Following the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States was a worldwide protest, the Women’s March, which had sister marches on all seven continents.
Many of my friends, men and women, attended marches across the nation, in Washington D.C., Lansing, Seattle. I’ve seen many reactions, mostly positive, but some negative, people question why there was a protest and, incorrectly, think the protest only happened because the marchers’ candidate didn’t win.
This march was a grassroots movement, not inherently Democrat, Republican, liberal or conservative, though the issues they marched for, which ranged from reproductive rights to environmental issues, were largely progressive.
There’s also been women who say they don’t see inequality in their own lives and people of both genders wondering what rights women don’t have. To the first, I would remind there are other women in the world, about four billion, who may not have had the same opportunities as you and may have been born into an oppressed society. Though it started as the Woman’s March on Washington, people all over the globe, from different cultures and backgrounds, participated.
American women inherently have the same rights as their male counterparts, but there’s a difference between protesting for rights and protesting for equality. And, march’s platform encompassed many issues, not only women’s rights.
One of the great parts of America is the First Amendment, which, among others, gives the right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. Freedom to your opinion, freedom for people to disagree, and freedom to criticize opinions and the government.
America began with colonists throwing tea into a harbor, questionably peaceful, but most definitely a protest. So, I urge everyone, from government to the citizens of this small town of Clarkston, not to question why protest, but ask what they’re protesting for or against. Whether it be the Women’s March, the March for Life or the March for Science, protests are intertwined with our country’s history, and though you may not agree with the protesters, their right to protest should be respected.