Tuesday, January 24, 2017

I did not march, rally, or burn anything this weekend


I did get into a spirited discussion about protesting. It focused on one person's hatred of protesters because of flag burning, even though that's not something that all protesters do, but I had thought of doing it.

I thought of burning a flag the day after the election, but wondered if I could even keep one lit. Then I thought of doing it on inauguration day, but there were already people doing it, and I didn't feel like I could add anything to it. I'm not ruling it out for the future - maybe right after they pass legislation outlawing it - but if I am going to do it, I want it to be meaningful.

That was my choice, and thinking about these choices will be important for this and tomorrow's post.

I had registered for the Women's March sister march in Portland. I was planning on going and I had let my sisters know so that we could make sure that our mother was not left alone. That is something that affects all of my decisions about where I go and when now. Still, it looked like a go.

The first doubt came when I saw that the Portland NAACP had withdrawn its endorsement:


The lack of inclusion was all too familiar, but another friend had posted a reminder to white protesters that if things start going down, make sure to watch out for the people of color around you. Take photos. Make sure they get to safety. I still felt like the march could do good and that I might do good there.

There had been another hint of an issue, but it hadn't really registered. I saw something indicating that sex workers had been first included and then excluded. At that point I was not quite clear on how many events were happening or how they were connected, and the mention I saw was not specific. I know that many people are uncomfortable with sex workers, though I promise you that the issues that affect them are related to the larger struggle for women's rights.


Speaking of the abortion rights issue, I got into discussion on that too, but only after. I see valid reasons for concerns given the threats to women's health care and the predatory nature of the president, but exploring common ground could be useful here and I know that many pro-life women did march.

Those concerns were there, but I was still planning on going. Then I saw that they were leaving Hillary Clinton off the list.


Some argued that Michelle Obama should have been on there too, and I think that would have been nice, but given how much Clinton has put herself out there in this election, it was shocking that she would be excluded.

That was another blow. I was thinking maybe I could make my sign reference her, like "Still with her" or "Thanks Hillary", but I was starting to feel done. I heard that the organizers were big Sanders supporters, and then ignoring people of color and refusing to give credit to Hillary made perfect sense.

At that point, it was easy to decide not to go. This is not my path forward, and I have limited time. I am going to use it on the March and Rally for Justice and Equality on the 28th.


I still believe that the Women's March was good for the people who went. If I had unlimited free time, I might have done both. Frankly, there is enough going on that we are all going to have choose where to focus our participation or we are all going to burn out. That will only benefit Trump.

I will share one last thing on the Women's March. This puts the onus on me, but not only me.

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