Voices of American patriots from Saturday, January 21, 2017 -- Women's March on Washington

No American president -- not even George Washington -- starts the job with universal acclaim.  And no previous president has begun the job with public approval ratings that are as low as the ones that are welcoming Donald Trump into the White House.

Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States, was inaugurated on Friday, January 20, 2017.  Saturday, January 21, saw the Women's March on Washington, which took place not only in Washington, D.C., but also in cities throughout the country and around the world. The Telegraph in the U.K. reported astounding numbers of nearly 700 marches and almost 5 million participants world-wide.  D.C. had 500,000.  New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Austin -- all had numbers in the hundreds of thousands.  So, too, in London and other foreign cities.  The D.C. march eclipsed the attendance for the inauguration, according to articles in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere.

I know a few of the participants.  Here is what some of them had to say when I asked about the experience -- who was there, what it was all about, what went on during the march, and what happens next?

Pat (Patricia) from Maine -- marched in Manhattan, New York City:

Where I marched - NYC - we had staggered start times and ours (was with two college friends) was at 1 pm.  Dag Hammerskjold Plaza, at 47th street across from the UN, is a long plaza between 1st & 2nd Avenues.   It took about 2 hours to get to 2nd Avenue where the march started and the crowd was so dense that we didn't march we flowed and usually only moved when we snaked through the crowd.   We cut off at about 44 street and went across to Madison, up to 52nd Street and returned to the crowd to the end of the parade - I believe it was 55 Street.  It was never really walking, but slow movement, completely peaceful with cheering, no kerfuffles.   Then I found out there were - well, they (people in neon jackets looking volunteer-ish or official) said there were 200,000; I think it was more like 400K, largest in NY ever.

Why did I do I?   Well, I didn't feel all that perky, had a bad cold a few days before but felt I had to make my presence known.   I wish that I could believe that calling my senator (Susan Collins, R, ME) daily (even though she either leaves the phone off the hook or the voicemails full (while denying it)) would help.   The only thing that helps is power and money, of which I have none.

But I can't stop trying.

I donate to my important causes, called the Reps and Senators and wonder how much worse it's gonna' get.

 Suzanne from Minnesota -- marched in St. Paul, MN:

I marched with my daughter, her friend, and a friend of mine.  It was about women's rights issues. I feel they are threatened with the new administration. I'm Pro-Choice. I'm also disgusted by the hateful rhetoric that has been expressed by our new President. For the first time in my life, I felt I could not be silent any longer. I had to go. Women have fought for too long to have the rights we enjoy today. People don’t remember what it was like before the 60's.

There is an excellent documentary on Netflix I'd suggest called "She's Beautiful When She's Angry" it reminded me what women endured during my mother's lifetime. I had my own experiences as a young person. Affirmative Action was new when I first graduated college. In my first professional job, my boss came to me and said one of his customers did not want a woman calling on him. I was harassed by my co-workers all the time. I remember in the evening staying in my hotel room during a sales meeting because there was a rumor that our married Regional Manager got drunk and liked [to] hit [on] the female employees.That was 1983! I have never forgotten what that felt like. This was just before sexual harassment laws came in to the workplace. I don’t think there's a woman out there that hasn’t had some form of sexual harassment in their lifetime.

Don’t misunderstand me, I'm not a "man-hater". This is about changing the ingrained social attitudes. There are plenty of women who disagree with me. For me, its about liberty,equality and mutual respect.

It was amazing to see how many people were willing to take their time and do this. It was powerful, peaceful, and uplifting.It was very diverse. Women and men, children, babies…of every color and religion. It was wonderful!

I do believe we must be Americans first. I also think that nothing is as good or as bad as it's perceived to be. I want to give him a chance to do well. Its in all of our best interests that he does well. Who knows? If not I will get more involved in some way. I've never protested before in my life! I felt proud to live in a country where I can do that. I was also amazed at the support received from around the world!

Andy from California -- marched in Los Angeles, CA: 

About 7:30 am my wife Carol and I drove down to the Blue Line Willow St. Terminal in Long Beach.  The multi-level parking structure there is huge so we didn't think it would be a problem parking.  After going all the way to the top and working our way back down, we finally found a spot. That experience should have foretold what the line for the train would be like.

It is about a hundred yard walk from the exit of the parking structure to where you enter the terminal. The line was backed up all the way back to the parking structure.  A hundred yard long line, 4 or 5 people wide.  Mostly women.   So many people that extra trains with extra cars had been added.  So many people that they were no longer selling tickets. The ride to LA and back was free.  We found out later that the crowds were the same at terminals all across the county

On the train, we learned a new word of art. It happened at our first stop. The doors opened just in case someone had to get off. When the waiting crowd tried to get on, there was absolutely no room. The conductor told them, "Sorry folks. You'll have to stand back. We're at ‘crush capacity.’"

The mood on the train was pure joy.  Friendly smiles everywhere.  Hilarious signs.  And the smells, or should I say aromas.  Women, back to back and belly to belly, smelling of a thousand different perfumes, body lotions, shampoos, sprays and whatever else they use to make themselves so delectable.  No brothel ever smelled as sweet.... I'm guessing.

Downtown was a madhouse. Gathering time for the March was at 9am, with the actual march scheduled for 10am. The crowd, estimated several days before, was going to be in the 50,000 to 75,000 range. The original permit estimated only 2,000. Gathering was to take place at Pershing Square where there would be speeches and some entertainment. From there, the march would proceed north on Olive to Grand Park, across from City Hall.

We arrived at the 7th St. Station in downtown LA before 10am. From there to Pershing Square is about 4 or 5 blocks. It took us the better part of an hour to get close enough to even see Pershing Square.  People were jammed every step of the way and coming from every direction.  Every north/south street from Hope to Spring, jammed, everyone pushing north a few steps at a time.

The march began long before we arrived at Pershing Square and by the time we got there everyone was pushing toward Grand Park and City Hall, six blocks away. But we were not moving.

Soon, everyone was seeking out other streets to move north on.  We tried Grand, Hill, Broadway, Spring and Main Streets and finally arrived in the vicinity of the Park a half hour later.

Despite the human congestion, everyone was smiling and having fun, posing for photographs and waving theirs signs. One of my favorites, "After all these years I can't believe we still have to protest this shit."

When we finally got to 1st Street and Grand Park we could see the crowds that were pressing in from the west. To the west is uphill and is where the Civic Center and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels are located. What a sight. Wall to wall people stretched up to the crest of the hill looking down on us.

There were speeches going on but the sound system was inadequate and the speakers could barely be heard beyond a hundred yard radius of the Park. But no one left. We stood there in a mass of solidarity, talking with each other, exchanging words of amazement at the number of people who were in attendance, trying to listen. Then the helicopters arrived.  First one and then two and then a third.

We laughed and took pictures of the signs that were being waved in the air. Protest signs expressing concern over what was happening to the country, Putin's success in corrupting our democracy, the election of a man who threatened to undo generations of progress, the divide between California progressives and the wide middle of the country, the constant insidious disregard for the truth, his disrespect of women, bragging about groping them. Signs about abortion rights, racism, the environment, inequality.

The next day there were crowd size estimates that ranged from 500,000 to 750,000. I think there were more; enough people to fill the Rose Bowl 10 times over and still have people left over to fill the Coliseum.

When the event started breaking up, we continued north to Philippe's Restaurant on the other side of the 101. The crowds seemed never ending. At Philippe's there were lines out of both doors that seemed a mile long and we were sure they would run out of food long before they got to the end. 

We turned around and walked all the way back to 7th and Flower.  The lines were back. Ten or fifteen feet deep the entire length of the platform.  Pitying those with weak bladders, we eventually made it back onto the train and another crush capacity train ride to Long Beach.

Hard to say whether this peaceful demonstration will make a difference, but the sheer size and enthusiasm of the crowd cannot be ignored. This may be the moment when women step up and wrestle the reins of power into their own hands. That this event was so large and so peaceful and without a single arrest, speaks volumes about the leadership of the women who put it on and hundreds of thousands that made it such a peaceful and heartfelt event. And let’s not forget a word of thanks to the many men who were there supporting their wives and mothers and daughters.

We say that leaders are made, not born.  Much of the making of leadership depends upon respect; respect must be a two-way street and it must be earned.  Donald Trump owes his election as president to a campaign that revolved around disrespectful words about almost anybody who did not agree with him, and to an archaic constitutional electoral provision that is inherently disrespectful of the democratic popular vote.  Apparently not satisfied with that record from 2016, he chose to begin his term in office in 2017 with an inauguration speech full of anger and, once again, an attitude disrespectful of any who disagree with him.  Representatives of his Administration compounded that disrespect by falsely asserting an inauguration attendance of unprecedented size through the use of "alternative facts."  (For a humorous view that comes from a different perspective, read this from The Guardian.)

With this behavior, it cannot come as a surprise that Mr. Trump begins his presidency with general public disapproval.  Opinion polls reveal his approval measurements to be below his second-place popular vote, indicating that some of those who voted for him are losing confidence in him.  This is an "achievement" that is the opposite of his predecessors in office -- between election and inauguration, public opinion has historically improved for the president-elect.

As the statements and reflections presented here make clear, those who participated in the Women's March are patriotic Americans who want and hope for the best.  They know that anybody in a new job deserves a chance to get off to a good start.

They also know that they deserve to be respected.