Yesterday was an amazing day, the magnitude of which I was not aware of until today. I attended the Women's March on Washington with half a million other women and men.
The day was amazing in a multitude of ways; the sheer number of people that attended filled the streets we were supposed to march down. While in the thick of the event, we did not understand how momentous our gathering was- no one could get on the internet to figure out why we weren't moving after the planned march time. It was a sea of black, white, brown, young, old, men, women, gays, trans, straight people wearing pink hats. There were people playing drums, response chants being shouted, humorous and serious signs.
What there wasn't? A single arrest. A single moment I felt unsafe. No one was rude or aggressive. We were packed like sardines and everyone was smiling and laughing. I met people who had been on a bus for 11 hours from Vermont who were crammed in a metro car with us- they were joyful to be there.
Today I was giddy reading the news stories of all the sister protests world wide (even in Antarctica!). My steel city also joined in with a sister march, so proud! This is the most hopeful I have felt since November. I feel encouraged, invigorated, to make a positive change! There were many different causes represented; women's rights, environmental protection, health care, etc but they all have the same roots in something very simple- love. Sounds cheesy but it is true. I think the event was truly blessed and it wasn't a coincidence the weather was so nice, the crowd were never agitated, the police were respected.
