Amazing day
I was in Boston today with over 100,000 others to rally for Women's rights, and it was amazing. What made it even better was all the people I know who were there, and in sister marches all over the country. I know people who marched in New York, Washington, Binghamton, Albany, Seneca Falls, Ithaca, Peoria, Seattle, Austin, L.A., Montpelier, and Raleigh. And probably other places as well. Reading my Facebook feed today was wonderful, which is quite a change from what it's been lately.
I took the train in with a couple of friends. There were a lot of people at our stop, mostly women but there were men and kids, too. Carrying signs, and wearing pink pussy hats. There was a palpable excitement in the air. I complimented a trio of women on their hats, and they gave me one from a bag of them that they were carrying. I have a pink pussy hat!
Ours was the third or fourth stop on the line, and it was already standing room only. They picked up more people at the next stop, then they stopped letting more people on board. They did add another train afterward, but they were totally overwhelmed and unprepared. They never even took tickets.
The atmosphere was quite festive. It felt to me like being at a Pagan festival on bonfire night. Lots of smiles, laughs, camaraderie. We got off at Back Bay and started making our way up Boylston Street. I tried to meet up with a Facebook friend, but we never managed to find each other so the three of us headed across the street to the Common.
There were people pouring onto the Common from all sides. We found a spot to stand, toward the back of the crowd. It didn't take long for it to fill in behind us, with hundreds more people streaming in all around us. I have never seen so many people in one place before. I can't even imagine what it was like in Washington.
There were wonderful signs everywhere. So many creative people!
We couldn't see the stage, but we could hear the speakers and their inspiring words, starting with Elizabeth Warren. I am so proud that she is my Senator. We need more people like her in Washington.
The energy at the rally was amazing. So positive, so hopeful. I really hope this is just the start.
We made a collective decision to catch the 2:20 train home and not stay for the march, because the next train wasn't until 4:20 and would likely be as crowded as the morning one had been, so we left the rally and started toward South Station, with a brief detour into the Old Granary Burying Ground (where Paul Revere and other notables are buried, and there are many wonderful old death's head tombstones).
I also wanted to try and find the Poe statue, but it was back the way we had come from, so we split up so I could quickly go find it and get a picture, promising to meet at the station.
I only had a general idea of where it was, so I had to wander around a bit, and walked right by it at least once before I found it. It's smaller than I expected, and it was covered in signs from the rally.
At first I was disappointed, because I wanted to get a good picture of it for eldritchhobbit, but then I realized this is a historic occasion, and this was a good representation of the day. I'm not sure how Poe would have felt about it, but he wasn't saying.
I found my friends at the station, with plenty of time to get a ticket, eat something, and use the bathroom. The train was pretty full, but not nearly as crowded as it had been on the way in. The conductor had started taking tickets, but he never made it to us as more people got on at the next two stops. He was funny though, joking around with the kids on the train. We thanked him when we got off.
Seeing all of my friends and relatives who were protesting all over the country today was so uplifting and heartening. Getting messages of support from those who couldn't go made me so proud that I was there. Seeing the footage from all the cities made me feel a kinship with all those who stand up to the fascism that is rearing its ugly head in our capitol. I hope the message was heard.
I took the train in with a couple of friends. There were a lot of people at our stop, mostly women but there were men and kids, too. Carrying signs, and wearing pink pussy hats. There was a palpable excitement in the air. I complimented a trio of women on their hats, and they gave me one from a bag of them that they were carrying. I have a pink pussy hat!
Ours was the third or fourth stop on the line, and it was already standing room only. They picked up more people at the next stop, then they stopped letting more people on board. They did add another train afterward, but they were totally overwhelmed and unprepared. They never even took tickets.
The atmosphere was quite festive. It felt to me like being at a Pagan festival on bonfire night. Lots of smiles, laughs, camaraderie. We got off at Back Bay and started making our way up Boylston Street. I tried to meet up with a Facebook friend, but we never managed to find each other so the three of us headed across the street to the Common.
There were people pouring onto the Common from all sides. We found a spot to stand, toward the back of the crowd. It didn't take long for it to fill in behind us, with hundreds more people streaming in all around us. I have never seen so many people in one place before. I can't even imagine what it was like in Washington.
There were wonderful signs everywhere. So many creative people!
We couldn't see the stage, but we could hear the speakers and their inspiring words, starting with Elizabeth Warren. I am so proud that she is my Senator. We need more people like her in Washington.
The energy at the rally was amazing. So positive, so hopeful. I really hope this is just the start.
We made a collective decision to catch the 2:20 train home and not stay for the march, because the next train wasn't until 4:20 and would likely be as crowded as the morning one had been, so we left the rally and started toward South Station, with a brief detour into the Old Granary Burying Ground (where Paul Revere and other notables are buried, and there are many wonderful old death's head tombstones).
I also wanted to try and find the Poe statue, but it was back the way we had come from, so we split up so I could quickly go find it and get a picture, promising to meet at the station.
I only had a general idea of where it was, so I had to wander around a bit, and walked right by it at least once before I found it. It's smaller than I expected, and it was covered in signs from the rally.
At first I was disappointed, because I wanted to get a good picture of it for eldritchhobbit, but then I realized this is a historic occasion, and this was a good representation of the day. I'm not sure how Poe would have felt about it, but he wasn't saying.
I found my friends at the station, with plenty of time to get a ticket, eat something, and use the bathroom. The train was pretty full, but not nearly as crowded as it had been on the way in. The conductor had started taking tickets, but he never made it to us as more people got on at the next two stops. He was funny though, joking around with the kids on the train. We thanked him when we got off.
Seeing all of my friends and relatives who were protesting all over the country today was so uplifting and heartening. Getting messages of support from those who couldn't go made me so proud that I was there. Seeing the footage from all the cities made me feel a kinship with all those who stand up to the fascism that is rearing its ugly head in our capitol. I hope the message was heard.