This past weekend was a historical one, there’s no doubt. With Women’s Marches happening around the world, everyone on the anti-Trump side of politics felt at least a little empowered after a sad inauguration. What could have been a dreadful day of fear and anxiety turned into millions of women standing in solidarity for their rights.
While the main event was hosted in Washington DC, there were sister marches in all 50 states as well as many other countries. I live in Indiana, and there have been very few times in the past that Indiana has turned blue for an election, and it definitely wasn’t this time. However, there were still marches in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and South Bend, Indiana on Saturday.
Being at the South Bend Women’s March was small yet empowering. With over 1,000 marchers there, it was a fairly good turnout for the small city known for its University of Notre Dame. We all met at a plaza where the mayor along with some organizers gave brief speeches, and then we began marching the streets of downtown South Bend. There weren’t as many antagonizers as some of us expected, but I did have people pull me to the side genuinely confused as to why I was doing this.
Over all the experience was great, and though it was a smaller march, the people were wonderful and I felt that though I couldn’t make it to a bigger city, I was still able to do something.
It was after that I began to see the backlash within my community for the marches taking place around the world. My Twitter feed was a solid mix between those supporting the marches, and those giving quite negative thoughts to it. It wasn’t until I posted a picture on Instagram of myself at the march that I truly felt the effects of being in a red state at such a politically tense time.
People that I have known since I was young began commenting on my post arguing about the rights of women, to which I attempted to respectfully respond. I quickly had to remind myself that though there were many like me in my community, we are not the majority.
When I marched I was in a bubble of people that were all fighting for the same cause and I began to lose sight of the fact that my state is not tolerant as a whole.
I had to remind myself that the fight didn’t end when we stopped marching, but continues until we get the equality that we so greatly deserve.
I did not have the luxury to go home to a state that would embrace my actions from Saturday, and I’m okay with that.
Marching in a small red state has given me a greater drive to become an activist for what I believe in. Those who tell me that I am doing wrong by marching only prove that I need to march more and harder than ever before. So thank you Indiana, I hope there are many more marches and protests in your future.
