A Day of Unity
This past weekend, I walked in the Women’s March. I live in the very eastern part of Washington State — far from the Seattle side, which is more progressive — so I was pleased to see more than 8,000 people turn out locally. I posted on my Facebook page that I was downtown participating in the march and in general, people were supportive. One of the comments that followed however, bluntly instructed that I should go to church and pray because “it works much better” and I was puzzled. It had never occurred to me that the two might be mutually exclusive — I had assumed it would be possible to do both. Another person countered with very angry words about the Women’s March overall and badgered me to produce something that I actually thought might have been accomplished by a multitude of women walking together. The challenge gave me reason for additional reflection and here’s what I decided: We accomplished a day of hope and solidarity — with people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, countries of origin and religions — a day of unity and peaceful cohesion. What could be better than that?
Why do some people feel so threatened by women getting together and peacefully marching? They seem as threatened as they were by the marches in Selma during the sixties. Perhaps they realize that if we stay an active, cohesive unit, women can control what goes on in this country. Women will have a voice and power as long as we don’t stop after one march.