A Stand For Solidarity
Start writing a post
Politics

A Stand For Solidarity

Stonewall 2/4/17

13
A Stand For Solidarity

On February 4th 2017 I had the pleasure of standing with my fellow freedom fighters at Stonewall National Monument for the LGBT Solidarity Rally. Stonewall National Monument is known for being the first US National Monument dedicated to LGBT rights. Receiving its National Monument designation on June 24, 2016. New York City council member Corey Johnson put together the rally, inviting speakers like Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio. Throughout the entire rally love and respect was flowing with passion for the refugees who were held at national airports. Support for all LGBT rights. Support for women's rights. All of which are under attack by President elect Donald Trump. However, I will not call be calling him that throughout the entirety of this article. You can not, and will not be called a president because in order to be the president of the FREE WORLD, you need to believe in the free world.

In Donald Trump's first weeks in office he has done more harm than good. Playing off the fear of millions who live in this country. Playing off the fear of the millions of racists, and sexists, and homophobes. In Trump's first weeks of presidency he has taken away basic rights such as: attacking obama care, refusing to let refugees and legal immigrants into the country, stating that his lying in fact was not lying it was just “alternative facts”, banning government money from going to abortion clinics and planned parenthood, retracting the united states from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade deal, Moving forward with Dakota Access Pipeline and making moves for the wall on the border of the United States and Mexico.

In June of 2016 I traveled to New York City and walked with my LGBTQ friends, family, strangers, Idols, and coworkers to celebrate our victory of all the basic human rights we fought so hard for. We celebrated that same sex marriage was legal in all 50 states. We celebrated that transgender rights were being taken seriously. However, I traveled to New York City in February 2017 to fight to keep these rights that we were just “rewarded”. The white house website had taken down its LGBTQ rights page leaving the country to believe that with this, they are going to take away our rights. It’s amazing what a difference 8 months, and one president can make on an entire community.

While leaving this rally, I saw people being arrested. For what I did not know. I knew that some were at the rally and others were not. “In the name of humanity, we refuse to accept a fascist America.” Were the words being chanted. While they were being put into squad cars and being taken away from the peaceful rally, one of the men that was obviously not there in support of anything the rally was fighting for said this, “You can’t arrest me. I did not do anything. I voted for Trump. I voted for trump. You can’t do this.” and was forced into the squad car. With this mentality, that if you voted for Trump no one can touch you, no one can do anything against you, the country will fall apart.

While at work one day I was joking about the snow with my boss, I had taken down the last of the snow decorations from winter and said “We don’t need anymore snowflakes.” referring to the massive snowstorm that was headed our way over the weekend. A customer turned to me and said “Tell me about it. Get them out of here.” I couldn’t say anything to this woman because I was at work, however I went to the bathroom and had to sit for a moment and think about what a hateful world this is. I have friends, family, and coworkers who voted for trump. And while I do not agree with them or support them, I do not go around calling them names, or saying that their opinion is false or does not matter.

This will not keep us from our fighting. This will not keep us for speaking up for those who can’t fight for themselves. This will not make us quiet. This will not make us weak. This will not break us. This is OUR country. We might all be “snowflakes” as Tomi puts it, however, with all of us snowflakes we become something more. We become a blizzard.

Below are a couple of pictures from the rally:



Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

To The 'Best Friend' I Decided I Couldn't Be Friends With Anymore

Most of all, thank you for being the person who finally pushed me to choose myself.

96490
The CW / YouTube

Dear Old Friend,

Keep Reading... Show less
Lifestyle

7 Tips For Traveling

Don't miss any of these ideas to make your trip complete!

2644
7 Tips For Traveling

Whether it's a day trip, an out-of-state journey, or an experience leaving the country, here are some tried and true traveling tips.

Before any trip, we all think about what to pack and what to bring. We may have a strict itinerary, or we may have looser guidelines for what to do when. But we should also consider the following - make them goals:

Keep Reading... Show less
Featured

Writer of the Month: Hunter Johnstone

As an aspiring author, Hunter knew writing for Odyssey would be a great fit for her.

2439
Writer of the Month: Hunter Johnstone

Response writers are what make the world go round at Odyssey! Using our response button feature, they carry on our mission of sparking positive, productive conversations in a polarized world.

Keep Reading... Show less
Allison Fishman

1. Why is Wilson Hall so complicated to navigate? Even as a senior, I still get lost in Wilson. As a freshman, I was warned about the unnecessary complexity of the building, was laughed at by upperclassman for my confused looks on the first day of school and walked and rewalked the whole hall before finding my classroom. #annoying.

Keep Reading... Show less
Featured

Blair Waldorf For governor of new york

What life would be like if the people were led by Queen B.

3044
Blair Waldorf For governor of new york

Cynthia Nixon, a.k.a Miranda from Sex and the City, is running for governor of New York. I think that this would be the best decision that has been made in a while solely based off of the fact that almost no one knows New York like the cast of Sex and the City. This got me thinking about who else would be a good candidate to take over the city of dreams. Then I realized that Blair Waldorf, if she were a real person, would be my number one choice for governor. Here are five reasons why Queen B would be an excellent ruler.

Keep Reading... Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments