I wasn’t sure if I was going to go to the NYC women’s march this year. Between the dueling group infighting last year, the focus on elections rather than just general “protest” this year, and the fact that it was going to be bitterly cold in New York today, I was wavering. But then I read about how the National Archives (the goddamn national archives) had “edited” (aka censored) official photos from the original women’s march to blur out criticism of the orange menace, and I just…well, there’s always something new to get me out the door. (yes, there’s a typo. no, twitter STILL doesn’t have an edit button)
I was debating going to this year’s match, but clearly SOMEONE needs to take photos that this piece of shit administration won’t alter to protect trump’s fragile ego. + https://t.co/7N7AKlwDCG
So anyway, here’s photos from this year’s march. it was bitterly cold, and it started snowing A LOT right in the middle, so that made it even more fun. but the National Archives can’t get their grubby, co-opted edit button on these.
yesterday was the third women’s march – it was a little colder and grayer, and the national organization leadership has turned into a massive conflict-riddled mess, which of course resulted in various local marches literally disassociating themselves, which IN TURN led to three competing marches here in NY – an actual march organized by the local organizers who have organized the march every year here, a competing “rally” downtown organized by the national group, because they didn’t like getting tossed over, and a third rally for disabled protesters at grand central, because neither of the two other groups took account of the fact that their events weren’t accessible. So far, so…good(?).
Anyway, because supporting women and protesting the ACTUAL shitshow that is our national government is probably more important than any of this crap, I still dragged my ass out to the local march, in part because it seemed like the less objectionable of the two marches AND it also began literally in front of my apartment, so…maybe I’m a little lazy before deciding to walk several miles. As always, the camera came along and I took some pics. It was less crowded this year, probably due in part to the mess above, but also because they’ve been hyping snowstorms all week and the folks who would normally drive in from elsewhere thought better of getting stuck in the city. But people still showed up, and it’s still important to keep our eye on the ball, which is the real horror show in washington.
It may come as a surprise to some of you, but I am a bit of an introvert. I get pretty severe anxiety at the thought of being in giant crowds, and even when I go out with friends, it’s pretty rare that I don’t have some sort of exit plan. I’ve been known to have “shut down” moments, where I just…hit a wall and need to leave immediately – it has nothing to do with the company I’m with but with my own capacity.
All that is to explain why there was no way I was going to Washington. But I did force myself, even against my natural inclinations, to get out to the march for women’s rights in NY. Because it was just too important.
So, yes, the introverts showed up. Attempts to meet up with most of my friends (except one) failed, but it was a blast, and more importantly, it was deeply powerful to feel so much less alone.
I said the following on Facebook yesterday, but it bears repeating here: …the real reason I’m going to sleep better than I have in months tonight is just the incredible feeling I had today being among SO MANY people who turned out to support each other at this time, not just in our coastal enclaves, but on all seven continents, and all over this country, in blue states and deep red states like West Virginia.
All this is a precursor to my photos from yesterday. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge. (The pics are pretty self explanatory, so I didn’t individually caption most of them in the interests of not taking three years to get through writing this post)
Two California women were killed in a freak train accident. Police believe the high heel shoes they were wearing may have hindered their escape from a car stuck on the tracks, the Los Angeles Times reports.
I religiously wear comfortable shoes to and from work (even though I’ve got a closet full of cute shoes). Usually crocs, or sneakers, or (in the dog days of summer) flip flops (the more substantial croc or merrill type, not the ones that fly off my feet every three seconds). I keep some "nice" shoes under my desk and change into them when I get to the office. I usually do this because it makes it easier to choose to walk to or from work when the mood strikes (it’s not far, but no way am I walking over a mile in 2-3 inch heels), but apparently there are side benefits as well, like not getting killed by the subway.
Oh, and during the blackout of 2003, I had to walk down 25 flights of stairs, and then to the upper west side to stay with a friend who lived on a low floor. No one was making fun of me that day.
Zuzu over at feministe had a pretty interesting breakdown of Jennifer Holliday’s career (or lack thereof) after Dreamgirls. But watching the video put me in a slightly different frame of mind.
Dreamgirls was the very first Broadway show I ever saw – I couldn’t have been more than ten years old. After watching this video, you’ll understand why that experience made me, for life, a devoted Broadway musical fan.
Man, I really, really hope we get a non-dubbed version of the new film here in Italy.
I know it’s just a puff piece about Celebrity Big Brother, but if the Times can’t get this easily checkable piece of information correct, it’s no wonder Judith Miller still thinks there are WMDs…
Ms. Greer, still best known for her 1970’s feminist manifesto, "The Feminine Mystique," compared the show, in which celebrities are confined together as viewers decide who goes and who stays, to "a fascist prison camp" where bullying was encouraged and sensory deprivation used as a weapon of torture.
It’s like the author just guessed, "hmm, Germaine Greer wrote some feminist tract back in the 1970s, and since the only one I’ve ever heard of is the Feminine Mystique, that must be it…and I’m too damn lazy to take all of 5 seconds do a google search or to look something up on Amazon or BN"
Yet again, the NY Times gives us some enjoyable fluff. Apparently it’s quite shocking that people would rather relax on the couch and be entertained than change diapers, cook meals, clean dishes, and drive their kids to soccer practice.
Maybe the real shock is that the scientists who conducted the study don’t understand that "emotional fulfillment" and "happiness" may not always mean the same thing. Because if these women were asked whether their children or their TV give their life more meaning, I’m pretty sure the results would be reversed.
Raising kids can be hard. You have to (and should, to a certain extent) tailor your life around them. But I’m pretty sure that most people wouldn’t choose to trade their kids in for a television (well, unless it was one of those 60-inch flat panel plasma screens – those are really cool).
And hey, while we’re on the subject, why only women? I guess it’s still just a given in the scientific community that men don’t do all this girly work anyway.
