No Pink, No Pussy Hat, Just Marching

"Cock-sucking bitches!"
Some small-minded middle-aged man yelled that out his window at at me yesterday as I marched with about 9, 999 other Montanans around our state's Capitol. Luckily, that was the extent of the negativity hurled. I figured, if that was the best the opposition had to spew, we were going to be just fine.

Dude, that's all you got? 

I marched along with the thousands of other women across the globe yesterday to  draw attention to the causes of women everywhere. Women's rights are human rights. Women need access to appropriate healthcare including safe abortions unfettered by interfering or misinformed governmental hands. Women deserve equal pay for equal work. Women need paid family leave to take care of family because guess what? They are the ones who disproportionately care for loved ones. They need access to clean water to care for families. They need to live free from violence against their bodies. They need to live where they can raise their families without fear of violence. The LGBTQ community rights are human rights. In an era where elitism, privilege, and sexism reside in power, we marched to remind those everywhere that we exist and we will not be silent.
As I looked around at all the people gathered in my state's Capitol, I was astonished. Early estimates were at 5, 000 intending to march. However, that number doubled as we started marching. 10, 000. That's a lot of people for this introvert to fathom. It was overwhelming really to consider how many people came out to support. It was reassuring. It was hopeful to see. It gave me a sense of strength and solidarity in a time when I needed it desperately.

Do you know this reference? Read your Atwood.

One aspect that I did not really spend much time on as part of my march was a direct opposition to Trump as president. I've never not accepted a president of the opposite party before. Even when Gore lost, I didn't flat out denounce Bush. I've grumbled and groused, but I've never looked at the opposite party candidate and outright thought, "What the hell? You didn't get there legitimately. You got there by underhanded foreign interference and we need to take you out before more damage is done." Since that apparently is not possible, my marching became not so much a protest of him and his presidency as it was a show of strength and willingness to stand and fight against any kind of abuse of power he tries to shove down our gullet. He talks a lot of talk and then backtracks on it later. Putting Hillary in prison and then not doing it for example. I'm hoping that by seeing how many people around the world support the agenda set out by the Women's March, he'll rethink some of his off the cuff and blatantly offensive rhetoric. But who knows. You never really know what the hell the man is going to do or say or Tweet.

Um...Oh? What? 

A lot has been written and shouted about how Trump is or is not "my president". I've considered this a lot as well. I've even nerded out on it and parsed it down to grammar. My is a possessive pronoun. It implies ownership of an object as in my book. Since humans should not be objects of possession, I cannot own nor possess Trump as my president. However, we do refer to family members as my husband or my niece. So possessive pronouns do suggest some sort of close familial reference. Again though, that cannot refer to Trump as no such close familial relationship exists. As no such condition exists between Trump and myself, I therefore cannot claim that he is my president. He may have been sworn in and currently reside in the White House, but I cannot claim ownership nor a close relationship. With Obama, it was different. I did vote for him. As I watched him and developed a respect for his dignity and diplomacy,  I felt an affinity for him. I still don't recall referring to him much as my president though. Our president or the president, yes. I'm not certain about my though. My  is personal whereas our is more of a collective, possessive pronoun. I can't seem to bring myself to get that close to Trump though. So far, he's done nothing to earn my allegiance, so he gets nothing other than an article: the. After all, he did take the oath. He is the president.

That had to  happen.

Next time I march in January though, I'll remember to bring a broad brimmed yet warm winter hat. Silly me. I don't spend long periods of time outside in January much in Montana. I don't ski or snowboard, so I didn't think much about the whole sunlight avoiding thing like I do in summertime. Still need to pay attention to lupus prevention even in winter months. Oops. Bad lupie. I don't suppose my fellow marchers noticed, but I was ducking behind the shadows of their signs to stay out of direct sunlight. Lupus survival tips: find the person with the really big sign and march behind them.

Sometimes, the zinc oxide is not enough...