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I am woman, hear me roar!


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Well, our fearless leader has been inaugurated much to the satisfaction of all the Evangelicals whose prayers for a Trump victory won out over those praying for a qualified leader and are now praying that the tyrant they were against, will miraculously become a savior they'll be for. Sharing this sentiment are the many others who are simply resigned to accepting defeat.

The undertones of Trump's inaugural speech were "it's my way or the highway" - obviously his formula for making America great again. And if a Cabinet made up bigots, clueless amateurs, corporate millionaires and Russian puppets is any indication of what Trump considers "great", then this nation is at risk of collapsing under the weight of its "greatness".

The only people more pathetic than the "forgotten" crybabies conned into thinking they'll be better off with Trump, are the "deer-in-the-headlights" Democrats, lost in the shuffle. Thomas Jefferson once said :“I hold that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” Carl Schurz another statesman, later said : "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right." Malcolm X declared: "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. Barak Obama spoke about the "the audacity of hope." To all my sisters out there demonstrating for justice and equality, this 83-year-old retread from the 1960s says "right on!"

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On 1/22/2017 at 2:31 AM, Cynique said:

To all my sisters out there demonstrating for justice and equality, this 83-year-old retread from the 1960s says "right on!"

Didn't take to the streets on Saturday but on Sunday, I gathered the names of all my legislators and elected officials (yep even the dog catcher)  and I'm preparing to send them all postcards to thank them for their service.  I will also add to the note: "I'll stay in touch."   If I need to get a clipboard, (#thanksobama)  I will.   Having President Obama in office did make a lot of us complacent.  Not that I missed any votes;  I vote in every election even if I'm new to the area.   But as soon as we heard folks were being dropped from the voter rolls we should have been out there registering or re-registering them.  I won't sit back ever again. 

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I like the fact that women are standing united against Trump's sexism and misogynism but what good is it to hold a march against it then turn right around and go home and sleep with the same type of man you're marching against.

Most of the White women out there marching have White boyfriends and husbands who hold the same views the Donald Trump holds...and many Black and many if not most Latina women do also.

This has been the problem with the feminist (not womanist) movement for decades.
Preaching against sexism while endorsing it through their behavior.

American women....especially White American women...more so than women of any other industrialized nation has done more to reverse the social and even financial gains women have made in Western civilization because of the desire to return to old fashioned "family values".


Sexism and misogynism is ingrained in the very fabric of Western civilization.

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In places like NYC and DC, this marching is "a thing" as they say.  In places like Tampa, which is part of Hillsborough County (who voted for Hillary), and not exactly the sticks; you don't hear any talk about marching.

This is more big city folks from the coasts talking to each other.  Maybe holding some demonstrations in the rust belt and other places where Trump had the most influence might be more impactful.

It is the same reason the press completely missed Trump's reach, they interact and reported in the very same bubble the marchers are in. 

The really very crazy thing is that I don't think writing to politicians will have an impact either.  They are part the problem.  In fact, Trump who ridiculed Hillary as being owned by Goldman has now made these very some people part of his cabinet.  I don't hear any Trump supporters complaining about this.  I'm not convinced they even understand what this means...

You can't complain about the rich when the government is a plutocracy.  All you can really do is, do the best you can.  You could also fight for radical change, but not enough people have the stomach for it.  

Youngsters who normally drive this sort of radical change are too distracted by social media; as if griping about Trump's tweets will make a difference.

Kinda make what the Panthers, SNCC, SCLC and other organizations did so much more impressive.  These organization despite the charismatic Brothers we hear most about, were really were run by women.

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@Pioneer1 , @Troy    Are your comments based in facts, local observation and/or is it just how you feel personally?

For example, I can't refute the way someone feels about a topic - we all have our beliefs and our beliefs and emotions mirror our observations of our world. 

BUT if you are purportedly presenting facts then...

There was a study done on marching and the number of marches on a single topic are in direct correlation to how legislators vote...(Protest and congressional behavior: Assessing Racial and Ethnic Minority Protest in the District by Daniel Q. Gillion The Journal of Politics  Vol 74, No.4 (Oct., 2012), pp. 950-962)

Or the Women's March wasn't just a big city thing - there were Women's Marches on all 7 continents - yes even on a ship in Antarctica.  For those women, Climate Change is real - and they want to be heard.  Several of the most conservative cities including some from Mesa, Arizona (the MOST conservative city in the U.S. according to The Economist)  held sattelite Women's March. It's documented - I even retweeted pictures from those unlikely spots.     Edit to add the Tampa Bay Area Tampa -St Petersburg boast 20,000 turned out for their satellite Women's March     

Also, here's the mission and vision of the Women's March - here's the link   . The overarching goal is to upend the more than 5,000 years of patriarchal rule and  return our culture to the egalitarian culture it once was.

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@Troy @Pioneer1Yes, the demonstration was a spectacle that made white women feel good about themselves. (And yes, black women have always been "liberated", taking up the slack while waiting for the brothers to "man up".)  But the tremendous, world-wide outpouring was also an annoyance to Donald Trump, inasmuch as the message it sent tarnished his image.  Anything that doesn't make Trump feel good about himself forces him to confront his inadequacies and this throws him off his game. To  combat this, his sycophants have shifted into an alternate universe where lies are recycled as "alternate facts" and Trump's followers accept these lies because they don't want to believe that he is misleading them. For his opponents, an effective defense against this strategy is to become creative nuisances who mock him with the truth.  Using the ballot to unseat opponents is also a strategy that is on the Feminist agenda and this is a good thing.

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In the case Mel, my comments are based on what I thinking at the moment.  This is both; subject to change, based upon additional information; and subject to critique, which I obviously welcome.

In the case, I was thinking about the impact marching as on individuals who support Trump and Trump himself.

There is nothing I've seen that is capable of swaying Donald Trump's mind other than money and power, none of which the protestors are offering.  Indeed Trump and his people are not above making shit up out of thin air and calling them "alternate facts" that Cynique points out.  The idea that the media even entertains these lies is sickening.  

Does anyone think anything that the marcher will effect Trump in a positive way?  I don't and that is my point.

Since the Trump supporters can easily tune out the marchers are consume media that completely denounces them as out of touch limousine liberals I don;t see these marches affecting them either.

Now @Mel Hopkins  I had not considered the impact on legislators. I don't have much hope on this front either. The Occupy Movement did a boat load of protesting and Wall Street is more dominant than ever.  I'll look at the research nonetheless. 

With the benefit of hindsight can anyone point to a single piece of legislation that was impacted Occupy's protracted protesting?

Surely we can all describe Wall Street increased influence over government, capped by the election of Trump.

 

 

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Right up until Saturday, I also believed marching and protesting were a waste of time.  I've only marched in "Save our Sports" protest in '79 at Brooklyn Tech.  <- @Troy  (did you march to the board of education?)  A lot of high school students converged of BoE and we won!

But as I got older it was my belief that we should use the time to draft legislation and find a senator/ representative to sponsor the bill for us just as ALEC did with the "stand your ground" legislative proposal.  Then a little before Saturday, I began to remember what marching and protesting was all about. It raises awareness. It forces the news media to do their job.  It puts the poor folks concerns in the national lexicon - a news article sprinkled here and there can't do it.    Nationally/Globally, no one paid attention to the wealth disparity until Occupy Wall Street movement brought it to our attention. Now we do studies on the 99% vs 1% to find ways to achieve equity. There's probably no one on the planet who doesn't know black lives matters - and police will go to jail for killing unarmed civilians (well at least here in Georgia).  


As for the corporatists and their leader DJT -  I agree with you, I don't think marching will have an impact on them either.  It will, however, keep him and his minions spinning. 

Edited by Mel Hopkins
clarity
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Mel

Are your comments based in facts, local observation and/or is it just how you feel personally?

Actually, my comments were based on all 3.

I personally know White women and a few Latina women who consider themselves strongly pro women's rights, but still have very domineering conservative husbands who have so much control over them that they wouldn't "permit" them to even attend a march like this.
They are only pro-woman verbally.
In a "cutesy" sort of way like a little girl in pink stockings and a Hello Kitty backpack poking a little fist in the air shouting "girl power".
It looks and sounds cute but pretty much ineffective in eliminating true sexism and inequality.


I'm glad women around the world stood up to make their voices and concerns heard, however I don't think marching and protesting ALONE will change things to any meaningful extent.
Sexism and the devaluation of women is ingrained in Western culture and unless most of these women are ready to totally abandon Western civilization and build a new one......they're not going to get what they want.

If they want true change they should do like the sisters did in the movie Chiraq and threaten to withhold sex from the men in their lives until all of the structural sexism in society's various institutions are eliminated.
That would be far more effective than marching.....lol.

 

Also, here's the mission and vision of the Women's March - here's the link . The overarching goal is to upend the more than 5,000 years of patriarchal rule and return our culture to the egalitarian culture it once was.

I believe that time is coming very soon but again it can't be solidly established within the framework of Western civilization as so many women in the West would like to achieve it.
Just like many Black and Brown people are so in love with the amenities of modern Western society that they'll tolerate the racism in it, many women are so in love with the amenities of modern Western society that they'd put up with some degree of sexism rather than delve into the unknown in hopes of establishing a new society.

 

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Mel the minimum wage as increased incrementally before many of the Occupy protestors were even born.  The link you provided says that NY State will increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2021!  This does not seem like a resounding win worth boasting about and that is assuming that you can attribute the change solely to Occupy (the article did not make this assertion).

I have protested in the past.  We even occupied on an office building on Syracuse University's campus.  But I was less of an activist and more of young adult experimenting, learning who I was.

Real, substantive change only seems to come by force.  America was founded by force, slavery ended by force, Hitler was stopped by force. Power only answers to force.  I have little hope that marching will change anything-- unless the changes you are looking for is a few extra bucks phased in over several years....

Right now the powerful are boldly snatching even more power.  The republican legislators who the marchers are supposedly influencing were completely impotent as Trump bum-rushed their party.  They are useless; marching to influence them is a waste of time--unless some serious financial pressure can be brought to bear.

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11 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

threaten to withhold sex from the men in their lives until all of the structural sexism in society's various institutions are eliminated.

The challenge with this strategy is it undermines the overarching goal of eliminating sexism and inequality.  It plays into the narrative that women don't enjoy sex and instead use it as a weapon or a bartering chip.  This doesn't change society's structure it reinforces it.   Plus, it's a lie.

Some intimate the strategy was used in Liberia and Ghana - but it was actually peaceful marches and protest that allowed them elect their first woman president - Also it did however have a short-term effect of stopping a civil war.  It didn't change the overall structure of the patriarchal culture.  

Change is gradual - and those oppressed women you speak of...they are in the first stage "Awareness".  

I do agree with you about our dysfunctional relationship with  western ideals -We've been living under it for about 5,000 years and I suspect it's like a bad relationship - it's hard to break up because it's a habit. A bad habit and  we all know how hard those are to break.


 

11 hours ago, Troy said:

The link you provided says that NY State will increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2012!

2021... and the council of foreign relations and other think tanks would disagree.   Those groups and I credit Occupy Wall Street for making it a thing.  Here's the list by states .

 

12 hours ago, Troy said:

Real, substantive change only seems to come by force.  

The film "Pray the Devil back to Hell" and Women of Liberia mass movement proved the opposite.  

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Troy here's a link to the cities that had marches, not St Petersburg in Florida is on the list.

 

https://www.womensmarch.com/sisters/

Firstly the March on March wasn't just about Trump it was about equality. If you go to March on March they have photos from all over the World. And they have a 100 day action plan. 

 

I didagree Troy by April 21, 2017 the TRump Presidency will look very different. Donald Trump is the most unifying divisive President. I have said that before and will keep saying. It will be similar to my saying Trump could be President when very few people thought so. He is not bullet proof. H is going to be one of the most important president's ever. I feel sorry for him because he is going to have some very public failures, which he has earned.

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