The Women's March
A woman with additional protesters in the background. Photo Credit: GettyGetty
After the stunning turnout at the first
Women’s March in January 2017, we have seen two years of growing and
disturbing critiques about anti-Semitism, white-centeredness, exclusion
of people from the trans and disabled communities, and other issues
surrounding the Women’s March and its organizers. As a result, there are
at least two major competing marches
happening in New York City (using very similar names), with the new
marches striving for inclusion that was missing in previous marches. As
recently as this week,
the confusing and contradictory statements from the original Women’s
March organizers leave many of us worried about their stance on
anti-Semitism and whether our participation is endorsement of those
hateful views. As a result, some people are staying home, disgusted or
confused by what they are hearing and committed to staying involved in
other ways. Others are willing to attend, believing that attending a
protest in support of a set of issues is not an endorsement of all of
the organizers and their beliefs and behaviors. It is a collective
action in support of a platform or a policy or a principle, not a
person. Still, even people with this perspective are exhausted from the
daily outrage grind and wondering whether showing up matters at all.
Across the country, many people who have participated in or been
supportive of the past Women’s Marches are on the fence about the
January 19 Women’s March events.
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