Actually, the Why? was followed by a simplistic explanation that usually boiled down to "there is no message" or "it's just about abortions."
I marched yesterday in Frankfurt, Germany, my girls marched yesterday in Savannah, Georgia, and Washington DC. Each of us marched for very different reasons, and none of
us marched about abortions.
And that was the point.
This March was for women's rights.
And Human Rights.
And Gun Regulations.
And clean water.
And reproductive choices.
And health care.
And immigration reform.
And safety in schools and on college campuses.
And LGBTQ equality.
And SO. MUCH. MORE.
What people don't seem to understand or accept is that the tying theme to this whole thing wasn't a particular politically recognized issue. It was that WOMEN care. WOMEN organized this. WOMEN matter. WOMEN have a voice, and the ability to make change. Women of all shapes and sizes and color and religion and origin and orientation.
Women around the world marched.
Do you think the women marching in Nairobi were out there because of Planned Parenthood? They marched for equal pay for equal work. And so. much. more.
Do you think the women in Glasgow marched for abortion rights? Abortion is legal there and not under threat. They marched against the new American leader and his voiced opinions that are sexist and racist. And so. much. more.
Do you think the women in Antigua marched because pink hats are cute? They marched for climate change science and protecting the earth's resources. And so. much. more.
Do you think women in Chennai marched because of gun violence? Guns are not their primary issue, rather being able to walk down the street freely and be in public spaces without fear. #IWillGoOut
Don't try to pigeonhole these 3 million women and their supporters around the globe.
From every background, they marched for what matters to them... education for their children, healthcare for their pre-existing conditions, air to breathe, the arts, safety when walking alone.
And so much more.
I saw somewhere else the question, why march at all? You're just whining and nothing has been lost.
Aside from the obvious fallacy of that statement (Trump is already dismantling the ACA, and disintegrating federal support for our LGBTQ family and climate change science) I'll still add on my own "yet."
If you see a storm brewing, do you wait until the clouds have broken before you take precautions with your rain gear and your home?
If you see someone sidling up to your car with a crowbar, do you wait until the windows are smashed and the radio gone before you call the police?
Do you allow babysteps of erosion to your rights and freedoms to "see what happens" or do you take someone at their word that they will whittle away your way of life and the freedoms you have and tell them
No right from the beginning?
Do you watch a war brewing from afar, watch it take out a person on your left and a person on your right, and simply wait for it to be your turn? Or do you look at those people, lock arms and say to the aggressor "they're with me.. and if you try to come after me, they have my back."
Women united are a powerful force.
Women brought their daughters to show them what millions of voices together sound like.
Women brought their sons to show them that human rights belong to everyone.
Women brought their husbands and boyfriends and uncles and grandfathers, to stand together in unity through our diversity.
To those who none of this applies, yeah, I get how it sounds like whining.
If you've never been, and more importantly
never will be, a victim of sexual assault, it's pretty easy to dismiss the concerns of others, and the talk of the current president perhaps does seem quaint and harmless.
If you're not a race minority or an immigrant and there's
no chance you'll ever be mistaken for one and treated as such by an administration that doesn't like them and wants them gone, then of course it seems reasonable to build that wall and enact harsh immigrant laws.
If you've never lost anyone to gun violence.
Or suicide.
Or drugs.
Or a disease that should be cured with drugs that are available but not affordable.
Well, there's really no way to explain how you should care about that. I don't wish for anyone to experience it, but there are many who don't get why something matters until it specifically happens to them.
The women's march was about people and their own situations, but more than that it was people recognizing the greater world. That not everything is about me, even if some of it is about me. Healthy women in Uganda, female political representation in Brazil, clean rivers in India, gay rights in Jordan.
It all plays a part in who we are as humans.
As Americans.
As women.
Onward.
