#WhyIMarch

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Forgive me this pre-emptive soap-box monologue… But I feel it necessary to post this, knowing social media as I do, because I will be participating in the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. Please read this well-meaning post in its entirety before commenting negatively about the fact that I will be part of this peaceful protest:

I myself am not marching against Trump, nor against the negativity of many for which his election has sadly insinuated approval. Nor do I march against any of you - you who are reading this and supported Trump for your varying reasons, which I know, if you are on my friends list, had nothing at all to do with bigotry, racism, sexism, bullying or hatred.

I myself am marching for the self-evident truths promised to all Americans - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Not for some, nor even for a majority, but for every single member of our melting-pot of a nation. I march in support of the ideal that the first explorers who sailed to this American shore risked their lives in search of over 400 years ago - for freedom, in all its many forms.

Please do not tell me to “get over it”, as if I do not understand how our political systems works, or do not comprehend that yes, the election is over and that a protest cannot effect those results, because I get that, and that is not why I’m marching. I feel it would be unwise to allow ourselves to believe that hundreds of thousands of people are marching for that goal... Most, like I, are not.

Of course there will be some in attendance who will march in anger, or in a futile attempt to change the electoral outcome, or who disrespect the ideals of a peaceful protest as exemplified by people like Martin Luther King, Jr. However, just as you, me, and most others do not wish to be judged by the worst of those with whom we share a commonality, neither should all marchers on Saturday be judged in kind.

Respect breeds respect, none shall find it elsewhere.

The vast majority of Saturday’s participants march in order to send one or all of the following messages of support to those we know, and to those we have not had the honor of yet meeting:
- If your God is known by a different name than ours - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If your skin is a different shade or color than ours - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If your true nature has become clear within your heart that you are associated with the letters L, G, T, or B - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If you are a woman who has faced inequality or has felt demeaned simply because of your gender - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If you are a young woman who has made (or might one day make) an 18-minute (or less!) mistake in a moment of passionate weakness with a man, WE SUPPORT that you should not be punished, nor forced to sacrifice 18 years of your life to atone for that one moment, simply because you are the half of that mistake who happens to have the uterus.
- If you have been bullied or threatened or attacked by others for any difference within you or about you - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If you believe in the sacredness of this home that we all share, called our Earth - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If you feel frustration as the denial of respect for science and knowledge grow more popularly accepted - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If you have struggled against poverty and were never offered the opportunities others so easily take for granted, or deny having at all - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If you have worked hard, but no longer feel that the dream of a better life is within your reach - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If you are disheartened that the health and well-being of humans has become a profitable business of greed - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If you believe that the lives of human beings are of far greater worth than money - WE SUPPORT YOU.
- If you believe the world can be (and can do) better, WE SUPPORT YOU.

If you disagree with my participation in this march (as is my democratic freedom), or if you disagree with any of my reasons for doing so, then perhaps you are the one who needs to “get over it” and just keep scrolling… Again I repeat that respect breeds respect, none shall find it elsewhere.

We are your sisters,
your mothers,
your wives,
your daughters,
your lovers,
your friends,
and your neighbors.

Together, we march. Not against, but FOR - for all those in our human family, for our planet, for our future, for freedom, for LOVE.

#NoH8 #EndTheAnger #NotMeUs #TheStand #WomensMarchOnWashington #LoveTrumpsAll #MakeHumanityGreatAgain #FaithInHumanityRestored #HumansOfAmerica #PeacefulProtest #YourSilenceWillNotProtectYou #ThoseWhoDoNotRememberThePastAreDoomedToRepeatIt #sorrynotsorry #respectbreedsrespect