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| Artwork by Tyler Feder (https://www.etsy.com/shop/roaringsoftly) |
I've never been one to get involved in political protests, or to loudly share my opinion on certain topics. However, the events and issues surrounding the U.S. 2016 presidential election started to change that. I was traveling on the day of the Women's March both this year and last, and so I didn't participate in person, but, instead, showed my support in small ways online. And as I started reading more and listening to the stories of marginalized people who find themselves cast aside by the current administration, I started thinking hard about my identity and role in the movement as a person of privilege. It's been my very privilege that has allowed me to not worry too much about politics in the past, all the while ignoring the struggles of minorities. As these thoughts started to churn through my mind, a year ago, I started writing down the words to this poem.
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| By Mobilus In Mobili - Women's March on Washington, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55796823 |
Reflections on the Women's March
I showed my solidarity
I did it
voluntarily.
The
movement’s popularity
and issues
that seemed clear to me
drew me in
with many others,
with our
sisters, daughters, mothers
to a
protest, all newcomers
so
astounding in our numbers!
Yet I’ve
been reading and reflecting
on things I
hadn’t been suspecting
that folks
around me are suggesting:
with our
whiteness we’re suppressing
many voices
with our choices,
our
advantage, and exemption
to
injustice in our favor,
which has
slipped past our attention.
I’ve come
to see with clarity
immeasurable
disparity
bolstered
by the systems
that
brought middle class prosperity.
The ones to
blame, my people,
escaped
their crimes with full impunity.
Others
suffered from their actions,
but it
bought me white immunity.
This
doesn’t mean I do not suffer
disadvantage
as a woman,
nor should
it cut me from the movement,
seen as a demon on a cushion.
seen as a demon on a cushion.
But it
demands responsibility,
to share a
greater load,
revamp
advantage into action
helping
others down this road.
And yet
it’s only now I realize
my life is
truly cushy
when the
thing that riles me up the most
is just
this president and p🙀ssy!
‘Cause if
I’m just a weekend ally,
not a
go-for-broke accomplice,
I ignore
the greater outcry,
and there’s
little I accomplish.
Do we
dismiss as unimportant
or as
angry, bitter chatter
when fellow
humans, in a torrent,
just want
to say that their lives matter?
Do we
hijack other cultures,
hemming in
their visibility,
while
swooping in like pink-eared vultures,
ignoring
those with disability?
Can folks
without a vulva
still be
welcomed as a sister?
And can we
find a place to fit
all forms
of faith into the picture,
and manage
inclusivity
in talk of
sexuality,
give the
poor a better portion
and just
maybe, listen more to nuanced views on, yes, abortion?
May new
knowledge of my privilege
guide the
language in this message
and give
folks like me the courage
to assess
the real damage
of our
ignorance and arrogance,
injurious
indifference,
and every
shameful tolerance
of every
hurtful utterance
of words
that seek to silence
or condone
ongoing violence.
May we seek
wise words and guidance,
consider
fully our alliance,
and then
stand as one together,
facing off
each one’s oppressor,
with humility, much better,
bring justice, equal rights forever
There is much work to be done. The March doesn't solve everything, and, as stated above, it raises up even more issues that need to be addressed. I don't agree with everything represented by the March, but as a woman who can say "#metoo," I can stand with others and point out things that need to change. If we listen to our neighbor, learn to see our privilege, and take action with responsibility and humility, I believe we can bring about necessary change.
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| By Carly Hagins (Boston Women's March) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
There is much work to be done. The March doesn't solve everything, and, as stated above, it raises up even more issues that need to be addressed. I don't agree with everything represented by the March, but as a woman who can say "#metoo," I can stand with others and point out things that need to change. If we listen to our neighbor, learn to see our privilege, and take action with responsibility and humility, I believe we can bring about necessary change.
 |
| Artwork by Tyler Feder (https://www.etsy.com/shop/roaringsoftly) |
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