mmm
Inaugaration
CONTINUED FROMPAGE 6
against everything that most people believe in.”
One of the common themes nearly unanimous in
Trump supporters, however, was the sense of unity
amongst Americans they believed he was capable of
eliciting.
Steve Pawlak, a 46-year-old graphic artist, was ear
nest to express this sentiment.
“This is a historic event, the peaceful transfer of
power,” Pawlak said. “This is democracy. This is pa
triotism. How could I be this close and not attend? I
think this is an incredible opportunity for the United
States to come together.”
The cries of protesters grew louder throughout the
afternoon, especially when it came time for Trump’s
official speech accepting the presidency. In an al-
most-Orwellian-like scenario, the patriotic and reli
gious inaugural address the new president bestowed
upon the nation overwhelmed the roar of the protest
ers through huge speakers positioned up and down
Pennsylvania Avenue.
The following day, a coming-together of unprece
dented proportions converged on the nation’s capital
and in cities throughout the world. Over 500,000 peo
ple, men and women alike, converged on Washington,
with more than a million across the globe gathering to
support the massive protest taking place in the U.S.
A huge crowd gathering was also reported in Ashe
ville, with the numbers of participants estimated
around 10,000 people.
The march was important for a variety of reasons,
as it focused primarily on feminist themes, with many
• ts
THIS IS A HISTORIC EVENT,
THE PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF
POWER. THIS IS DEMOCRACY. THIS
IS PATRIOTISM. HOW COULD I BE
THIS CLOSE AND NOT AHEND? I
THINK THIS IS IS AN INCREDIBLE
OPPURTUNITY FOR THE UNITED
STATES TO COME TOGETHER."
- STEVE PAWUK
females donning “nasty woman” shirts, lambasting
Donald Trump’s insult to Hillary Clinton and pink
cat, aka “pussy” hats.
It was noticeable, however, that other rights and-
causes were not addressed. From Black Lives Matter
to intersectional feminism to immigration rights, the
noticeable lack of diversity of support behind other
movements was jarring. In particular, the crowd was
mainly composed of white women, many of whom
had never come out to a protest before. There were,
however, several men who came out in support of
the event, which created a semi-diverse dynamic
throughout the march.
Robert Jones, a 43-year-old financial consultant
from Milford, Connecticut, was one such individual.
“I think we got kind of spoiled in the past eight
years and now, based on what we’ve seen in the new
president, there’s a lot of things that we took for
granted that maybe we can’t take for granted any
more, such as women’s rights,” Jones said.
The following day, it was reported that Trump
was “visibly outraged” by the amount of people who
took to the streets protesting his presidency, stating
on Twitter, “Watched protests yesterday but was un
der the impression that we just had an election! Why
didn’t these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly.”
Crowd scientists at Manchester Metropolitan Uni
versity in Britain reported there were as many as three
times the amount of people who attended the Wom-
ep’s March than there were at the inauguration, which
provoked the now-notorious “alternative facts” state
ment by Counselor to the President Kellyanne Con
way claiming the media was twisting the truth about
the numbers.
The participants of the March, however, re
main eager to keep the momentum going and put up a
fight.
“I’m just glad to see so many women that are here
letting the world know that we don’t want to put up
with a man like Mr. Trump,” said Cinthy M. Wilcox,
a 62-year-old computer programmer from Jefferson
City, Missouri. “We don’t like his values. We want
to make sure that our elected representatives know
that we are out here and we’re willing to do this and
possibly vote them out if they don’t respect us better.”
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