A walk to remember
On Jan. 22 and 23, approximately 4.8 million people from 50 states, 55 different countries and seven continents participated in the Women’s March in reaction to President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Protesters hoped to raise awareness about marginalized groups such as women, immigrants and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
The largest of these protests was held in Los Angeles with an estimated 750,000 attendees. Among the marchers was junior and president of Peninsula’s Female Advocacy Movement (FAM) Club, Alexa Jones.
“I was really interested in [attending the march] because in our current political climate there is a lot of hate going on and a lot of arguably misogynistic attitudes in our environment,” Jones said. “I think it is good to support [this] – not necessarily a call to arms, but a call to reaction in response to this kind of rhetoric.”
Jones created FAM to both educate those who attach negative stereotypes to feminism and to empower teen girls to make changes in their lives.
“Feminism in its purest form is that believing women and men and anyone are equal to each other,” Jones said. “It is not saying women are better than men; it is saying we want to be equal.”
Junior Elise Hall, who participated, also felt strongly about attending the Women’s March. Hall’s biggest motivation to go protest was her family.
“Growing up raised by a single mother, I was taught and shown how strong and important women are and how we should be treated equally and fairly,” Hall said. “I want my future daughter to grow up knowing she deserves to be treated like an equal citizen in this country.”
Freshman Aidan Jasanis, who also attended the LA march, feels that it was important for people to attend, even if the person is not directly affected. Many of Jasanis’s loved ones’ lives would be changed by the policies of the Trump administration, which greatly troubled him.
“I would say 90 percent of my friends and family could be affected by some of the stuff Trump is saying,” Jasanis said. “We are not mad because our candidate lost; we are scared for our rights and for our friends’ and families’ rights. I went to march because I have a mom and friends who are girls, and I just do not think it is appropriate to treat anybody less than anybody else.”
Senior Sophia Goodin also participated in the Women’s March in Redondo Beach. Although it was much smaller than the LA, Goodin had a positive experience similar to Jones’s.
“Everyone at the march was really friendly, and there was a very close feel in the community,” Goodin said. “Everyone was there to support each other and to show that love trumps hate. I felt like it was a part of history in the making.”
In addition to feeling welcomed by the kind atmosphere of the protest, Goodin was both surprised and delighted by the diversity of those marching.
“I saw people of all ages there,” Goodin said. “There were little kids and babies whose moms were pushing them in strollers. There were elderly men and women who could have been protesting in the sixties. It was crazy to think that they were here in this protest too.”
Violent protests against Trump have become more common since the inauguration. While some believe that peaceful protests do not incite much change, Jones believes that it is the physically aggressive protests that have little effect.
“If someone punches someone else in the face, yes, there is a change to that person’s face, but it is not necessarily changing that person’s viewpoint,” Jones said. “If we go into something and say that everyone is an idiot, that is not going to do anything. Negative actions give the opposite side a reason to hate us more. Peaceful protests show that we are here only for a positive change.”
The majority of the protests across the country remained amicable, and many big cities had no reported arrests. Goodin believes showing people that they are not alone is the most important part of these marches.
“I feel like knowing that there are this many people out there wanting to make a change to increase equality for all people, it really just creates hope,” Goodin said. “With all these people getting themselves out there and saying that this is not what the people want, it is really impactful to society as a whole.”
