Women's March 2017: A new resolution to fight

A new resolution to fight In the aftermath of the November election results has emerged. A majority of people in the country were shocked, grieved and angry to see what kind of person would be representing our country to the world. It seemed, at the time, like a completely unlikely and perverted joke that a corrupt businessman and reality TV star would someday reach the highest post of authority in the country. His actions, throughout his campaign, have legitimized willful ignorance and intolerance, unapologetic racism and sexism, and an absolute disdain for the environment and the culture and diversity that this country should be celebrating.

In response, thousands upon thousands of women (and men) gathered in Washington, D.C., and other major cities of the country and the world to proclaim our absolute resolution to fight him every step of the way. It would definitely have been easier, for me, to go to the march organized in Los Angeles, which would only have cost a train ride fare there and back. However, I was given the opportunity to go to Washington.

Like so many other women, I spent the whole day before traveling, bearing long delays, and on the day itself milling in crowded trains and standing for hours in the cold. I had even prepared myself for the chilling possibility of being separated from my group, even of being trampled if the crowd got out of control.

But we all came, because we are angry.

And it was one of the best experiences of my life.

Where I had expected tension, there was merriment. I saw this first when we were boarding our plane from Atlanta, and the majority of the passengers getting on were women with pink hats, laughing and joking and chatting amongst strangers. Somebody once yelled “Women’s March!” and the whole plane erupted in cheers. That was when I first felt the spirit of solidarity and strength that would follow us all through the march.

When we were all standing, packed, in the cold January morning of the 21st, and we could barely move from all the people that had assembled, there was never any feeling of being in danger, but rather the sort of friendship that always stems from the feeling of being united, not against, but towards a common goal: equal rights for all. Whether it is a question of race, religion, gender or wealth, the march was a demand. It was a demand for a dignified life with the same opportunities for all.

Too long have we as a people stayed quiet while hypocrisy destroys our communities. T

he beautiful speeches spoken that day reminded us of the fight we need to maintain. Now that the Republican platform seems to have personified itself in the shape of one self-serving man, it is time to fight and not repeat the mistakes of history.

And most of all, in the words of the amazing Sophie Cruz, you are not alone. This was the most motivating sentiment that emanated from the march, and I think that applies to all the marches that happened that day, wherever they were. We are the majority. And now that Trump has, in his first days, proven to be faithful to his word in the worst possible way, implementing his intolerance, his misogyny and racism in a flood of executive orders, regulations and bans that are going to ruin countless lives, we cannot ignore that fight any longer.

But, good news: We stand with millions. United, ours is the sort of movement that changes the world. And I left Washington not defeated, but full of determination and hope for the future. 

Maddy Crawford is a volunteer at the Sierra Club's Angeles Chapter office.