By all accounts there were approximately 500,000 people, mostly women–but about 20% men–at the Women’s March on Washington, on Saturday, January 21, 2017. The National Park Service no longer gives estimates, but one can get a fair idea by the number of bus parking permits for RFK Stadium, given out by the D. C. Government. For Trump’s inauguration, on Friday, January 20, they gave out 200 permits. For the Women’s March they gave out 1200 permits. It was a huge, orderly, and peaceful demonstration.
The signs they carried expressed their concerns. They were in total opposition to what Donald Trump mostly campaigned on. Here are a few [statements].
- “What the Country needs is a Trumpectomy.”
- “They tried to bury us; they didn’t know we were seeds.”
- “I will no longer accept the things I can not change. I will change the things I can not accept.”
- “Women are the way, and Trump will pay.”
- “Abort Mike Pence.”
- “We are the granddaughters of the witches you weren’t able to burn.”
- “Protest is patriotism.”
- “Trumpty Dumpty sat on a wall.”
- “Be a lie swatter.”
They chanted, “We are all immigrants;” “Our body, our choice;” “No Muslim registry.”
There was a long list of speakers. The most articulate and memorable was Michael Moore. He explained why the Democrats have been loosing elections and that a reconstituted Democratic Party, that champions the working people, can win. Other speakers warned that “you can not March, feel good, and go home and forget about it. You have to engage every day and call your Congressperson and Senators every day.”
The progressive left and conservative Tea Partiers may have more in common than either thought. Our standard of living should be going up, not down. Both are fed up with a Government that lopsidedly supports corporate America, but not the people. They could join forces to overthrow the ruling plutocrats.
>The revolution has begun.