pro-Trump at this point (apart from launching missiles against him by mistake :D)
There were also marches/demos in Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh and Lancaster.
eta – Apparently they took place in 14 UK towns and cities so I’ve missed some places!
Wow, what a beautiful visual of you and your family’s day at the march you painted for us. Thanks.
This march gave me hope, it was such a beautiful thing, cannot even begin to describe the feeling of unity and power! And the amount of celebs who showed up – man, crazy, just crazy! Did you see RIHANNA? Helen Mirren, Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaals, Julia Roberts, Charlize Theron, Ariana Grande with grandma… TONS of tv ppl! Sooo inspiring to read all the signs and go through the ig stories of all the stars to relive their bits of the protest! There is hope now, guys
I was so proud of my fellow Coloradoans yesterday — 200,000 in Denver and in the little conservative town of Colorado Springs (home to Focus on the Family and many other Christian organizations), 7,000!
Nick Kristof of NYT posted this listing the estimated attendance numbers by city:
https://twitter.com/NickKristof/status/823138915624349696
Marched in Santa Ana, CA yesterday, estimated crowd 20 K!! In Red Orange County that went blue this year!!! Proud of my community, country and so touched by the women who marched in solidarity around the globe! Amazing. Also, super proud that not one act of violence was reported (not to my knowledge). Our march was super loving, people laughing together, hugging…it was just what I needed to be around after the past two months of darkness. I’m also committed to getting involved with my local Women’s Democratic Party. We have lots of red representatives that need to get the message loud and clear…or be gone!
Also, have to shout out to an awesome Boy Scout troop that was there handing out water bottles!! Just awesome:)
@homeslice i was there too! it was indescribable. i was so very proud. having grown up here, it was a sight to see. beautiful.
Also, not to throw cold water on all of this, because I agree it was kind of amazing and made me feel hopeful for the first time since the election, but, sorta, yeah, gonna do that … Everyone should read Julia Ioffe’s piece in the Atlantic today. Julia is Soviet-born, but grew up mostly in the U.S., though she maintains close relationships with family and friends still living in Putin’s Russia. The parallels to Putin’s early days in power, including large protests, are eerie.
The march was beautiful and inspiring and hopeful and encouraging, but it’s important to remember we haven’t actually changed anything. I’m not saying we can’t; but it’s important to remember that theater isn’t the same as policy.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/01/womens-march-protest-trump-russia/514064/?utm_source=twb
I read this article earlier and had a slightly different take-away. I think the author not only wanted to make a point about the expectations of protest versus action and change but also to highlight the stark differences and advantages that a free, democratic collective of protesters has compared to those in Russia. Let’s just hope the momentum of this march continues!
Amazing. The exact same thing happened in my country, from the cathartic hope, to the stricter laws, to the masked government officials attacking government buildings during the marches to blame the protesting citizens.
Still, the USA has known freedom, and it won’t be taken away from them easily.
Russians have known freedom, too – in the 1990s, and even in the early years of Putin’s reign. Didn’t help.
However, unlike Putin, Trump seems to be a complete moron, which means he’ll likely be easier to dislodge. Also, messing with the Constitution will be harder for him, since it’s a much bigger deal in the US. So yes, Americans do have a better fighting chance…
I appreciate your warning, S. Here in the US, we have to be more vigilant than ever now.
Everyone also needs to read Yale Professor Timothy Snyder’s short list of “20 Lessons from the 20th Century.”
http://kottke.org/16/11/fighting-authoritarianism-20-lessons-from-the-20th-century
I marched in Tallahassee’s version and it was wonderful 😊 . 2,000 people (mostly college students) were expected to show up, but over 15,000 people of all backgrounds and ages did. The only downside is due to the weather and the size we couldn’t go to the Capitol and stick it to Rick Scott like we wanted to, but *shrugs*
Everywhere I keep on reading the event is being called a catharsis and that’s exactly what it felt like. It was such a great feeling to see real life people ,and not a social media feed, agreeing that this is a problem and something needs to be done. Restored my faith in humanity a little bit
Catharsis is such a good way to put it. I have so many friends who have been beside themselves with despair over Trump’s election…so to see them holding their signs and just beaming from ear to ear for the first time in weeks just warmed my heart.
Aww my heart is warmed too! Glad they’re doing better now!
Oh Lynnie, you live in Tallahassee? I live in Jacksonville and my mom and brother live over by Destin. Cool!
I’m actually from south Florida, but I’m up here for college. Still cool you’re so close though 😊
I’m in Tally too but couldn’t make it because of work! But I love that we had a good turn out!
Rick Scott is one of the biggest deplorables there is. What a horrible governor for Florida, and yet, he was re-elected.
All ladies’ speeches were very inspirational. My day has been brightened. There is hope for us in the future.
It was such a moving and motivating (series of) event(s)…thrilled to represent in Philly!! Now to keep our spirited momentum to combat hate, ignorance, fear…❤
I went to the march while in Paris, it was amazing and calm, I met so many lovely women who had great signs from all ages!
There isn’t any way to really describe the feeling of being in that crowd.. I then took the train to my little city in the south of France and there was a march there as well (not as grand as the others as it was under 1k but there was still support)
Random bit: I met Rami Malek while marching in Paris.
OH MY GOSH IM SO JEALOUS. What was he like?? Ugh you’re so lucky lol
Super sweet and I appreciated the hug I got quite a bit.. lawd, he tried to speak french until I told him that I spoke English and we had a short conversation about the march. (ok, a conversation is a bit of a stretch – it lasted a few seconds)
I heard my heart beat, I swear, he looked so cute. 😭😭
I marched in Seattle with my 4 year old son! It was amazing. The largest protest in Seattle’s history! Let’s keep them coming!
After his earlier diss tweet regarding the march, he came back an hour later with a new one. Who wrote this tweet, do you think? Ivanka or Jared? Trump can’t even write this coherently, and he isn’t this magnanimous. So Ivanka or Jared or Kellyanne? LOL
“Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don’t always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views.”
Hysterical tweets to this new comment. One said who got his phone away from him long enough to tweet this. One tweeter said, “Not a chance in hell you wrote this.”
Two others:
Trump’s tweet Editor @Spyhuntress 2h2 hours ago
More
I call bullshit on the use of the lexicon and syntax of this tweet.
Sarah @SarahKnowsNowt 2h2 hours ago
More
No capitals or exclamation marks. All spellings correct. A grown-up wrote this one for him.
Ha! Well, we know he didn’t write that.
Haha, it’s so painfully obvious he didn’t write it. I’m sure it’s like when a teacher reads a paper that the student’s parent clearly wrote for him/her.
The replies are usually quite funny. They certainly greatly outnumber the supporters’ blind tweet clapping back to him.
Bet that one came from an iPhone! Here’s a hilarious analysis of his tweets showing that the sane ones come from his staff (iPhone) and the hateful and #Sad ones from Twitler himself (Android phone): http://varianceexplained.org/r/trump-tweets/
So inspiring and glad it was a peaceful protest and no businesses/property damaged (e.g. Starbuck’s in a prev. protest). Fabulous job, marchers. So proud of this awesome country for speaking up! (and the MANY many marchers worldwide)
It was the first time since the election that I honestly felt hopeful.
Trump thinks he has started a movement. There’s a movement alright, but not the one he expected. He must be stunned by the sheer amount of marches all over the U.S., that far exceeded expectations numbers-wise as far as attendance, and then the sister marches all across the world in a show of solidarity. The “estimated” expected attendance numbers were blown out of the water by the number of attendees that actually showed up..
The first estimate I saw last night was almost 2.5 million. I expect it to be even more.
.
Compared to his anemic inaugural crowds, he must be ranting like the madman he his today. LOL!
Portland Oregon here and we had 100,000 +. I was so proud to see people from all walks of life that walked in solidarity against Trump. It was powerful and nobody got hurt or arrested . I heard 1 in 6 Portlanders marched and it reaffirmed my love for my city. When we stick together and stand our ground , they will not win. Love to my sisters around the world .
The Tucson March was incredible. Like many commenters, I echo the hope and the American-ism that I felt. It reminded me that we live in a beautiful democracy and that we won’t let one evil force bring it all down. Keep marching!! Love is the answer.
Madonna said that sometimes she wants to blow up the White House. That is a pretty bold statement, and I’m wondering if she will be questioned about it.
Other than that, if pro-life women were not excluded from the marches (some marches excluded them) than I am proud of my fellow women for their ability to congregate and march peacefully and in such vast numbers!!
Pro-life women weren’t “excluded” from any march. They were public events. (Pro-Trump women weren’t excluded either.) The D.C. official march did decline to allow a pro-life group, according to that group anyway, to SPONSOR the event, and then that pro-life group told reporters they felt “threatened” when they marched with anti-abortion signs because women walked by, read them and said, ‘My body my choice.’
Now, you see, that’s kind of it how it works. They’re allowed to carry the anti-abortion signs, and pro-choice women are allowed respond to their message. That’s free speech.
Wanting something is not the same thing as threatening something or planning something. She has a constitutionally protected right to feeling anger. She will not be “questioned” about it — the United States is still not (yet) like the Soviet Union.
The organizers of the march support women’s reproductive freedom. As such, they were entitled as organizers to include groups that they believe support reproductive freedom. Generally, “pro life” groups use that term to mask their support of policies that deny women reproductive freedom AS A GROUP.
I’ll go a step further than Crumpet. Madonna saying she felt like blowing up the White House was irresponsible. Madonna went too far. The FBI should question and warn her. If an ordinary citizen had said they felt like blowing up something such a person would and should get attention from the authorities. Being a celebrity should not afford Madonna special privileges for making reckless statements about violence.
@ Who ARE These People? – Crumpet did not say Madonna doesn’t have the right to feel anger or even express her anger. And regarding your statement…
“Generally, “pro life” groups use that term to mask their support of policies that deny women reproductive freedom AS A GROUP.”
This type of statement is not helpful for bringing democrats back to the party or winning over fence-sitters.
But why were they at the march? What policies were they there to stand up for? Their point of view is already in Office. Everyone knows Pence is against abortion. Trump just reinstated defunding NGOs that will do abortion counseling as part of family planning (even with Zika on the rise). Again, no one has a problem with these women choosing to be pregnant, but they seem to have a problem with other women not being pregnant. These women have made it their life goal to interfere in the choices that other women, not themselves, have for their families or lack thereof.
It was amazing! I’m so happy I got to attend the one in my city, San Antonio.
My friend was actually in DC for the Inauguration. She went to the ball as well, and got to stand on the sidelines and watch the Women’s March. She’s not a trump supporter and wanted to join in, when I asked her why she didn’t, she said “My friend (who also doesn’t support him) works for a graphic design company that got assigned to the Trump campaign. That’s the only reason we were invited down here. She’s not allowed to be seen by the media being involved with the march.”
Really? That’s how citizenship gets shut down. She needs to defend her rights, pronto.
Actually, it sounds like they were on a business trip and yes, that can legally interfere with what one does while on the trip.
Hopefully this is the start of a new era in politics and corporate America. This presidency is not the issue. Charity starts at home. Stop voting for local officials who do not represent your views. You need large numbers of people who control change to produce change. Take your cause to the House and Senate as well. Look under the rug and in between the seat cushions. It’s not just the president.
I marched in DC and it was awesome! The only speaker we heard was Scarlett due to the crush of the crowds, we never even saw the stage.
In the UK ‘trump’ means ‘fart’. Just sayin’.
the march made me roll my eyes. My neighborhood was full of women who wouldn’t give me the time of day the other 364 days f the year, but who were trying hard to be my “sister” today. so many eye rolls for all of them.
I’m sorry you didn’t feel the sentiments behind the march weren’t genuine, Tanakasan. I think this is why we are so divided.
Maybe the tide is turning. I hope you start feeling supported. I think uniting makes us so much stronger, while divide and conquer will be our doom.
While C-Span and all other local and national news stations were covering the Women’s March (at least in part), Fox “News” coverage was non-existent…total crickets. No mention whatsoever. Anyone who,possesses critical thinking skills should truly question why…but that would mean not drinking the Faux News kool aid and using your brain to think rationally and reasonably.
Actually I heard them give 10 minutes to the coverage of the marches. And they criticized him complaining about the reporting of smaller inauguration turnout.
I actually made a point to check Fox News on both the TV and online and it was the lead story on both when I checked in. So they didn’t ignore it completely. Their spin, for whatever reason, seemed to focus on the white women in attendance, and claimed there were few women of color represented. Not true at all and I’m not sure why they went that way with it.
I was lucky enough to be part of the most phenomenal experience in Montpelier, VT yesterday. We had almost 20,000 people and would have had more but they literally closed all the exits off the highway so no more people could enter Montpelier. IT WAS FULL. We marched to the statehouse and had the privilege of being met by Bernie Sanders and his powerful message. This was the largest political rally in the HISTORY of Vermont. I’m so moved by this movement. I’m at a loss for words.
I was in our state capital, and though we expected a small crowd, we had 4 times the predicted numbers! It felt good. And then we drove home and found out that there were protests in 70 countries, and it felt even better.
I want to note how peaceful and safe the march felt. There were tons of kids, very elderly, and people in wheelchairs, and no fear of disorder or violence. Not exactly a celebration, but rather an affirmation of reason and common sense. I’ll try to remember that feeling when fatigued with indignation because of the bunch of con men in the White House.
And, ladies, don’t discard your signs and placards. Donate them to a willing library/archive.
I do a lot of things wrong as a mother (don’t we all), but marching in Seattle with my two daughters was one of my best example setting moments ever. It was heartening. Keep up the momentum, ladies, there’s still work to do!!
Let’s keep the momentum going! Sign up to be part of 10 acts in 100 days – organized by the women’s march. https://www.womensmarch.com/100/
Signed up this morning! I think this is a tremendous idea on their part to keep people active. Let’s keep this going!
Great link! Thanks, Steph O!
Thanks for the link. That was so helpful. I am aching to do more so this is a big help.
“Final” numbers (though they still seem short to me, and are by no means “official):
Over a million in DC.
Over five million worldwide, in sixty+ countries.
Wow.
Wow is right.
I marched in San Diego. It was empowering and the silver lining I needed after Friday. 20K were expected and 30 to 40K showed up. My sister marched in the NYC one. Let’s keep vigilant!!!
My bestie flew from Kansas City to NYC w/ her daughter to attend the March. When she checked in the clerk asked her why they were visiting, when she said I came to march w/ my daughter the clerk upgraded them to $1000 room w/an incredible view AND sent cupcakes and a journal for her daughter to write her thoughts and memories of the event. They have been overwhelmed by the countless, gracious, heartwarming gestures this weekend.
Here’s hoping we remain united and prevail…
Here in Mexico City we “built a wall” in front of the US embassy, and people brought Trump piñatas. In the border, people gathered in the bridge between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso.
FANTASTIC!
We marched in Albuquerque some 10K of us! And Santa Fe had about 6K which is amazing! So proud, I cried tears of joy. The crowd was friendly, sisterly, brotherly, and we had copal burning and sage – very NM. Good on ya fellow sisters and brothers! Now comes the real work. Starting today.
I marched with my feminist sisters and brothers in Sacramento yesterday. Feminism has been under attack for years in the media and it felt good to come out and walk proudly for equality for all human beings.
My biggest question is…WHAT DO WE DO NEXT? Who can we look to to lead this movement?
https://www.womensmarch.com/100/
I marched in LA and it was incredible! 95,000 were expected and 750,000 men, women, children of all ethnicities, regligous and sexual orientations showed! Due to the overwhelming and unexpected attendance we were smashed in like sardines and it was hot. What was so cool was the kindness I saw. People were protective of the children and the elderly marchers, nobody pushed, no altercations. So far I have not heard of ONE arrest for the nearly 3,000,000 protestors across our country. It was an experience I will never forget. Positive, peaceful, powerful! Chin up, fangs out!
I couldn’t believe it when I read about the LA numbers–awesome!!!
I was not able to March, but I had friends who marched all across the country. I am so proud of them, and of everyone who showed up to stand up for equality, human rights, and all the good things we’ve always been fighting for.
Every march seem to end up with at least double the amount of people predicted. Amazing.
The favorite image I saw was princess Leia with ” A woman’s place is in the resistance”.
Big turnout in Honolulu and on the other islands as well, plus a protest march to the Trump Hotel the day before. That’s Aloha!
Great to see. I wish people got this fired up over tackling climate change.
And prior to Trump winning.
Many of the speakers at the Boston rally addressed the issue of climate change as did many of the protesters carrying signs.
That’s good to hear.
I attended my first March, going to my local Womensmarch. It felt so good. Can’t wait to do more! Just have to figure out the best way to get involved.
I marched in Dallas and cried happy tears. It was amazing!
I wanted to go but I did not because I had class to attend, and more importantly, sometimes these events make me…uncomfortable. Capital F feminism has the tendency to focus on white women, and middle-class white women at that. Intersectionality is often left behind. And anytime we dare to bring up these issues, and ask for representation and a voice, we are told to be quiet, that we’re being divisive, etc.
I’m glad that so many showed up. But where were all these white women when that man was/is threatening to deport Mexicans (in his mind, we are all Mexicans), to force Muslims to register and/or ban them from the country outright, to enforce “law and order” aka continue to beat/kill unarmed Black folks in the street? Because newsflash: there are Mexican WOMEN, Muslim WOMEN and Black WOMEN included in those threats. Is our womanhood not to be respected? Does it count for nothing?
As to the police: it’s such a wonder that there were so few arrests/incidents. I wonder why that is? Could it be that perhaps crowd reactions/police attitudes are different when they don’t show up in full riot gear? Police understand optics as well as anyone, and it doesn’t look good to act threatening towards a group of (largely) white people. I’ve been to Black Lives Matter marches, where people were there with kids, the elderly, and none of that stopped police from letting the tear gas and batons fly. Police had no issues getting violent with the largely Native crown protesting the NDAP.
TL/DR: Glad for this march, but please don’t forget intersectionality matters and the police are STILL a problem.
This white woman was writing her congressmen, donating to the Hillary campaign, and voted all democrat. I’ve been appalled by Trump since the beginning.
Seriously! We were all right here! Same place you were. Calling him out, talking to family members and friends who support him, supporting HRC, voting…
What exactly did you expect us to do – march every time Trump says something dumb and dangerous? We’d have to do it full-time!
Yesterday was my favorite day ever on Facebook. The pics and videos from marches around the world (I’m part of that Pantsuit Nation group so got to see lots of international pics, from Slovenia to Latvia to Paris to New Zealand) was so, so heartening. Especially when it was contrasted with literally empty bleachers for Trump. After his swearing in on Friday I didn’t have much hope but yesterday revived it!
I marched in Wellington, in New Zealand – it’s so nice to see this country get a mention -Yay! There were also marches in Auckland and Christchurch too.
Google video of Ashley Judd’s speech and America Ferrera’s speech. You won’t be disappointed . Madonna’s speech is terrible in comparison to those.
Great day in NYC! Positive, inclusive energy — total opposite of the current president.
My family and friends and I marched in Santa Ana, CA, in red-as-red-can-be Orange County. 5,000 people signed up to march. Crowd estimates were 20,000+! It was so wonderful and moving to be there and to know that millions of other people around the world were marching with us. And PP had volunteers handing out free water bottles to everyone! Thanks to everyone who marched and/or supported the march!
I marched with my daughter and 60,000 other nasty women and their allies in Toronto. It was amazing.
My 18 month old daughter and I marched in Sacramento, California! What a movement!
I applaud all the women who marched to show unity. I too matched, but please take down Madonna’s pic. After what she said I’m ashamed to have her associated with the March and all the women who took a stand.
MLK day was last week, non violence is how it’s done, not by saying hateful things. Madge, I grew up listening to you. And you are a symbol of girl power for sure, but shame on you for what you said!
This should have taken place BEFORE he got in! Too little too late. Now we’re stuck with this lunatic in the WH.
💯% agreement. Way too late. He is exactly where he wants to be and we are stuck with it. Taking a stand should happen before not after.
I heard a song today that immediately made me think of Trump. The Isley brothers – Sunshine Go Away Today. The line about ‘he can’t even run his own life. I’ll be damed if he’ll run mine!’
I echo everyone’s sentiments, and I marched, but I’m kind of tired of getting the flack from both sides. I was already told several times by people who are anti-march that I am a spoiled, lazy white woman who has a great life, yet shows up to marches demanding more.
At the same time, I am hearing some voices from our side who are saying that white women apparently somehow took the focus away from the WOC, once again. Ok, should I not show up next time and leave the minorities marching alone?
And if I stayed home, I would’ve been blamed for being blind to the issues in my white privilege.
I’m sorry, but what do you want me to do so that I don’t get lectured?
I understand to a point, but aren’t we lucky that we’re in the position to be lectured about this? The main point, I think, is that white women need to take extra care to make sure there is equal space for the perspective of WOC and not dominate these marches with their own specific concerns. I saw many white women with pro-Muslim, pro-immigrant, and Black Lives Matter signs. That was awesome, but there definitely could have been more.
Why are we “lucky” to be lectured?
How exactly did white women “dominate” the march with their concerns? Were their signs bigger or did they chant louder? I don’t understand that argument.
I carried a sign about Black women – in all fairness, I didn’t choose it, we grabbed some free signs that were there, but I was happy to. I would’ve been just as happy to carry an LGBTQ sign, and I’m not gay. And, btw, no one asks what sign people were carrying before lecturing them. Not to mention that I think it’s kind of strange to argue that people can’t advocate what they find the most important, but must advocate for someone else considers the most important. If a white woman believes that by advocating for women’s rights, she’s helping all women, can you really fault her for that?
I feel bad for getting the ball rolling with my post saying this March should have happened before. Reading the comments here was nice until race started entering the conversation. I’m sorry, for me, this travesty isn’t appalling because I’m a woman or because I’m a person of color, or hell it’s not even because I’m short. I am all of those things but I do not let them define me. I am an American and I choose to identify as an American. Quite honestly for me, that is the tragedy here…Cheeto is single-handedly destroying the unalienable rights that makes us Americans…He is destroying our rights to life, liberty, and our pursuits of happiness. He is creating a nation at war, and our Selfish Congress is going to let him do whatever the hell he wants until they lose their majority.
I don’t know….What do you all want? If you want him out, we have got to put pressure on our elected officials at the local level. From the local level it will filter to county, state, and then federal. At that point, when Congress is at risk of losing their hold, at that point he will be impeached…Why? Because the GOP would be able to take credit for it and only then would they be at risk of losing more than they gain.
I recommend that everyone reads this article from GQ about impeaching Trump. It will happen….But it’s up to us to determine how quickly it does.
https://www.google.com/amp/www.gq.com/story/impeachment-us-president-explained/amp?client=ms-android-motorola
I’ve been terrified since the election, especially after Trump’s first day in power. But it was comforting to see the photographs of national and global marches. Such overwhelming unity reassured me that although we’re in for a rough four years, at least we aren’t alone. And we are capable of being heard.
I marched with my neighbor who is 68yrs old white woman and I am Asian. We went to the LA march and it was insanely amazing. We took the Metrolink to the LA Union Station and it was packed. We tried marching to Pershing Square but it was already packed so we stopped on Hill and some intersection. One thing really nice and touching was the American sheiks giving marchers yummy food for free and free bottle of water. Everyone was kind, willing to share and assist each other.
I posted some pictures on my FB and I am worried that a couple of my coworkers who are republicans will see and say something to me at work. But you know what F it! March on ladies! It is not over yet.
If they give you grief, just say ” Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?”
I’m so proud of everyone who marched.
Now everyone needs to stay angry and use this as a jumping-off point for action against Agent Orange and the GOP flying monkeys – vote in that 2018 election! And 2020! And keep pestering your reps/getting involved on the local level, and not least, supporting your free press (through subscription/donation if you must, they need the $$$$ to get through the attack they’re under and the risk of the loss of livelihoods for their staff and reporters)
My best friend is in Seoul right now for work and she participated in the march over there. She kept telling me how amazing it was and sending me pictures as she was marching. I find it very encouraging that women all over the world joined together with us here in the U.S. to make this happen. I feel slightly hopeful about our political situation for the first time since November. Let’s keep fighting the good fight!
I’m late this thread and wasn’t going to comment BUT too moved to not share even if it is just for myself. I attended the #WomensMarch in the Capitol of my home state and IT WAS PHENOMENOL! 4,000 were expected but 10,000 Women as well as Men showed up. It was a powerful day for Human Rights underscored by radical love and compassion. The most impressive speeches came from the Human Rights Advocates who work in the trenches!!
One of my classmate’s friends was complaining about the “pussyhats” (??) and how it made it her lose respect for the movement as a whole because she couldn’t figure out how to explain to her daughter why they were wearing them.* I asked her if she had the same problem explaining to her daughter how a self-professed sexual assaulter got into office.
Never forget, white women, how many among us have been brainwashed into undermining our own gender because we have just enough privilege that we can’t see past the trees. Never forget that we are the second largest group that helped put this man into office. More than ever is it important for us to be aware of how essential intersectional feminism is to the movement.
*I am aware that there are totally concerns about these hates – namely the cis-oriented mindset of vagina = female and the fact that many of them were only in Caucasian skin colors – and they are totally legitimate. Complaining about them because of same ridiculous idea of respectability politics is not.
Very well said, Veronica! The march was amazing, and pretty intersectional from what I could see, but there is certainly a lot more work to be done in that vein.
I wish the Hollywood Botox Brigade had stayed away from the D.C. March. Julia Roberts with two bodyguards – please. Madonna, as always, ad nauseum, was there only to draw attention to herself. Irrelevant Ashley Judd read the little shock ditty to draw attention to herself. The appearance of most of the celebs in D.C. was no more than an exercise in narcissism. They are the ultimate example of white privilege, and they fully exercised theirs by attempting to commandeer the march and the media upon their arrival. America Ferrera’s heartfelt message was far more relevant.
Hear, hear!
I was in DC and shepherded 2 old ladies as close as we could get to the stage and we stood in those exact spots, no room to move for almost 5 hours. Around us were all genders, all colors and a group wearing “pro-life feminist” shirts. People cheered for sections they supported or were quiet in ones they didn’t (the pro-lifers). The pro-lifers near me even cheered some of Cecile Richards’ speech. We had to leave before the Madonna stuff and unfortunately we also missed Angela Davis. I am in DC and the closest crowd I have ever seen to this is Obama inaug#1. It was UNBELIEVABLE. It also took us over 90 minutes to get through the crowd and get to Union Station, a walk which even with my old ladies with canes we should have been able to do in 20 minutes on a normal day. I was really happy to see so many men and a lot of the young ones (teens/early 20s) were super passionate about it. Gave me hope that things can get better.
What can you do now? Stay energized. Volunteer in your town. Ask questions of your elected officials. Call your Representatives and Senators to let them hear your voice on issues that are important to you. Run for public office. It’s scary, and it’s time consuming, but it will change your life for the better, even if you don’t win. Let’s be the change we want to see in our communities.
Toronto was 60,000+ (me included!) Canada is full of nasty women! You’ve got an ally in the north!!
I marched in Pittsburgh, so for those familiar with that region and it’s “dialect”, the best sign I saw by far was “Trump is a jagoff”
I marched in Washington, DC with my wife and daughter (who lives in DC). It was EPIC!!!
I also marched on Washington, DC in three other previous large events — 1987 Gay March, 1992 Pro-Choice March and 1993 Gay March. Info about all these marches can be found on Wiki (crowd size, etc.) The Women’s March crowd was unlike anything I experienced at any of those events. It was not even possible to march down the street, because there were too many people and every inch of space was full (streets, sidewalks, lawns, museum steps, and even people in trees). Also, for once, I saw no organized counter-protesters. Just a few male trumpers in red hats running around randomly, and getting shouted away from anyone they tried to approach.
We were also in DC on Friday and joined the permitted protest against the corrupt inauguration. It was well-organized and attended, and it included Occupy and Black Lives Matte activists. We marched in it, but peeled off early because we did not want to stand along the inauguration parade route and be counted in aerial photos as supporters.
We are back home in Nashville today, and we are calling our Senators to oppose all these horrible cabinet appointments. The phone number for anyone to do this is 202-225-3121.