On 2017 Women’s March day, my posse included photographer Maureen Ferguson. See what we saw. Click here for more of Maureen’s pictures.
On the upside, the uniformed police presence was light, barely noticeable. Wonder if all the undercover cops wore pink pussy hats too?
On the upside, the organizers and authorities expertly directed the crowds from the Metro to the March. None of the marchers knew where we were. We just knew we wanted to be together. The crowd spilled into the street as we walked to the March. The police politely asked us to stay on the sidewalk. We lined up, and patiently waited our turns to get off the street. There were no bullhorns, bulletproof vests or other riot gear.
On the upside, we happened upon Kate from Ireland. She wanted to be connected and in a group for the March. “Kate’s with us now, everybody.” Introductions all around. She was ours because she asked to be, and needed something from us. Our hearts were so full and open we would have given her our food, our money, our shoes. We would have given Kate all we wanted for our country – understanding, sisterhood, brotherhood, caring, empowerment, justice, peace, inclusivity, diversity, vision, strength, trust, respect, equality, indivisibility, joy, security, creativity, kindness, courage, generosity, integrity, intelligence, self-awareness, honesty, civility, gentleness, friendliness, constancy, companionship, love. We gave Kate love because she was one of us. And after a time Kate flitted off into the crowd to make her own music on this great day.
This Pussi Artist at Women’s March
On the upside, there was no lousy place to be. None of us could know how large the crowd was. On the ground our myopic vision only told us what was immediately around us. Where did the stamina to hold a sign over my head for hours come from? The spirit and strength emanating from marchers carried me. Each spot at the rally was a microcosm of what was happening for the 500 thousand plus in Washington DC., and the sister marches in each of the 50 states, 75 countries and 7 continents. Early predictions put our total number over 2.6 million marchers worldwide. The 2017 Women’s March was the biggest one-day protest in US history. Wherever each of us was, it was the perfect place to be.
On the upside, the world was listening. Our size commanded the attention of domestic and international press. I googled “2017 Women's March on Washington” and got 64,100,000 results one day after the March. A microphone appeared before me and many other ordinary people. I don’t remember what the interviewer asked, or what I answered. I think I said something about calling myself Pussi because I never wanted the country to forget. If we can overlook the depravity that gave us the Pussy Sun King then let’s reoccupy that same inner space, and overcome our discomfort when calling me Pussi. Get over it.
I wish I had said, “What is happening in this country? We elected a man-boy sexual predator who demeaned women; mocked the disabled; pandered to white supremacists; trampled on LBGTQ; mocked Blue Star families; denied climate science; used rhetoric to terrorize immigrants and Muslims; fostered hate to get votes; alienated allies in NATO; destabilized relations with China; quashed morale in our intelligence agencies; with over 3500 lawsuits,used the courts to bully large and small businesses; swindled Trump university students; withheld tax returns that would settle conflicts-of-interest charge; stacked his Cabinet with unqualified billionaire ideologues who aim to gut the agencies they serve; named a racist as top advisor; does not take daily intelligence briefings; has complained about briefings longer than a page; turned his press secretary into a carrier pigeon to deliver the Pouter-in-Chief's messages about his inauguration crowds being YUUUUGGGGE.
I want to say FUCK THE PUSSY SUN KING, FUCK THE PUSSY SUN KING, FUCK THE PUSSY SUN KING. But I cannot say that because it would not be dignified. And my grounded self would say the only reason I would flip out like that is because I am scared. And my grounded self would be right.
Trump could get us all blown up with a 3am Twitter rant. He's a toddler with the keys to the Ferrari. I’m scared.
President Trump did not come to Washington to serve anything but his ego.
On the upside: The undefeated at the 2017 Women’s March on Washington and across the country are having none of it. The March was just the beginning.
On the downside: Not enough toilets.