“Why did you march anyway?”

I’ve heard this question multiple times following the Women’s March on Washington, which took place on January 21st, 2017 in (primarily) Washington, D.C. and other cities around the U.S.. The March was largely labelled as an Anti-Trump protest, since it was scheduled on the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration in D.C.. However, this is only a fraction of the truth. The Women’s march was more than just a march for Women. Many people, such as myself, marched for a variety of different reasons and motives in different cities and numbers. I am here to tell you some of the reasons why I, personally, marched in Bishop on January 21st.

Jeniffer Velazquez

I march for the right for women to make decisions about their own bodies.

Throughout the election, and even before, I would hear and read hundreds of debates regarding pro-life vs. pro-choice. I feel that, if a pro-life regulation were to be put into place, women who are at risk of losing their lives, women who are raped, and many others, would feel hopeless and violated by these regulations. In a way, they do not have the ability to make the choice themselves on what they would like to do with their body. Adoption, though seemingly a good alternative to ending a pregnancy, is not always a successful one. Not all children will be adopted, and many children in foster care “age out” of the foster care system every year. I do not condemn nor condone any decision made by a mother-to-be, because the decision should be hers to make without judgement.

I march for anyone who wants to love who they were born to love, or be who they know they are.

Nobody should be deprived the right of loving and marrying the one they fall in love with. No one should be deprived of expressing themselves as who they know they really are. I marched for the rights of the members of the LGBT+ community, who, regardless of the Supreme Court rule on June 26th of 2015 to allow gay couples to marry, still have a long way to go to truly achieve the happiness they deserve. I want people to use the bathroom that best reflects on who they are. Besides, all they’re there for is to pee, and do other business. What is the big issue with knowing someone different is in the stall next to yours? Adding on to these facts, we still see violent attacks on the LGBT+ community to this day. The Pulse shooting is likely the largest and most prominent, but verbal and physical attacks happen daily that we may not see in the media.
Jeniffer Velazquez

Jeniffer Velazquez

I march to see our country become as diverse as it could possibly be.
When we target specific races or religions for the actions of some, we are further pushing our country into an irreversible social divide. I do not believe that Donald Trump ‘invented’ racism or xenophobia, but I believe that his campaign, littered with subtle racial targeting, was a large reason why our country has been so divided in recent times. Crimes can be committed by any race, and terrorism does not have a religion or skin color. Are statements such as, “a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”, Mexicans “bringing drugs…bringing crime [and being] rapists”, and “laziness is a trait in blacks”, things we would want our current President to say and believe? Variety in color, religion, size, shape is what makes our country beautiful. How boring we would be if we were to be sorted by shade.

Although I could go on about many more reasons why I marched on the 21st, these are the top three reasons why I did. I do not believe the Trump Administration will cater to these very important issues, and will instead ignore them or reverse the steps we’ve already taken. I can only hope and pray that we as a country rise up, and fight for what we believe in. Only then will we see change, changes that could make our country as great as it possibly can.