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Snakes In The Ball Pit => Yay, I get to talk about me! => Topic started by: Lemon on January 20, 2017, 09:15:37 pm

Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: Lemon on January 20, 2017, 09:15:37 pm
That is, assuming you're in America. (https://www.womensmarch.com/alaska)

I'll be at the St. Paul one.
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: Achilles' Heelies on January 20, 2017, 10:44:20 pm
I will be at the Los Angeles March. Do it, it's a good thing. 
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: Yavuz on January 20, 2017, 10:55:11 pm
My city's too small and I don't have a car!

(I will donate to the local Planned Parenthood organization, though.)
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: Lawnchair M.D. on January 21, 2017, 11:39:04 am
I'm about to head out to the Seattle one.
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: Emperor Jack Chick on January 21, 2017, 11:47:18 am
I am sick and feel like trash.

Monthly donation to PP setup in response (thanks for the idea Yavuz!)
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: I Liked That Joke on January 21, 2017, 03:10:26 pm
Not sure if I should post this here or in yelling about politics, but:
The march made me feel a lot better. I knew before that I'd probably have to fight, but now I know I won't be fighting alone.
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: MyFaceBeHi on January 21, 2017, 03:49:39 pm
I live in England and I hate London, goodbye!
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: Goose Goose Honk At Me Now on January 21, 2017, 06:17:18 pm
 I went to the one in DC and this was my favorite of the many, many, many signs I saw today

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2uuYOMXUAAFwJF.jpg)
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: Yavuz on January 22, 2017, 12:50:51 am
A roundup of signs (https://jezebel.com/never-fuck-a-republican-our-favorite-protest-signs-fro-1791472707)! There are some good ones in the comments from other protests.

As a contrast, remember the Tea Party's signs (http://www.mrdestructo.com/2009/04/liveblogging-white-americas.html)?
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: Lemon on January 22, 2017, 11:25:24 am
So, speaking for myself, that felt like a rewarding and productive experience yesterday.

The Internet is a fucked up prism on society which amplifies bad voices, and when that polling data came out, one starts to think "Well, basically everybody is a mean-spirited stupid asshole so I guess to hell with it.", and that feels incredibly isolating and brings with it a culture of nihilism that has absolutely no joy inside of it.

Being inside of a crowd with a hundred thousand other people (a prospect which usually would seem quite dreadful) changed a lot of that perspective in me. I was surrounded by a lot of general expressions of support and compassion for minorities, the poor, gays, trans, regugees: fully, it was a message of inclusion and unity in a way I really didn't think would be possible with a crowd that size. We walked and we stood in a sea of people and we knew that all over the world other people were doing the exact same thing at that moment, and that did feel powerful.

After the minute of silence, I put my daughter on my shoulders and we ran through the crowd while she yelled out "HIGH FIVE! HIGH FIVE" and high fived every hand that went up.

And then, we went home. No one was beheaded, no one was imprisoned, no actual measurable change happened. BUT, somewhere around 4 million people (Google Spreadsheet with best estimates (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xa0iLqYKz8x9Yc_rfhtmSOJQ2EGgeUVjvV4A8LsIaxY/htmlview?sle=true#gid=0)) showed up to be counted, and that isn't nothing. Onward.
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: NutshellGulag on January 23, 2017, 01:17:16 am
The Portland march was estimated to have 100,000 people. I went with some friends. It was cold and rainy and pretty amazing. There were people on all the overpasses, parking structures, and buildings downtown with signs and banners. I got a few okay pictures with my phone; I'll try to get them posted up here soon.
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: GirlKisser420 on January 23, 2017, 02:09:34 pm
We had an estimated 6000 people, which is pretty fucking good for an australian city.
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: Adam Bozarth on January 23, 2017, 09:46:11 pm
I went to the LA one in the afternoon. The crowd had died a bit, but downtown was still filled with people. I only saw one person screaming their head off at people, but I think she lived in Pershing Square.

I was expecting to be surrounded by insufferable SoCal hippie crystal drum circles, but I literally saw everyone. I saw all types, including some MAGA hats. But it was completely peaceful and lovely and overall a giant relief. To reiterate Lemon's statements, it was a very collective feeling of reassurance. We aren't just going nuts by ourselves, we are surrounded by good-hearted people who are at least on the side of kindness and decency.

There were a lot of crummy, mean-spirited placquards and signs, but that's gonna happen. Most of the signs and slogans and such were fine or funny or heart-warming. But no one was shouting at each other for not being a perfect liberal or any other moral policing.

I know this is positive-sexism, but it shouldn't be lost on anyone that this event organized by women in support of women went off without a hitch. As far as I have heard, no one has been arrested around the country at any Women's March. I know in Los Angeles, the organizers planned for 80,000 and over 750,000 came out. That is a testament to what happens when women run things and men shut the fuck up. (This is a gross oversimplification, but I'm a crappy comedy writer and not a sociologist. Forgive me.)

Another thing worth noting is that I take a great deal of pride being a member of this generation. Most of the people my age are good-hearted, politically-active folks who dabble in dirtbaggery. I saw a ton of folks taking selfies all afternoon, which a more cynical version of myself would find offensive. Making a day of protest about yourself. However, they came out, they showed up to be counted, and they are proving to their friends, family, and future selves that they were there. When we took a headcount to reject American Fascism, we not only came out to be counted, but we came camera-ready.

Did we solve anything? No, but the Women's March emboldened not only the marchers, but everyone who could only read about it and see the turnout on the news and Americans of the future. It was a nice antidote to 2016.
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: SuperTrainStationH on January 27, 2017, 09:34:49 pm
I heard in Washington apparently there was a mass of litter/signs left over afterwards.

Whenever a cause I support (though whether this case is a "cause" or just a general demonstration of dissatisfaction and resistance is another issue) holds an event and there's a bunch of litter left behind I really just want to magically summon and yell down everyone who left stuff out on the street about how bad this makes everything look and how far it goes to allow people to paint a negative narrative around what they're doing.
Title: Your city has a Women's March on Saturday.
Post by: BARK RANGER on January 27, 2017, 10:12:34 pm
I heard in Washington apparently there was a mass of litter/signs left over afterwards.

Whenever a cause I support (though whether this case is a "cause" or just a general demonstration of dissatisfaction and resistance is another issue) holds an event and there's a bunch of litter left behind I really just want to magically summon and yell down everyone who left stuff out on the street about how bad this makes everything look and how far it goes to allow people to paint a negative narrative around what they're doing.
SuperTrainStationH, January 27, 2017, 09:34:49 pm

It wasn't litter, it was a generous gift for Mike Pants and the pro-life freaks at today's  March For Life in DC (who probably contributed their own share of garbage anyway)

Seriously though, of course littering is bad on principle, no sensible person does it unless they have to. Logistically, though, it's understandable how people might have had a hard time finding appropriate trash receptacles in that kind of venue, with that kind of crowd density.   I'd imagine this is pretty commonplace for events of this scale, cleanup crews have probably seen much worse and came prepared.