What You Should Do Instead of Watching the Inauguration
By Emily Scott
WASHINGTON, USA – January 18: Giant screens are tested out along the National Mall just days before the 58th Inauguration Ceremony where President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office in Washington, USA on January 18, 2017. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
What will you be doing to resist today? Here are a few progressive, productive things you can do instead of watching the Inauguration.
It’s officially Day One of the resistance. President Obama is leaving the White House. And the powers that be are having a ceremony to celebrate the administration of hate and fear that we will be facing over the next four years.
When President Obama was first elected, I was sixteen. Meaning that, for me and many young people, this is the first time in our adult lives that we’ve had to live with a national government that isn’t progressive. For others, it’s still been eight years. And even then, at least before we had some semblance of function and competence. But this is completely different. We are facing a government like nothing we’ve ever seen. The incoming administration has already proved what it is made of: deceit, exclusion, spectacle, and hatred. We weren’t trained to resist this. So how do we start?
The good news is, there is something we can do. The first step is to boycott today’s Inauguration. A celebration of the election of an incompetent fascist cannot be tolerated. But why stop there when we can advance our causes in both large and small ways?
This is going to be a long fight. But we must start now. Here are a few things you can do instead of watching the Inauguration. Take this opportunity to rise up, in whatever way is best for you. But first, hit ‘em where it hurts: the ratings.
Women’s March on Washington Banner (Credit: Facebook)
Go to the Women’s March
If you’re in the business of speaking truth to power, you’re probably familiar with the Women’s March on Washington. While not technically occurring on Inauguration Day, this march is an extensive nationwide movement to resist the incoming administration. And it happens the day after, on January 21st, 2017 – so you can spend the previous day traveling to or getting ready for it!
The Women’s March website describes its mission in part in this way: “In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.”
What you may not know, though, is that you can participate in the Women’s March almost anywhere in the country. Many of us don’t have the resources to get to Washington, D.C. for this groundbreaking and game-changing social justice march. But the Women’s March has 370 sister marches on the same day, and not just in the big cities. According to the official full list of sister marches, places like Kotzebue, Alaska, Paoli, Indiana, and Truth or Consequences, New Mexico all have their own Women’s March you can attend.
Whether it’s your first major act of social justice, or you’ve been protesting the powers that be for years, the Women’s March is here for you. And the inclusive movement welcomes all, regardless of gender, race, orientation, religion, or any other identity. If you want to spend the day with radically minded activists who refuse to stay quiet, this is the event for you. The people you’ll be with will be on the frontlines with you for the next four years, so let’s start building our activist community now!