When I woke up at 4 o’clock in the morning, I didn’t really know exactly what the day was going to bring. After a two hour drive we arrived at the metro station and got a taste of what the crowd was going to be like. Even though we were early arriving to the event, we ran into lots of other marchers in their easy-to-spot pink hats and had many of them help us figure out when to get off of the metro. Along our trip there we ran into people from South Carolina, Florida, and numerous other states who had to sleep on buses overnight or sleep on stranger’s couches just to be able to go to the march. The dedication of these individuals to the issues which we all came to fight for was truly heartwarming and it gave us a sense of hope not just for the event were were about to attend, but for the country as a whole over the coming years.
After arriving in DC and finding the massive stage that the crowd had already significantly piled around, we waited about two hours for the rally to start. One of the first speakers, America Ferrera, truly spoke to why the event was able to gain traction and many of the reasons why I personally was there to march. Saying “the president is not America,” she discussed why we continue to fight for human rights after the election and explained that no matter who is in power, we can still make our country a more tolerant, inclusive, and safe place for everyone in it.
That being said, I personally felt that many of the speakers lost sight of the real reasons why the march was created in the first place. Although I completely understand the frustration many felt following the election of Donald Trump, vocally opposing him and protesting him as a human being will not accomplish anything. The march had a great opportunity to serve as a day of individual empowerment for those in oppressed communities and simply be a platform for the unity of those communities to fight for basic human rights. The meaning was lost to an extent following the contradicting “lock him up” and “spread love not hate” chants.
Even though the speakers were supposed to continue until 1 o’clock, that time quickly came and went, and the crowd, who was essentially just massive amounts of people pushed together in an area that was far too small, became incredibly unhappy. Given that the event had planned for about 200,000 people and well over 500,000 showed up, there were some obvious problems while waiting to march. Because the streets were truly just packed with people, we had no way of escaping the crowd to find a bathroom or food. Many individuals became overwhelmed with the situation and many even had panic attacks. The only medical care those people were able to receive was an emergency responder finding them in the crowd and then being unable to get them out. By the time 2:15 and 2:30 came, protesters began chanting “march” over and over until the leaders of the event were forced to shorten the time that the speakers were given. This cycle of speakers and chanting “march” continued for quite a while.
Eventually we were able to move in the direction opposite of where the initial march was supposed to take place. Because of the number of people there, we didn’t have cell service and couldn’t look up what was going on. We later found out that the crowd was backed up all the way to the white house so really, there was nowhere to march along the intended route simply because we were already at the destination. While marching down alternative streets, we didn’t encounter much opposition. We were able to just march for our cause without much opposition interference. After marching for maybe 25 minutes, the crowd significantly died down. Many did continue marching but at this point we needed food considering we hadn’t had a chance to eat since 5:00 that morning and it was now about 3:30. After eating, we walked back to the metro station and began our journey home.
Despite the obvious problems the Women’s March on Washington faced, it was a worthwhile experience. Even though we were sandwiched between people for hours on end, everyone we came in contact with was incredibly kind and we all got through it together. The event was incredibly inclusive in terms of the communities that had a platform to speak about their specific issues and the crowd itself chanted “no hate, no fear, everyone is welcome here” on many occasions. Although everyone who came had personal reasons for coming to the march, those reasons didn’t clash even though they very easily could have, and we all respected one another.
The Women’s March was the best way to spend the day following the inauguration. After being surrounded by other like-minded individuals who are willing to stand up and tell their government that human rights aren’t optional, you really do feel as though the future is still optimistic. We can and will continue to fight for not only ourselves, but those whose voices aren’t heard. Most importantly, we will make sure that no presidency will take away any individual’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
