FA+
Shop
D.C. Adventures Day 2 part 2
9 years ago
General
So today was the women's march and my goodness gracious it was bananas.
We got an earlyish start and got awful hotel breakfast, made sure to get water bottles before getting to the train station. The station was super crowded, the line to the trains was perhaps an hour and a half (to get onto the train when you already had a ticket) but all the people there were kind, courteous, and I'm not sure i've ever seen a crowd that big spontaneously form such an organized line before. it was cool.
packed train ride to DC. We got in around 11 and the streets were packed. You had to start squirming through the crowd after just getting out of the train station it was so crowded, and this was fairly far down the street from where the stage and rally point was supposed to be.
The vibe was way different from the day beforehand. It really was streets upon streets packed with people and lively. It wasn't people just shuffling from place to place but happy and energetic. I've heard it described as angry, but not violent, and that's what it was.
People were thoughtful, making sure everyone around had space, wasn't jostled or stepped on. Made room for anyone needing to make their way through the crowd for whatever reason and doing their best to be sure groups weren't getting separated as they moved.
Once the march started it was cool, lots of fun signs and we got to witness the darwinism of march chants as different chants would start up and die off then new ones spring up. The easy to say rhyming ones lasted longest.
Seriously the protest was huge. I didn't realize how big the national mall was until today, it's bigger than I thought, and unlike yesterday it really was packed. The streets were walls of people snaking their way through the streets, through the national mall, all toward the white house.
You can probably find the official route online, though the protest was so big it just sort of engulfed the area.
Saw a couple of pro-trump protestors, and anti-abortion protestors and to my surprise I didn't see anyone engaging or fighting with them. They were just ignored or people would chant over whatever it is they were yelling.
It was a long fucking day, finally got on a packed train back. I ended up giving my sign up to someone, it was a variation of rosie the riveter sign. I was lucky to be able to use my roommates poster printer, and the woman next to me complimented the sign and said she wanted to find a print so I just gave it to her.
It was a good day, and I am really glad to have come out here. Frankly it was amazing to see so many people come together and I was stunned by the attitude, the courteousness of the crowd. I've never been around that many people before where people naturally just wait their turn and ensure everyone is able to get at what they need. It makes things seem a lot less bleak knowing there are literally millions ready to stand up, and even more that didn't have the chance today.
To anyone that marched today, cheers. To anyone that didn't get the chance but sent support, thank you.
We got an earlyish start and got awful hotel breakfast, made sure to get water bottles before getting to the train station. The station was super crowded, the line to the trains was perhaps an hour and a half (to get onto the train when you already had a ticket) but all the people there were kind, courteous, and I'm not sure i've ever seen a crowd that big spontaneously form such an organized line before. it was cool.
packed train ride to DC. We got in around 11 and the streets were packed. You had to start squirming through the crowd after just getting out of the train station it was so crowded, and this was fairly far down the street from where the stage and rally point was supposed to be.
The vibe was way different from the day beforehand. It really was streets upon streets packed with people and lively. It wasn't people just shuffling from place to place but happy and energetic. I've heard it described as angry, but not violent, and that's what it was.
People were thoughtful, making sure everyone around had space, wasn't jostled or stepped on. Made room for anyone needing to make their way through the crowd for whatever reason and doing their best to be sure groups weren't getting separated as they moved.
Once the march started it was cool, lots of fun signs and we got to witness the darwinism of march chants as different chants would start up and die off then new ones spring up. The easy to say rhyming ones lasted longest.
Seriously the protest was huge. I didn't realize how big the national mall was until today, it's bigger than I thought, and unlike yesterday it really was packed. The streets were walls of people snaking their way through the streets, through the national mall, all toward the white house.
You can probably find the official route online, though the protest was so big it just sort of engulfed the area.
Saw a couple of pro-trump protestors, and anti-abortion protestors and to my surprise I didn't see anyone engaging or fighting with them. They were just ignored or people would chant over whatever it is they were yelling.
It was a long fucking day, finally got on a packed train back. I ended up giving my sign up to someone, it was a variation of rosie the riveter sign. I was lucky to be able to use my roommates poster printer, and the woman next to me complimented the sign and said she wanted to find a print so I just gave it to her.
It was a good day, and I am really glad to have come out here. Frankly it was amazing to see so many people come together and I was stunned by the attitude, the courteousness of the crowd. I've never been around that many people before where people naturally just wait their turn and ensure everyone is able to get at what they need. It makes things seem a lot less bleak knowing there are literally millions ready to stand up, and even more that didn't have the chance today.
To anyone that marched today, cheers. To anyone that didn't get the chance but sent support, thank you.
I am glad you're having a good experience and enjoying the festivities. Keep having fun and sending us updates! :)
Glad to hear that your experience was positive and different in Washington. Remember the restraint the new administration showed...even if you disagree with its policy. Its a credit to American democracy that your neighbors to the North are jealous of. And I think that is being lost on many in the US.