Women's March Jan 21, 2017

[ericad]

Just curious - did any of you who attended (in the bigger cities) see a lot of vendors or anything? I'd be kind of surprised if a few companies didn't capitalize on the opportunity to set up tents/displays, offer give-aways, etc. given the anticipated turn-out. My business-brain thinks it would be been a unique, no-brainer of an opportunity for exposure to those that cater products/services to women ... kind of like how the Superbowl always sparks new businesses, ads, etc.

No, not one, though many businesses on the march route remained open and actively selling.

My favorite part was the way the crowd swelled in support of micro groups that passed along the sidelines of the march. BLM and Native Americans, chanting or beating drums. Even the tiny anti-choice group that came out in protest of our march was greeted with shouts of "we love you too!", or "no hate, just love!" Perhaps it was the presence of kids that made us all be our best selves, after all, they're the ones who need this the most.

 

[ruby59]

And what would have happened had it turned violent?

Or some anarchists decided to show up just for fun?

In my particular case, I was not planning to participate in the event, but I knew about it, and had given DD a heads up since she works downtown. While our city isn't huge, it has seen various protests of differing "topics"; most have been relatively peaceful except for the post-Charlotte police-involved shooting. She has seen how some of these other events have unfolded on tv, and we have discussed numerous times the risks that they *can* pose, as well as (as we conversed about in another thread) situational awareness, and things to watch for, avoid, etc.

In this case, she had called me to let me know she couldn't leave, what she was seeing (e.g. peace), and that she was going to venture over to check it out, albeit at a relative distance. And we quickly devised a plan in the event there was some sort of change in the tone of the event. Thankfully, there were no issues.

I totally understand where Ruby is coming from here, though. As someone who has been in a situation that turned violent with zero warning, I can appreciate her concern for others' safety. And I can't speak for others, but I am someone who doesn't necessarily "live in fear"; rather, it's just become second nature for me to assess situational risk in the things I do, and it's something that I have instilled in my daughter as well. That doesn't mean we don't "live life"; we just make a point to consider the possibility that things don't always go as planned. IMO, it's not any different than packing an extra change of clothes when I travel because stuff happens.

ETA - DD has also experienced first hand how situations change quickly, as she was in our local shopping mall last summer when someone fired off a couple shots in the food court, and there was a mass stampede, during which another friend of mine was trampled. I was out golfing that day, and DD happened to be in a store with her friend; we were able to communicate via txt during the situation, and she had done all of the things that we had discussed in situations like this. She wasn't hurt thankfully, and I was proud of her and extremely thankful that we HAD taken the time to talk about preparedness and 'what to do'.

My point with all of this is that you never know what life will throw at you; all you can do is prepare (e.g. consider the risks) to the extent you can, and live.

Thank you, Jenn. I was accused of interjecting myself here and making it about me. I have lived a long time and have experiences I thought were relevant.

I remember taking my young kids down city late at night. I had to pick someone up at the bus terminal. I should have called one of my sisters and asked them to sit with them. But I was in a hurry and took them.

Some upstanding citizen thought it would be funny to throw their soda can against my windshield. I momentarily lost control of the car, but swerved in time to the right and only hit the curb. What if I had swung left and went into oncoming traffic.

So yes I am super cautious when it comes to my children.

 

[ruby59]

Violence can happen anywhere. Such as gunfire in a shopping mall where there are tens and potentially hundreds of children, women, men, elderly and family groups. It's good to discuss it within the family and make decisions which are right for yours, just as you'd decide for yourself if your child is old enough to attend a shopping mall or other locations where there may potentially be a violent situation.

The major news networks talked about it because that's what they do. They run out of stories with actual facts so they get experts, non-experts, those involved and those not involved to weigh in on what they think about the situation. It's basically like reading the op-ed part of the newspaper. All opinions welcome to discuss, but it's not fact based news.

I love Sir Ian

You do not have tens of thousands of people at any one time in a shopping mall. If something happens, at least you have space to maneuver away.

And yes I am sure all the women were cooperative with each other. But when a situation turns violent, and panic ensues, clearer heads do not always prevail.

Also when you go shopping it is a couple of hours at best.

Don't some of you think this might have been too long a day for young children?

 

[monarch64]

Violence can happen anywhere. Such as gunfire in a shopping mall where there are tens and potentially hundreds of children, women, men, elderly and family groups. It's good to discuss it within the family and make decisions which are right for yours, just as you'd decide for yourself if your child is old enough to attend a shopping mall or other locations where there may potentially be a violent situation.

The major news networks talked about it because that's what they do. They run out of stories with actual facts so they get experts, non-experts, those involved and those not involved to weigh in on what they think about the situation. It's basically like reading the op-ed part of the newspaper. All opinions welcome to discuss, but it's not fact based news.

I love Sir Ian

You do not have tens of thousands of people at any one time in a shopping mall. If something happens, at least you have space to maneuver away.

And yes I am sure all the women were cooperative with each other. But when a situation turns violent, and panic ensues, clearer heads do not always prevail.

Also when you go shopping it is a couple of hours at best.

Don't some of you think this might have been too long a day for young children?

The Indianapolis march was 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. I don't think it was mandatory to stay the whole time.

 

[athenaworth]

I was at the LA march with my mom and her friend. After feeling so lost and hopeless after the election, seeing the amount of love coming from everyone there made me realize we can change the climate of America to one of love if we continue to support and uplift each other (women and men alike). I saw people kneeling down to let people use their backs to get up on a wall for a higher look. I saw people with children who were safely on the outskirts. I had friends who brought their own children who normally don't have much of an attention span but felt the positive energy of the day and stayed away and excited the entire time. It was a very very good day and so good for morale. It saddens me to see women who feel the need to bash other women for their decision to participate in the march and the hostility I'm seeing from the right just proves to me why we are so divided. It just makes no sense to me whatsoever (but then again I can't understand why any woman would have voted for him to begin with, but I digress).

Here are some photos I took while there (the photos will be in two posts)

 

[athenaworth]

Here are the rest

 

[Dee*Jay]

These pictures are AWESOME! I especially love the first one with your mom and the gentlemen making the food.

Thank you for being there!!!

 

[athenaworth]

Just curious - did any of you who attended (in the bigger cities) see a lot of vendors or anything? I'd be kind of surprised if a few companies didn't capitalize on the opportunity to set up tents/displays, offer give-aways, etc. given the anticipated turn-out. My business-brain thinks it would be been a unique, no-brainer of an opportunity for exposure to those that cater products/services to women ... kind of like how the Superbowl always sparks new businesses, ads, etc.

There were some food trucks along my route but most businesses were closed. I kept thinking they were missing a huge opportunity to make some extra money but it may have just been too hard.

Uber and Lyft, on the other hand, were charging HUGE surge pricing. Disappointed me.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Just curious - did any of you who attended (in the bigger cities) see a lot of vendors or anything? I'd be kind of surprised if a few companies didn't capitalize on the opportunity to set up tents/displays, offer give-aways, etc. given the anticipated turn-out. My business-brain thinks it would be been a unique, no-brainer of an opportunity for exposure to those that cater products/services to women ... kind of like how the Superbowl always sparks new businesses, ads, etc.

There were some food trucks along my route but most businesses were closed. I kept thinking they were missing a huge opportunity to make some extra money but it may have just been too hard.

Uber and Lyft, on the other hand, were charging HUGE surge pricing. Disappointed me.

Ugh -- that is very disappointing!

In Chicago we have so much public transportation that goes right downtown I think a lot of people were able to just go on mass transit. They even added extra cars to the trains to accommodate the additional demand. I'm sure that Lyft and Uber made a pretty penny though because some people probably had no other reasonable way to get there depending on where they were coming from.

 

[ruby59]

Violence can happen anywhere. Such as gunfire in a shopping mall where there are tens and potentially hundreds of children, women, men, elderly and family groups. It's good to discuss it within the family and make decisions which are right for yours, just as you'd decide for yourself if your child is old enough to attend a shopping mall or other locations where there may potentially be a violent situation.

The major news networks talked about it because that's what they do. They run out of stories with actual facts so they get experts, non-experts, those involved and those not involved to weigh in on what they think about the situation. It's basically like reading the op-ed part of the newspaper. All opinions welcome to discuss, but it's not fact based news.

I love Sir Ian

You do not have tens of thousands of people at any one time in a shopping mall. If something happens, at least you have space to maneuver away.

And yes I am sure all the women were cooperative with each other. But when a situation turns violent, and panic ensues, clearer heads do not always prevail.

Also when you go shopping it is a couple of hours at best.

Don't some of you think this might have been too long a day for young children?

The Indianapolis march was 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. I don't think it was mandatory to stay the whole time.

You are in a group of tens of thousands of women. I do not think it would be that easy to just get out, find your car, and drive home.

Have you ever tried to leave after a concert or sporting event? It can take hours just to get out, find your car, and be on the road.

I just love the bobble head emoticon and the hand wave. So passive aggressive when you have nothing of substance to add.

 

[monarch64]

Violence can happen anywhere. Such as gunfire in a shopping mall where there are tens and potentially hundreds of children, women, men, elderly and family groups. It's good to discuss it within the family and make decisions which are right for yours, just as you'd decide for yourself if your child is old enough to attend a shopping mall or other locations where there may potentially be a violent situation.

The major news networks talked about it because that's what they do. They run out of stories with actual facts so they get experts, non-experts, those involved and those not involved to weigh in on what they think about the situation. It's basically like reading the op-ed part of the newspaper. All opinions welcome to discuss, but it's not fact based news.

I love Sir Ian

You do not have tens of thousands of people at any one time in a shopping mall. If something happens, at least you have space to maneuver away.

And yes I am sure all the women were cooperative with each other. But when a situation turns violent, and panic ensues, clearer heads do not always prevail.

Also when you go shopping it is a couple of hours at best.

Don't some of you think this might have been too long a day for young children?

The Indianapolis march was 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. I don't think it was mandatory to stay the whole time.

You are in a group of tens of thousands of women. I do not think it would be that easy to just get out, find your car, and drive home.

Have you ever tried to leave after a concert or sporting event? It can take hours just to get out, find your car, and be on the road.

I just love the bobble head emoticon and the hand wave. So passive aggressive when you have nothing of substance to add.

 

[ruby59]

Violence can happen anywhere. Such as gunfire in a shopping mall where there are tens and potentially hundreds of children, women, men, elderly and family groups. It's good to discuss it within the family and make decisions which are right for yours, just as you'd decide for yourself if your child is old enough to attend a shopping mall or other locations where there may potentially be a violent situation.

The major news networks talked about it because that's what they do. They run out of stories with actual facts so they get experts, non-experts, those involved and those not involved to weigh in on what they think about the situation. It's basically like reading the op-ed part of the newspaper. All opinions welcome to discuss, but it's not fact based news.

I love Sir Ian

You do not have tens of thousands of people at any one time in a shopping mall. If something happens, at least you have space to maneuver away.

And yes I am sure all the women were cooperative with each other. But when a situation turns violent, and panic ensues, clearer heads do not always prevail.

Also when you go shopping it is a couple of hours at best.

Don't some of you think this might have been too long a day for young children?

The Indianapolis march was 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. I don't think it was mandatory to stay the whole time.

You are in a group of tens of thousands of women. I do not think it would be that easy to just get out, find your car, and drive home.

Have you ever tried to leave after a concert or sporting event? It can take hours just to get out, find your car, and be on the road.

I just love the bobble head emoticon and the hand wave. So passive aggressive when you have nothing of substance to add.

 

[OreoRosies86]

I've lived long enough to know that trying to shame mothers on an Internet forum rarely goes well. A lesson it seems some will never (ever) learn.

Athena those pics are amazing! So inspiring. I woke up this morning feeling very connected to my sisters in pink!

 

[ruby59]

[quote="Elliot86|1485203179|4118644"]I've lived long enough to know that trying to shame mothers on an Internet forum rarely goes well. A lesson it seems some will never (ever) learn.

Athena those pics are amazing! So inspiring. I woke up this morning feeling very connected to my sisters in pink![/quote]

What are you babbling about now? I expressed my opinion, which is what Internet forums are all about - at least the inclusive ones.

 

[Sungura]

I was happy to see the issue of safety raised and I enjoyed hearing the various perspectives.

I'd like to introduce a couple of other sub topics:

1) all who marched have shared that the march/rally participants were peaceful, calm, patient, kind. Why/ how did this happen?
2) did you thoughts about the event change from Friday to Sunday?


I'll start with (2) My husband didn't really have an opinion about the march when I left friday and hadn't been at all supportive of the idea of me becoming politically active. (Perhaps since I really have a short fuse with authority I don't respect). But upon my return he said "Wow, I wish these marches were better publicized. Knowing what I know now I wished I went and marched in NY even without you" and then he said "I see now you were marching for me too. Thank you". My husband is a recently naturalized us citizen from Colombia and looks Pakistani so he is constantly judged by his looks as either a "Mexican" or a "Muslim". He never cared before, but is becoming worried now


Look forward to your thoughts

 

[athenaworth]

Just curious - did any of you who attended (in the bigger cities) see a lot of vendors or anything? I'd be kind of surprised if a few companies didn't capitalize on the opportunity to set up tents/displays, offer give-aways, etc. given the anticipated turn-out. My business-brain thinks it would be been a unique, no-brainer of an opportunity for exposure to those that cater products/services to women ... kind of like how the Superbowl always sparks new businesses, ads, etc.

There were some food trucks along my route but most businesses were closed. I kept thinking they were missing a huge opportunity to make some extra money but it may have just been too hard.

Uber and Lyft, on the other hand, were charging HUGE surge pricing. Disappointed me.

Ugh -- that is very disappointing!

In Chicago we have so much public transportation that goes right downtown I think a lot of people were able to just go on mass transit. They even added extra cars to the trains to accommodate the additional demand. I'm sure that Lyft and Uber made a pretty penny though because some people probably had no other reasonable way to get there depending on where they were coming from.

We tried to take the bus up to the metro stop the day of and three buses passed us by because they were full so I decided to suck it up and just uber to the metro station (about 1.5 miles - $36!) then the metro was filled to the brim. All in all it took is about 2 hours to get downtown but it was OK because we all knew we were there for the same reasons. It was really just a lovely day.

 

[Matata]

I was happy to see the issue of safety raised and I enjoyed hearing the various perspectives.

I'd like to introduce a couple of other sub topics:

1) all who marched have shared that the march/rally participants were peaceful, calm, patient, kind. Why/ how did this happen?
2) did you thoughts about the event change from Friday to Sunday?


I'll start with (2) My husband didn't really have an opinion about the march when I left friday and hadn't been at all supportive of the idea of me becoming politically active. (Perhaps since I really have a short fuse with authority I don't respect). But upon my return he said "Wow, I wish these marches were better publicized. Knowing what I know now I wished I went and marched in NY even without you" and then he said "I see now you were marching for me too. Thank you". My husband is a recently naturalized us citizen from Colombia and looks Pakistani so he is constantly judged by his looks as either a "Mexican" or a "Muslim". He never cared before, but is becoming worried now


Look forward to your thoughts

I'm sure there were many people who expected things to get ugly based on recent history. Some factors I think contributed to the peacful march is that the stakes are very high; participants understood that to model any behavior that bore resemblance to what is repugnant about the president would doom their cause; participants wanted to show that peaceful protests can be achieved and that one's message is heard clearer and louder when it is delivered in a peaceful, calm, patient, and kind manner. This march modeled "walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk" better than any I can recall.

 

[partgypsy]

New laws being introduced to restrict free speech and assembly, essentially, by making it illegal.
Doesn't matter what side of the aisle you are on, these bills are chilling.
https://iotnewsletter.org/north-dakota-gop-introduced-a-bill-that-would-allow-motorists-to-run-over-and-kill-a-protester-obstructing-a-highway/

 

[ksinger]

My husband, rather out of the blue on Thursday, offered to take me and attend with me. I was pretty pleased by that unsolicited offer. Unfortunately I was unable to attend, completely lacked the juice for it. But many of my friends did, and for this super-red state, it was a big event - estimated at about 8000.

I was pretty astonished at the numbers across the country though. It was very encouraging.

The question now becomes, will the marches fuel a real movement including action, especially at the state level. Will it have the staying power to effect what will probably only be barely reducing the erosion of progress already made, and maybe very incremental change at the very best. It's going to be a slog. Are we ready for sustained action that isn't as fun as a feel-good march?

My cousin had a meme on FB today that said. "Save the date: Nov 6, 2018 - 33 senators and 435 congressmen have customer service surveys due".

 

[Dee*Jay]

New laws being introduced to restrict free speech and assembly, essentially, by making it illegal.
Doesn't matter what side of the aisle you are on, these bills are chilling.
https://iotnewsletter.org/north-dakota-gop-introduced-a-bill-that-would-allow-motorists-to-run-over-and-kill-a-protester-obstructing-a-highway/

This whole thing is turning into "Our Political History as Written by Margaret Atwood."


Dear god (whatever that might mean) please help us all.

 

[momhappy]

No marching for me - shocker
I was not a fan of the women who dressed up like vaginas (I felt it took away credibility, respect, etc.), but I support the right to march, to speak freely, etc.

 

[ruby59]

No marching for me - shocker
I was not a fan of the women who dressed up like vaginas (I felt it took away credibility, respect, etc.), but I support the right to march, to speak freely, etc.

Try explaining that one to your young children.

 

[Calliecake]

No marching for me - shocker
I was not a fan of the women who dressed up like vaginas (I felt it took away credibility, respect, etc.), but I support the right to march, to speak freely, etc.

Try explaining that one to your young children.

What are you talking about? Women wearing pink hats? I seriously doubt any child looked at the hat and said "look Mom, that lady is wearing a vagina on her head". SMDH

 

[momhappy]

No, I'm talking about women actually wearing giant vagina costumes. Google it. I'm guessing it wasn't a common thing, but I did see several pictures, so it certainly caught my attention.

 

[ruby59]

https://www.yahoo.com/style/lady-part-costumes-ruled-the-womens-march-171016296.html

 

[Calliecake]

I'm just happy and proud of all the people who protested regardless of what they were wearing.

Love the picture of your mom Athena!

 

[Arcadian]

by the age of 6 I could tell you the parts of the vagina, and I could tell you about the penis. By the age of 6 I could tell you in detail how a baby was made and where they came from. That was something my mother insisted on for all of her kids. I'm the youngest of 5, 3 boys in between and they knew the same info I did.

So thankfully by the time I had my period, there was no embarrassment. It was a natural part of growing up.

IMO, the human mind makes such things dirty or embarrassing. In and of themselves, they are a part of the human anatomy, normal and natural.

A parent that takes pride to teach their children about anatomy is a beautiful thing.

I wish all parents would teach their kids these things early BEFORE the crazy stuff they might hear in the streets.

 

[ksinger]

New laws being introduced to restrict free speech and assembly, essentially, by making it illegal.
Doesn't matter what side of the aisle you are on, these bills are chilling.
https://iotnewsletter.org/north-dakota-gop-introduced-a-bill-that-would-allow-motorists-to-run-over-and-kill-a-protester-obstructing-a-highway/

This whole thing is turning into "Our Political History as Written by Margaret Atwood."


Dear god (whatever that might mean) please help us all.

LOL! Creeeeeeepy!!

 

[ruby59]

by the age of 6 I could tell you the parts of the vagina, and I could tell you about the penis. By the age of 6 I could tell you in detail how a baby was made and where they came from. That was something my mother insisted on for all of her kids. I'm the youngest of 5, 3 boys in between and they knew the same info I did.

So thankfully by the time I had my period, there was no embarrassment. It was a natural part of growing up.

IMO, the human mind makes such things dirty or embarrassing. In and of themselves, they are a part of the human anatomy, normal and natural.

A parent that takes pride to teach their children about anatomy is a beautiful thing.

I wish all parents would teach their kids these things early BEFORE the crazy stuff they might hear in the streets.

A girl gets her period around 11 or 12, so I think age 6 is a bit young to have that talk.

And there is nothing wrong with the human body, it is the costumes, complete with public hair, that I find distasteful.

 

[OreoRosies86]

by the age of 6 I could tell you the parts of the vagina, and I could tell you about the penis. By the age of 6 I could tell you in detail how a baby was made and where they came from. That was something my mother insisted on for all of her kids. I'm the youngest of 5, 3 boys in between and they knew the same info I did.

So thankfully by the time I had my period, there was no embarrassment. It was a natural part of growing up.

IMO, the human mind makes such things dirty or embarrassing. In and of themselves, they are a part of the human anatomy, normal and natural.

A parent that takes pride to teach their children about anatomy is a beautiful thing.

I wish all parents would teach their kids these things early BEFORE the crazy stuff they might hear in the streets.

Common sense non hysterical parenting for the win!