“Do you think if we did a Women’s March in Bishop that we would get shot?” This was what a friend of the organizer of the March asked her. This is how the organizer introduced the March and this earned a laugh from the crowd. My friends, my mom, and I all went to the Women’s March in Bishop and at first, we were afraid that we would be the only ones there. However, about 580 people actually showed up!

In case you didn’t know what the March was all about, according to Wikipedia, “The Women’s March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, to protect women’s rights and other causes including immigration reform, healthcare reform, protection of the natural environment, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, freedom of religion, and workers’ rights.” Bishop is a fairly conservative town so I wasn’t too hopeful about the turnout, but I was proved wrong! Tons of people made creative and beautiful signs. I took a few pictures of my favorites down below.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit intimidated about the whole thing. I knew that I loved everything that the March was representing, but I was scared about the people who wouldn’t be too thrilled about the March. What if things got violent? However, I knew my friends and family would be there and I shouldn’t be intimidated. The March was actually a lot of fun! I was surrounded by passionate and inspiring people and I could feel their enthusiasm and I felt like I was a part of something bigger than myself. I wasn’t sure if I would feel like I was making a difference at all, but I did! The chants were more pro equality than anti Trump and I felt like we were beating hate with love. As you can see above, some of the signs were absolutely hilarious while still embodying the message of the March.

As peaceful as this March was, it wasn’t without a few anti protesters. There were plenty of drivers who would honk their horns and stick out a thumbs down or even the middle finger to let their feelings be known. Someone simply yelled “Trump!” at us and my friend Jordan Kost responded by screaming back, “Love!” I think the worst thing I heard about, but luckily I personally didn’t see, was a man wearing a Swastika armband walking about. However, all the marchers responded with happy cheers and proclamations of love and equality, so the March was never really brought down.

There were also plenty of supporters as well! I think my favorite experience was seeing a woman lean over her husband to honk the horn of their car repeatedly with an absolutely radiant smile and a big thumbs up. While it did feel weird at first, I did eventually join in on some chants. Jordan even started up a “Love not hate!” chant that caught on.

Overall, I never felt threatened or scared, but just really empowered. Despite some negative feedback from bystanders, their hateful gestures and shouts were drowned out by the love and support that the marchers sported. It felt good to be a part of my community and be with so many passionate people.

equality, protest, protesters, women’s march, bishop california