CommentsPERSPECTIVE--This weekend's Women's March, like those that came before, brimmed with hope, rage, resolve and fabulous signs:
"I'm Speaking...The Future Is Equal...Honor Her Wish...No Country For Old Men...We Must Now Be Ruthless...Women Are the Future....I Am My Mother's Savage Daughter." (Photo above: Handmaids chant, "In the name of humanity, we refuse to accept a fascist America." Photo by Carol Guzy/NPR)
There were vows that women will "walk over broken glass" to vote the fascist out. There were chilling chants from multiple groups of women dressed as handmaidens, protesting extremist Amy Coney Barrett and proclaiming, "In the name of humanity, we refuse to accept a fascist America."
And there were many young people and children, powerful testimony to changing demographic realities: Since the 2016 election, over 15 million teens have turned 18 and and can now vote; this year alone, 4 million more can vote, and another 15 million will become eligible for the 2024 election.
Those numbers were reflected by the kids, galvanized by the hateful times and good parents, who turned up to represent the next generation and insist, like one 12-year-old, "Anyone at any age can make a difference." Her handwritten sign read, "Watch out — I can vote in six years."
In New Jersey, nine-year-old Charlotte Meyer spoke at a rally in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The daughter of Elizabeth Meyer, founder of the Women’s March on New Jersey, Charlotte urged her listeners to speak up if they see someone lying or bullying: “Often we don’t realize how powerful our voice is until we use it. There are so many children and adults who can’t speak up, and we need to be their voices for them.”
She also summoned the spirit of RBG, who was "a mom....She knew what it was like to raise kids in an unfair world. Let’s all stand together, stand up for one another, and create the world she hoped for.” Charlotte and the rest eloquently echo the latest ad from The LIncoln Project, "The Girl In the Mirror," which focuses in horror on what our kids now see and hear from our "leaders."
"Vote for her," it urges. "Vote for change."
(Abby Zimet writes for CommonDreams.org … where this perspective was first posted.)
-cw
