Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Women's March on Washington

I was there, with my sister and two friends.  Sit back while I share some photos that show what I saw, accompanied by a few thoughts that describe how I felt.

Pink isn't my favorite color, but I knitted a hat and wore it proudly ... to put myself and my head in the sea of pink for the March.


We took a photo in the Metro station as we arrived in DC.


That's my sister in the pink hat and black jacket right in front of me.


Both sides of the escalator exiting the station were set in the outbound direction, to move more people.


This was our first view of part of the crowd.


So many satellite trucks along Independence Avenue.


A sign propped in a rose bush ... you knew that I had to get a photo of it.




Video screens allowed those of us in the thick of the crowd to hear the people who were speaking from the stage.


Gloria Steinem










DC Mayor Muriel Bowser






There were so many people!


Other times, we had a bit more room.


Yarn bomb, quietly left behind by a marcher.










This was my favorite sign of the day.  When I told that to the man who was holding it, he put his hand on his chest and told me that it comes from his heart.














These two police officers with a PA system on top of this ambulance, were directing marchers at an intersection.


Madonna did not reflect the view of anyone that I spoke to during the day.




The 'After' photo, as we waited for the train to take us home.  


Exiting the station, on our way home.


This panoramic photo that gives a good look at the crowd where we were.


To see how much space 500,000+ people occupy in downtown DC, watch this video (which, coincidentally, appears to have been taken from the top of a building near where we were standing when I took the panorama.)





It was a l-o-n-g day ... I left home at 5:30am to be at my sister's house at 6:30am, and I got home after 9:00pm ... but it was profound.  I can't adequately express the feeling of being in a crowd like this, a peaceful, respectful crowd, who gathered to show what we hope is not a minority view of our country.  My United States respects all of its citizens, and is a melting pot for foreigners who come here to make a better life for themselves and their families.  We met so many people, visited with out-of-towners, local residents, young women, old folks like me ... I am very, very proud to have participated.

Been there, done that, ordered the T-shirt.  It was surreal.

41 comments:

  1. I can't tell you how proud I am to be a woman and that I wish I could have marched! My heart swells when I think of how respectful and peaceful this march was. I applaud you and the many women and men across this country and the world that joined in. Love trumps Hate!

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    1. I think we as a country are more driven by fear than hate. I hope to express that we are a great country and we have nothing to fear.

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  2. FANTASTIC! I was unable to go and watched it on CSPAN, Gloria Steinem was especially powerful. And what a crowd! So happy you got to go, I'm planning on attending the March for Science in April, on Earth Day. I consider myself a reasonable person, but what's been going on lately has been anything but reasonable.

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    1. March for Science? What an awesome cause! I consider myself to be reasonable, see-both-sides, respectful and fair. I don't call names. When I see it happening, in person or in general in the country, I speak up.

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  3. What an incredible day. My sisters and their youngest daughters were there in DC with you; I participated in our local Bellingham Washington march with our local extended family and friends. Thanks for marching!

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    1. I'm so glad that you were able to march, and that you experienced the DC march through your sister and daughters! I have told many people that you had to be there or you don't understand.

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  4. Replies
    1. I wish you could have been there with us. You were, because we were there to represent everyone.

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  5. Connie, I wish I could have been there with you!

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    1. As I told Goth Gardener in the previous comment, you were. Everyone was.

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  6. I marched in Boston and my daughter marched in Washington. I experienced some of the same feelings you did. We all have to keep up the momentum to show that the majority of the people in the United States respect the differences that make us great and reject the hate that divides us. Thank you for posting.

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    1. Way to go, Jeanne! Our country IS made up of different types of people who come together. So many of the people that I talked to at the march, and while I worked our local polling place on election day, expressed so much fear. We can't be afraid of our differences because that's what makes the US special.

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  7. You Go Girl! Many of my friends went and their experience was much like yours - uplifting.

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  8. I didn't think I could love you more than I did before, but I was wrong. Bravo, my friend!! I was there, too, with two friends from the Kansas City area (one actually lives in Missouri and the other in Kansas). Plus, many of my other VA friends marched in DC and many others marched around the U.S. and the world.

    It was an absolutely incredible experience, very surreal as you've stated. I will admit that I have been saddened and upset that our local paper has portrayed the march in such a negative, misleading light. I've never been a Madonna fan, even a little bit, so I winced when she came on stage and winced even more when she started talking. However, I knew her presence indicated the event was "big" to many and I shared her frustrations, if not her exact sentiments. Most of all, I agreed with her final message of "choose love," which unfortunately did not get picked up by the media. But choose love, we will.

    I didn't wear a hat, but I did wear lots of love pins, a kind heart pin (from Penzeys), and some fantastic temporary tattoos that one of my friends got us from an amazing company called Raygun. My friend made our signs. We wore them like sandwich boards sometimes and actually had four messages each. Other times, we simply held our signs up because we were too sandwiched in ourselves for our signs to be seen. I thought the variety of signs and some of the messages were just fantastic. Thanks for sharing them here.

    We talked to lots of people who were marching and that was a pretty amazing experience, too. One of my friends (the chief supplier of all!) brought extra hats that a friend had made and passed them out with intention. A fellow who was celebrating his birthday by marching with his wife got one. His wife was thrilled! A sweet and adorable young woman from London got another. Love pins and temporary tattoos were also distributed "with intention."

    The chants were powerful. My favorite was "This is what democracy looks like."

    I've heard estimates of as high as 1.2M on attendance and I believe those.

    We left at 6 am (drove to DCA and then took the Metro) and got home at 9 pm. My organizer friend had made reservations for us ahead of time at Espita (which was a few blocks away from the end of the march). Jessica Chastain, her boyfriend, and her whole family (mom, stepdad, and siblings); Chloe Grace Moretz, and Jess Wixler (Robyn in The Good Wife) ended up sitting at the table next to us. We didn't fan gawk or seek autographs, but it was pretty cool.

    #resist #shepersisted

    xo,
    Shirley

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    1. It sounds like you had the same type of experience as we did. 1.2M? Wow! I haven't paid much attention to the news for a while now, even after the march, so I hadn't heard that figure.

      Most everyone that I have talked to since the march has a negative impression, based on TV and other news coverage. To be fair, we tend to seek out those with whom we share similar opinions. I'm a positive person by nature, and I choose to see the good side of most situations.

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  9. I have never commented on your blog before but have been a long time follower. I followed because of the things I learned about roses, your beautiful pictures and the heartwarming stories about your pets and greyhound rescues. While you have the right of free speech and to post whatever you want to your site, I would prefer not to to read political posts on a blog that purports a different slant. I have stopped following other blogs for lesser reasons.

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    1. Thank you very, very much for speaking up! This blog was created to report on roses, but I quickly realized that I'm a lot more than my garden. That's where the pets, home renovations, fun day trips, and other things came into it ... to be a better reflection of who I am. I'm NOT an outspoken political person, in person or otherwise, and I keep my political opinions mostly to myself. In this case, I made an exception because I wanted to share the positive experience I had at this event. This blog is about me ... I don't have advertisers to please or products to sell ... I'll bet that you and I would get along really well and have a lot to talk about in person!

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    2. I love your roses, I stalk your house, and I want Winnie. But I LOVE this!!! Thank You!!!

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  10. So proud to call you my friend!!! People that follow us for our creative or other talents need to understand that we are so much more than that. All the parts of us bound together make the whole. If folks cannot see and appreciate that...well, I have no problem and no hard feelings if they bow out.
    Just my opinion 😉
    Keep being awesome and inspiring my friend

    Hugs
    Janet
    The Empty Nest

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    1. You make me blush. I think you're pretty awesome and inspiring, too.

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  11. Thank you ... for this post and for marching. My daughter marched in Madison (WI) and one of my nieces marched in Minneapolis and the other one marched in San Francisco with her teen-aged sons. We can't accept what has happened. Thank you!!

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    1. I love hearing about how many other people marched together all over the country! Please thank your daughter and your nieces for me.

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  12. How I wish I was there too!
    Catherine

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  13. That's fantastic. Thank you!! We're settling for marches in our local town (Portland, Oregon). Scientists' March next! :)

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    1. It was pretty fantastic. You're the second person to mention a Science-type march. Go for it, take a stand, and make a difference.

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  14. You Go Girl !!

    Had clients and friends at both DC & London, great seeing their Facebook pics.....

    Garden & Be Well, XOT

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    1. We met so many people from out of town! Memorable one was a woman that we talked to on the train on the way to DC. She was from NY. Watched the inauguration, got angry, packed an overnight bag and hopped in her car that minute, and drove to DC to march.

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  15. My boyfriend and I marched alongside of you in spirit. We marched in Sacramento. It felt exhilarating to be a part of history.

    The march was intended so that women would unite "to end violence and promote rights for women, LGBT people, workers, people of color, people with disabilities and immigrants." I will not spin it that way...I marched specifically to protest Trump and his new administration's policies and possible revocation of the "rights for women, LGBT people, workers, people of color, people with disabilities and immigrants."

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    1. Feels like we all shared the same big sky, gathered to support causes that we believe in, all over the US and the world. Thank you for representing in Sacramento.

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  16. Connie, we had very similar experiences with the Washington March. Greg and I were there. It was an incredibly peaceful and unifying day. We think of you every time we drive on Route 17. Have you set a date for rose pruning at Hollywood? I love reading your postings!

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    1. I'm not surprised that you and Greg were there. Peaceful and unifying is a great way to put it!

      You probably think of me while you're on Rt. 17 because you have pangs of guilt about not stopping to visit. ;)

      Hollywood Cemetery pruning day is March 18. 9am.

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  17. I enjoy your roses, your gardens, and your blog. Will you be shocked when you find out that not all your fans are liberal or even modern day feminist? I can still enjoy your photos and views and disagree with them. Thankfully ROSES don't have political views. :O) Roses UNITE!

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    1. Not shocked at all. I'm not sure I could associate only with people who agree with me ... how in the world would I ever learn other points of view if I did? Thank you VERY much for disagreeing, and speaking up about it! I really appreciate it.

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  18. Connie-- I'm so glad you were able to participate in the march! I was unable because of prior commitments, but then I came home, opened my laptop to read the news, and was crying as I clicked through from D.C., to Chicago, to Boston, to overseas. It was the first good news I'd seen in ages. It gave me great hope, which I still have. Thanks for being a voice!

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