Women's March on Washington, Part 2

Somewhere West of D.C., in Virginia

So here we are. We're all in the van, on our way to the march. We picked up Christi's brother, Dan, in Columbus yesterday, while stopping for lunch. It was completely last minute, but we're thrilled to have a man with us to march for women's rights! 

The car smells like Sharpie. We're writing vital information on our arms. Names, dates of birth, emergency contacts, the number for the National Lawyer's Guild Inaugural Jail Support Line. I also put down that I have Asthma, PTSD, my most important medication information, and, in caps, across the middle of my arm, "I AM AUTISTIC." Damn, I must be crazy. A diagnosed high functioning Autistic person in a giant march, with the possibility of arrest, gassing, violence, etc. I don't think that will happen, but there are no guarantees. 

Traffic is dense, and we keep passing busses. My guess is, they're all going to the march. Over a thousand busses are coming from all over the country, filled with women, driving all day and all night to make a statement in the nation's capitol. Aside from the busses, traffic is surprisingly heavy for 7:45 on a Saturday morning, even if it is the day after the inauguration. 

We're all really excited in the car, even though we're making plans for worst-case scenarios. The fact that we were able to come from four states, from similarly repressed, patriarchal backgrounds, to stand up for what we believe in, is enthralling to us. We don't know what we're walking into. There was violence yesterday, though word is that it was from an anarchist group who was planning this long before the election, and we don't know if it's calmed down or not. But we do know why we're here. Why we're marching. Because we're standing up for the marginalized. For the poor and the non-white, and the female and the disabled. We're standing up for justice. For the right of women not to be assaulted. For the right of women to be believed when they are. For the right of women not to be slut shamed. For the right of the LGBTQ+ community to just...be. So regardless of the outcome, we know we're here on the side of the right. We're making our voiced heard. So many have come before us doing this same thing. Honestly, so what if I get hurt or arrested or anything else? So did MLK and Alice Paul, and yet they both stood firm and made things change. What's the point of me teaching history if I'm not willing to participate in it? What's the good of me praising the activists of yore if I'm not willing to become one when my own time demands it?

I'm here. I will march. I will speak. Come what may.