Why I March

I march for all the young women that I have worked with who did not have a voice!  I march in solidarity with those who have been raped, battered and even murdered. A visual that I will never forget. I had a 13 year-old patient who was 36 weeks pregnant when she was strangled. I went to the funeral and the teenager and her infant were in the same coffin! I march for a homeless woman with schizophrenia who was raped and then the police discounted her. She said to me, "Just because I'm crazy doesn't mean I wasn't raped!" I will continue to fight for those without a voice!  In my career as a women's health nurse practitioner I had the opportunity to work with many pregnant and parenting teenagers. Despite the odds against them, many made use of the resources made available to them and finished high school!  I believe you!  March On!

I'm a retired teacher but I haven't stopped asking questions. Are we still holding minors in detention centers to satisfy the bloodlust of a vile apparatchik? Do millions of kids go to school everyday wondering if today’s the day they’ll be gunned down by a white male lunatic?   Are their schools grossly underfunded but expected to arm teachers? Are unarmed black men still being shot in cold blood by police officers and vigilantes while sex crimes, trafficking, and domestic violence that affect women disproportionally go uninvestigated, unpunished, and unreported?   Is cruelty the point of domestic and international policy because doing the intelligent, compassionate thing is too complicated for the Republican base? Are “know-nothing” politicians and their corporate cronies destroying the conditions for multicellular life on the planet? Do we trample our First Nations peoples shouting "America First" BS? Must mothers continue to teach their daughters

Let me just start of by listing a few recent items that make me want to march.   Rapist Jacob Walter Anderson served no jail time.  Rapist Brock Turner only served three months in jail.  A rape victim gives birth in a care-home after being in a comatose state for over 20 years.    I'm a life-long feminist. I was raised by a feminist (thank you, Mom). And I’ve had people, including (white) women, tell me that women already have equal rights so I should just be quiet and enjoy it. And it’s true that our grandmothers fought for and won our right to vote, the right to own property, the right to hold bank accounts in our names, the right to earn degrees and have careers, the right to decide how many children we want to have, and a lot more. But are we truly free when our society teaches us from a very young age to be afraid and even terrified? To never go anywhere at night alone. Not to drink too much at parties. Not to go jogging in public with ear buds. To carry mace. To lear

I march for the women who can’t.  I march for an inclusive, safe, loving future my daughters can flourish in.  I march for reproductive rights.  I march for a world where women are born equal to men.  I march for equality.  I march for us all!

I march on because I believe in the rule of law and that no person is above the law. I march on because I detest corruption and ignorance and bigotry. I march on because I care about women’s rights. I march on because I care about LGBT rights. I march on because I care about all human rights. I march on because I do not want guns in our schools. I march on because I believe we need to build bridges not walls. I march on because I believe we must have humane immigration policies. I march on because I believe science is real and that we must protect our environment. I march on because I am buoyed by the energy of other like-minded people. I march on because I believe together we can effect real change. I march on because I must!  

When I was about 11, one of the nuns in my school called me a "bold and brazen girl." Though at the time it hurt my feelings, eventually I came to embrace her words. On January 19, 2019, I will march in the hopes that all women, their children and their children's children, can be born into a world where they are free and able to live lives of their own choosing, boldly and unapologetically. I will march so that all women can embrace their true nature without fear or shame or guilt, so that they may use their many and diverse gifts to enrich all of humanity far into the distant future. March On!

I march because I have no other choice. To not march, not to   speak out would be complicity. To stand aside, to keep silent when a wrong is   being committed in some cases is considered a crime. In that, I will not be a   participant! When we march, our voices are magnified tenfold, one hundred   fold and in some actions, a thousand fold. To march is solidarity; to march is  unity; to march is indivisible!

Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Human Rights. Every day I wake up and wonder, What’s next? Whose rights will be taken away? What terrible affront will be made on our environment? What evil assault will be thought of as acceptable? The last two years have been a roller coaster ride of madness. That’s why I march. I have no choice. Our children depend on it, our grandchildren are inheriting a polluted planet that may be on its last gasp. How long do we wait for the government to do the right thing? We can’t wait any more. They have proven that, to them, profits are more important than people, that money means more than life itself. Keep Marching. Keep Resisting. This is what democracy looks like.

I march on because the current administration is tearing the fabric of our country to shreds. I march on in solidarity with those beside me—my sisters and brothers—to remind our citizenry what we are losing. In 2018 every time I marched, I thought of my maternal grandmother—Maria (Mary) Anastas Caronna. She was 18 months old when her family made it by ship in steerage to a Texas port from Milan, in the late 1800’s. When her father found out that food was distributed to families in alphabetical order, he told the purser on the ship that someone spelled their last name, Nastasis, incorrectly—and they became the Anastas family. As their father worked along the east coast mending and making shoes, the family (mother, father, 4 sisters) eventually made their way to Brooklyn, NY. Once in Brooklyn, my great-grandmother started sewing piecework and specialized in buttonholes on shirt cuffs. Mary was a ‘runner’ – she either picked up raw materials for her mother or delivered finishe

I march on because I want to live in a country that consistently considers how our actions are creating a livable and sustainable future for all our children.

I march for the wounds all women have suffered.  For those ignored, disbelieved and belittled.  I march for my daughter, my granddaughter And ALL the women in my extended family. I march for justice,  equality and the promise that  "Everyone is created equal" in America. I march for future generations of women  so they are all empowered in our world. I march because I MUST!

for goodness, truth and healing justice.