Watch Out Trumpa the Hutt, The Leia's of the World Are Here

Good morning and happy Monday!  Today is the last day of my mini work vacation, and I have to say, it was a great weekend to be off!  On Saturday Mom and I woke up early and drove downtown to take part in the Women's March on St. Louis, a sister march to the March on D.C.  It turned out to be a worldwide event, with marches taking place on all seven continents, and several million people taking part in the peaceful protest.  It's actually the largest protest march in all of U.S. history.  Pretty cool to have been a part of it.



The coolest part was the range of causes being promoted/protested, and the variety of people in attendance.  I saw people with walkers, people in wheelchairs, black people, asian people, men, women, little kids, and even dogs!  And almost everybody had a homemade sign.  A lot of them were funny anti-Trump puns, and a lot of them had to do with feminist issues, a few were about the environment and saving the earth, several were about immigration policies, LGBT rights, healthcare, and there were also a few Black Lives Matter signs.  There is just so much wrong with our new President and the enabling Republican houses!

Since Saturday, I've seen a few naysaying news articles and Facebook posts from people who think, 'What a bunch of sore losers,' or 'He's our president now so just get over it,' or the classic, 'What a bunch of angry women who just want free birth control and other free stuff.'  If you think this, you are gravely missing the point.

I marched because I believe in all people and think that they deserve the same rights as everyone else.  I think that women deserve to make their own decisions about their bodies and that religious people should be free to practice their own religions without fear or without forcing their beliefs on other people.  I think that America is about more than making business deals and we need to wake up to the fact that trickle-down economics DOES NOT WORK.  Just pick up any history textbook.  I think that politicians need to understand that many people do not receive healthcare benefits from their jobs, but they should still be able to provide insurance for their families without paying an arm and a leg for it.  I think that actual facts should be acknowledged as facts.  None of this "alternative fact" or 'I don't want to believe it so it must not be true.'  I think that if you want abortion to be illegal again, you better make Planned Parenthood even more accessible, and provide every opportunity for birth control and reproductive health, not to mention you better be all for welfare and other outreach programs so that the kids who are born to parents who cannot afford a healthy life for them at least have a chance of doing so.  I think that our newly instated government is headed in a very bad, and very wrong direction, and clearly, I am not the only one who thinks so.

To the naysayers and Trump voters, please realize your own privilege and try to see the world through people's eyes who are different and had different walks of life than you.  Be nice to all people and they will be nice to you.  I hope you all will join me when the next march occurs; it was inspiring, uplifting, and reminded me that there is still a lot of good in the world.

(photos by e.hunt)