This was Washington, DC, on January 21, 2017. I took this photo of the Capitol not long after I got off the Metro. I was one of about a million people, mostly women, streaming in from all directions. It was a totally different scene than the one we witnessed last week, even though we were pretty upset about the election outcome too. But we didn’t break in and hurt and kill people or smash and deface things. We didn’t attack police officers; we thanked them for being there. And we represented all colors and ethnicities instead of just one. There were nurses’ groups in scrubs and Native American women in tribal attire and so many more. There was singing and dancing and poetry. People stayed amazingly patient considering the three-hour lines for toilets and food. And most importantly, we listened to and learned from each other. Many of us confronted our privileges and unconscious biases and resolved to do better.
Another stark difference between that day and the one we witnessed last week was that I know what the rioters in the Capitol are against, but I still don’t know what ideas they have for improving the country. I still don’t know what they stand for. Everyone who was at the Women’s March in 2017 stood for something, whether it was healthcare or racial justice or climate change or equal rights for women. We finally realized we’re all fighting for the same thing: making life in this country better for everyone. It finally became clear that we need to work together from now on, instead of staying in our own narrow lanes.
That first Women’s March was the beginning of a movement, and when that movement began to effect change, first in the 2018 midterms, then in the 2020 election, and then in the Georgia runoffs, the so-called leaders of the right wing became desperate, which is why they went to such lengths to broadcast untruths and then inspired their followers to take over the Capitol and try to kill anyone who didn’t see things their way. But now that we’ve reached yet another final straw and the other side has once again shown clearly and without doubt that they don’t want democracy (as if we needed yet more proof), people on both sides want to quickly move on. Suddenly, it’s time for “healing and unity and moving forward.” Bringing up too many issues of inequality is “divisive.” Blah, blah, blah.
The right, which hasn’t given a rat’s ass about unity these last 12 years, is calling for it now because they’re starting to be held accountable and they don’t like it. Some on the left are joining in because we’re too damn nice and accommodating and too unwilling to rock the boat. Letting white supremacists/Nazis/misogynists off the hook over and over again (“Let’s just move on. Let’s just pretend this never happened.”) has been the problem from the beginning. That’s why we’re stuck here. That’s why Black people continue to get killed and face daily discrimination. There can be no healing until we’re finally honest about our history and how it got us to this point and take active steps toward change. And hold people, including Trump, accountable for what they’ve done.
After the Women’s March was over that January in 2017, we climbed back on our buses and went home. And then we went to work to make our country better, not just for ourselves but for everyone. We ran for office, signed up voters, held fundraisers, joined political action groups. We rallied and contacted our representatives and showed up at town halls and meetings. Because that’s what you do in a democracy. You work to make it better. You don’t trample on it and try to kill it.
