#WhyIMarch: Culturess Writers Share Their Women’s March Thoughts
2017 Women’s March, Washington, DC (Image via Kalistrya)
Marching in the Mile-High City
I marched because, suddenly, there was no longer a place for all of my sadness and anger to go. Before, it was easy to settle into my comfortable life. I could think of the problems of the world with a smug sort of distance; oh, that terrible thing will always happen to someone else, somewhere else. It was so easy to think of things as if they were abstractions or philosophical musings.
For the sake of my fellow humans, for our glorious and deeply flawed species, I can no longer be so complacent.
I marched because everyone’s body is their own domain. The fact that mine can grow a human being within it does not change this. The fact that men in suits stood around and congratulated themselves for chipping away at our reproductive rights does not change this. The law will not do anything about this immutable fact, not ever. Still, it is necessary to remind people of such a fact, from time to time.
I marched because I am a queer woman who is afraid for all people in the LGBTQ+ community. I feel genuine fear for people of color, immigrants, Muslims, and many more, all who make up a vast number of American people. We all deserve to live our lives free of pain and fear. We are also duty-bound to work to achieve the same ends for others, even if they are complete strangers.
I marched because, some days, it feels as if the very rules of reality and civility are crumbling into nothing. It seems as if anything can happen. Before the election, such a statement would be exciting, even breathtaking. Now, it is a bleak statement of fear. But, if we can think outside of ourselves and support our fellow humans, perhaps we’ll be okay.
The march was a bright spot, a brief, shining moment in which I remembered that humans can be brave and loving as much as they are selfish and cruel. I expect that there will be much doubt and despair in the days to come. Still, I hope we can all remember the massive crowds that dwarfed that of the inauguration. I hope we can remember what it was like to come together, for once.
– Sarah C., who marched in Denver