I still tend to avoid labeling myself based on political affiliation; however, while sitting back and watching the chaos of the last year I have to say that I find myself using labels more and more everyday. I AM a Nasty Woman, I AM a liberal, and I AM a democrat. That doesn't mean that I always agree with everything the party does, but that does mean that I can no longer sit in silence as the Right tears this country apart. They do, after all, hold the Presidency, Senate and House. In the midst of a Government shut down and a still on going Russian investigation looming over the President's head I have discovered the importance of standing up and using your voice. Over the last year I have discovered that labels are sometimes necessary.
As the anniversary of the first march came and went it proved to this whole country, and myself, that our country still has hope and that this movement isn't going anywhere. It is just growing stronger. We are currently in day 2 of global demonstrations. There are marches scheduled in cities all the way to Munich.
Demonstrators in Las Vegas launched an effort to register as many voters as they can in an effort to take the midterm elections. Per FOX News, "in addition to the Women’s March co-chairs, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood; Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.; Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas; Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter; and actress Marisa Tomei" are set to speaking the Las Vegas March. Many people held signs which proclaimed, "Grab them by the midterms." There is definitely an increased interest in the midterm elections on both sides. The outcome of the midterms will change everything.
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| picture courtesy of FOXNews |
According to CBS News you could hear marchers chanting, "Lock him up" in the streets. In Oklahoma City you heard protesters chanting, "We need a leader, not a creepy tweeter!"
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| Picture Courtesy of CBS News |
CBS News also reported that members of the group "Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Seattle" burned sage and chanted in front of Seattle's rainy march. It is reported that crowds burst into cheers when a woman ran down the middle of the street carrying a pink flag with the word "Resist" on it in Richmond, VA. It is also reported by CBS News that in Palm Beach, Florida, which is home to Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, several hundred people gathered carrying anti-Trump signs before marching.
Protests have not been limited to just the Women's March though. We have seen protests across the U.S. all year. From immigration protests to, most recently, the antiabortion bills. On Monday a group of women wearing red cloaks and white hats like the characters in the book and TV show "The Handmaid's Tale" marched in formation, their heads bowed in protest of the antiabortion bill that just passed.
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| Picture Courtesy of Mic |
According to MIC, the women were "protesting multiple anti-abortion rights bills, one of which was Senate Bill 415, legislation that bans what lawmakers are referring to as "dismemberment abortion" — otherwise known as "dilation and evacuation — a common second trimester abortion procedure." Mic reports that the bill passed the Senate. It is now headed to the house. If this bill becomes law, "anyone who performs the procedure would be charged with a state felony and face jail time." The Mic also reported that "the Senate also voted to advance another bill, which gives doctors an incentive to withhold information from their patients, especially in instances where they suspect a pregnant person may choose to have an abortion due to fetal anomalies."
The fact that people still come out and march even with the chaos our government is uplifting to me, and should be to you as well. This administration has driven people out in mass numbers to protest against them, but there has been another side effect of the moves of the Trump Administration and of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell. Per Newsweek, Since Trump's election, a "record number of women have signed up to run for political office at every level." The thing that may surprise many is that a lot of the female candidates are finding that seats that were thought unwinnable to them are not. According to the same article, in Virginia, "progressive women unseated a total of 11 Republican male incumbents in the House of Delegates. One of these was Danica Roem, the first openly transgender woman to ever be elected to a state legislature."
If you are paying attention to what is going on you should be inspired and encouraged by the courage that people are finding in themselves despite widespread racist, misogynist, homophobic, and overall ignorant behavior of this administration. In his first year Trump's only major accomplishment has been to pass an overwhelmingly unpopular tax bill. If the Mueller investigation doesn't end in an impeachment the chaos will continue for at least another 3 years. I think we all did learn a valuable lesson from this. In order to hold the office of President of the United States of America one should have to have prior experience holding public office. This isn't a reality show where ratings are the most important thing, this is our county and we are demanding it back.
The fact that people still come out and march even with the chaos our government is uplifting to me, and should be to you as well. This administration has driven people out in mass numbers to protest against them, but there has been another side effect of the moves of the Trump Administration and of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell. Per Newsweek, Since Trump's election, a "record number of women have signed up to run for political office at every level." The thing that may surprise many is that a lot of the female candidates are finding that seats that were thought unwinnable to them are not. According to the same article, in Virginia, "progressive women unseated a total of 11 Republican male incumbents in the House of Delegates. One of these was Danica Roem, the first openly transgender woman to ever be elected to a state legislature."
If you are paying attention to what is going on you should be inspired and encouraged by the courage that people are finding in themselves despite widespread racist, misogynist, homophobic, and overall ignorant behavior of this administration. In his first year Trump's only major accomplishment has been to pass an overwhelmingly unpopular tax bill. If the Mueller investigation doesn't end in an impeachment the chaos will continue for at least another 3 years. I think we all did learn a valuable lesson from this. In order to hold the office of President of the United States of America one should have to have prior experience holding public office. This isn't a reality show where ratings are the most important thing, this is our county and we are demanding it back.
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