A new president was sworn in to office on January 20th, and in just 24 hours has demonstrated that he cannot behave in a dignified manner. His rambling, ranting speech at the CIA today was an embarrassment. Later, his press secretary gave a brief statement in a vitriolic attack. Mr. Spicer also seems incapable of showing any civility in his presentations thus far, shouting vehemently and chastising, clearly acting as Mr. Trump’s attack dog. So, everyone reading now knows my feelings about this new administration; I’m sure you’re not surprised.
I did not watch the inauguration on Friday, preferring to spend my time writing to my elected officials to express my opinions and asking for their help in preventing the dismantling of most things that I hold dear – like environmental protection, justice for all Americans, healthcare for all, immigration reform, and so many other things. I have not generally been an activist, but those of us who are appalled by this administration, a president who states he can do anything he wants and is exempt from normal ethics rules and who can only focus on himself (Landslide???? I think not.), well, I believe those of us who oppose this must not sit by the sidelines and just be depressed and frightened.
So, on January 21, hundreds of thousands across the country held marches and rallies to demonstrate that we, too, are “the people” who Mr. Trump states he is giving government back to. For whatever reasons, Mr. Trump does not seem to see us and include us in who he wants to fight for. Hundreds of thousands around the world marched in solidarity, including our daughter Eve who marched in London. I wanted to go to the march in Washington, D.C., however, that wasn’t practical for us. Instead, Christine and I, along with our good friends Pat and Eve, joined a Sister March here in Binghamton. Organizers had hoped for a few hundred participants, but it has been reported that over 3,500 people turned out. It was an exciting event! I think the last march I participated in was a pro-choice march and rally here in Binghamton against Operation Recue and Randall Terry in the 1980s. I can count on one hand the number of demonstrations/rallies I have participated in, so attending the Women’s March was not a typical act for me.
It was a fantastic experience! First of all, the weather was beautiful. The sun was shining and the temperature got close to 50 degrees (remember, it is January 21!). As we arrived near the starting point of the march, the Martin Luther King, Jr. statue on the river walk, there were already so many people gathering that we had to line up along Court Street.
The organizers were trying to move the Court St. line into the promenade area because there were too many people lining Court Street to start the march, so we all moved down around the corner into the promenade. It was rather like a party atmosphere. From toddlers to octogenarians, people were upbeat and smiling, many comparing notes about when the last time was they had participated in a march. Lots of folks had signs and every so often the crowd would begin chanting a slogan like, “love trumps hate.”
Eventually, the crowd started moving. I was quite shocked to see that the march had to stay on the sidewalk. Apparently, the City (Republican mayor) would not give a permit for the closure of Court Street itself, so we snaked our way down the sidewalk from the promenade to the Courthouse, a distance of about 4-5 blocks.
We chanted and laughed and enjoyed being in a crowd of like-minded folks. We slowly made our way up Court Street to the Courthouse with it taking quite a while for the last marchers to finally arrive at the Courthouse.
It was an impressive sight seeing so many people filling up the Courthouse lawn. The speakers were standing atop the steps to the Courthouse while the crowd continued to fill the area in front of the Courthouse.
It was interesting that our newspaper reported that the marchers were mostly women, but as you can see from these photos, that’s clearly not true. Men participated, lots of them. I saw one man with a sign that stated, “I’m here for my daughter.” Families were in evidence with children on mom’s and dad’s shoulders and in strollers. It really was a wonderful gathering.
We listened to speeches from elected officials, like Donna Lupardo (NYS Assemblywoman) and Jason Garner (Broome County Executive), from service organizations like Southern Tier Aids Program, Family Planning of South Central, the NAACP of Broome and Tioga County, and the American Civic Association. There was a poet and some singers and a few citizens expressing their hopes for action. The speeches were stirring and evident of the civility and respect that all humans deserve, with a reminder that a loving country takes care of its people.
I was very interested in the signage people created. The opinions expressed covered a wide range of subjects. Interestingly, the anti-Trump signage was in the minority. The sentiment was not so much against Trump, but rather support for basic human rights. Many, many issues were represented.
The sign I liked the best was this –
As I said, it was a great experience and an afternoon full of promise. It was exhilarating joining with thousands and thousands of people around the country to demonstrate for fair, equitable, compassion treatment of all people. There was no hatred, bigotry, xenophobia, racism, sexism or any other negative characteristic present. This was a peaceful demonstration that gave me hope that civility is not lost, and it roused me to get involved and take action. I don’t yet know what that means for me, but I know I will not be silent.
