After almost one year since the Women’s March in DC, I’m reflecting on my experience with mixed emotions about this hat that once symbolized our empowerment.
Almost one year ago, my friend Joanna and I woke up in the dark, layered our clothing, packed snacks and cell chargers, donned our pink hats and got into our tiny orange rental car to drive from Charlottesville to the nearest metro station to attend the Women’s March in D.C. The sun was rising as we saw a multitude of pink pussyhats waiting in long lines, gathering at the platform, and squeezing onto trains. I didn’t know what to expect and felt nervous that despite the fact that I had knit 50 hats myself, we might be the only ones wearing these strange symbols. But there it was — the crowd was dense, purposeful, and pink.
We were there to reject this man who’d openly bragged of sexual assault. We had seen the video that forced unwelcome conversations with our children, who didn’t yet know the vulgarity of the world. Just a few months before, we witnessed this man physically intimidate the candidate we respected during a debate. He triggered our repressed memories with his brazen misogyny, but we weren’t just angry because of our own experiences, we were angry because we didn’t want our daughters to live in this world, a world that accepts this man.
After the march, I absorbed the criticism of the moment, and have tried to better understand the intersectionality of the movement. I’m trying to be a stronger advocate, to acknowledge my privilege and my power. As I watch racism and xenophobia grow each time this man speaks, I’m even angrier than I was one year ago. I’m angry at the complicity of those surrounding him, those who think only of self-preservation. I’m angry that each day brings a new absurdity, diminishing our sense of decency. I’m angry that our outrage has turned to complacency. Standing in the streets of D.C. last year was a beautiful moment, a collective cry for our rights, but now it feels like we’re just screaming into the wind.
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If you are considering leaving a comment that I shouldn’t express my opinions here, please read this conversation between James Baldwin and Chinua Achebe.
“Those who tell you ‘Do not put too much politics in your art’ are not being honest. If you look very carefully you will see that they are the same people who are quite happy with the situation as it is. And what they are saying is not don’t introduce politics. What they are saying is don’t upset the system. They are just as political as any of us. It’s only that they are on the other side.” –Chinua Achebe
And if you think that our president’s words and actions have no effect on your life, please consider reading Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
Finally, if you’d like to get involved, find a Power to the Polls event near you this weekend.
Politics impact every aspect of our lives, so your blog is the perfect place for it. Accepting that man and his actions isn’t possible, for they are unacceptable to any thoughtful person. One shouldn’t have to be liberal to protest his behaviors and the mess he is creating.
It’s your blog; you can say whatever you think. We don’t have to read it. That being said, thanks for speaking up. Who would ever have thought one man could do so much damage? We must continue to resist.
I don’t know you, I’m just one of your blogreaders.
You are a brave woman, expressing your ideas and frustration and anger. The silent witness, the silent majority will try to keep you silent and that’s how a man, this man can go on and on.
I’m a belgian, a european woman and our voting system is different, With the results he had, your president wouldn’t be president here. I read the paper, hear the news and I’m filled with horror, because his words are spread over the world and his behavior is an example for many other people.
You’re a brave woman to stand up against evil and the sneaking poison that’s destroing our community.
I hope that one day we can live in peace (rather idealistic, Ifear)
Sorry for my pour english. I hope you understand what I mean.
Love from Belgium!!!
Well said. Thank you for your activism. It is a risk to live your beliefs and values but even more of one not to.
Watching in disbelief from Canada. Well said .
A major part of why I have always enjoyed your newsletter is your involvement.
You inspired my personal creativity when it comes to raising money for school; which
is a huge reflection of community involvement.
Be a proud human and do fight to keep communities together.
I too wondered what happened to all that energy. I didn’t like it that the women who took charge of the organization kept pushing it further and further toward a specific agenda. I was beginning to feel excluded (and my graduate work was in gender politics)
Then I found out (last night) that our local League of Women Voters has doubled in membership and I saw the new Time magazine cover.
Since you gave us a couple of links, here are a couple for you
MLK’s last campaign https://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/martin-luther-king-memphis-river-i-stand
Robert Kennedy’s speech in Indianapolis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoKzCff8Zbs
and something more to do with MLK’s Letter https://www.plusacumen.org/courses/martin-luther-king-letter-birmingham-jail
I’d like to know if you have used your voice to speak out against the atrocities of Hillary, Bill, the corruption of Bernie, and so on and so on. Or are you a Democratic hypocrite?
I’m proud of you! My daughter and son-in-law marched here in San Diego last year. I even made him a pussy hat for Christmas. Stand up for yourself, and for all of us. <3 <3
Thank you for speaking your truth! And thank you for taking a stand with your art. Friends and family have some “resist” coasters after the holidays thanks to your awesome spoon flower fabric. We have to keep channeling our anger to action…. My family and I will be in the streets again in Oakland this Saturday and continue making phone calls, examining our own bias, and resisting the hateful agenda of 45 and those around him in any way we can for another year.
Beautifully said. Standing with you from Canada.
I love your post and that you brought 50 hats to the March! What’s happening is deeply personal as women — it can’t be separated out from other aspects of our lives. We *are* stronger together — so let’s keep going!