Woman’s march combats discriminatory ideology

“I am no longer accepting the things I can not change. I am changing the things I can not accept,” read the text of a protestor’s sign. This saying and many others could be seen all over the streets on Saturday Jan. 21, as millions of women and men marched worldwide to show their support for multiple causes threatened by Donald Trump’s presidency.

“The whole point of the march was to come together to fight Trump because even if we differ in views, it’s important to come together,” said sophomore Terra Finnegan-Canepa who attended the march in Oakland.

People of all races, genders, religions, and ages came together to voice their concerns coming into the new presidency.

There were over 100,000 people marching in the streets of Oakland, so many people they took different paths, and even with that, there were points where people were barely moving. The BART station was packed full with people eager to march. Turnout in Washington D.C. was three times as much as the inauguration the day before.

“Everybody was just so loving and supportive. It was more positive [than the inauguration],” said senior Zephan Wood who attended both the women’s march and inauguration in Washington D.C.

There was anywhere from about 3.4 to 4.8 million people partaking in the 673 peaceful marches around the world. Data shows that about one in every 100 Americans participated in one of the marches in the U.S.

People turned up with homemade signs displaying their concerns about Trump’s upcoming presidency, and wore pink “pussy” hats, knitted hats with cat ears that alluded to crude comments made by Trump about women in the past.

Signs expressed concerns about healthcare and reproductive rights, racial injustice and inequality, religious freedom and xenophobia, immigration rights, LGBTQIA rights, gender-based violence, families and education, and environmental justice.

There were signs saying things like “Build bridges not walls,”  “A woman’s place is in the resistance,” “Sea levels are rising and so am I,”  and “Love Trumps hate.”

Clearly, the marches show that Trump’s presidency will face considerable opposition.