[Image-1]When Dawn Ferris first heard the results of the US election, she was devastated.
“There’s equal concern here, north of the border,” says the Halifax activist. “If you’re not a white, wealthy, fully able-bodied male under the Trump reign—you’re gonna be negatively impacted over the next four years.”
People who share Ferris’ unease are taking part in the Women’s March on Washington, which is a peaceful protest against the rhetoric that’s been pushed to the fore by the last election cycle.
The march takes place Saturday, the day after Donald Trump takes office as president. In addition to the protest in Washington, DC, marches are taking place in other parts of the United States and the world, including
Halifax. Ferris is helping organize the local march, which starts at Grand Parade at 1pm. Similar events are scheduled in eight other Canadian cities, with a Canadian contingent making the trek to Washington as well.
“We want to stand in solidarity for the people in the States,” says Ferris, adding that the goal is to prevent hate and divisiveness from seeping into Canada’s politics. “We want to pledge that we won’t let that happen here.”
She points to people such as Kellie Leitch and Kevin O’Leary, who she feels are “spewing hate, division and authoritarianism” in their platforms.
Ferris believes one of the significant factors in the US election was “disenfranchisement of voters.” In other words, marginalized people find the current political system isn’t working for them.
“If we’re not careful,” says Ferris, people who are struggling will reach for anybody “who promises to make big, radical changes.”
It’s hard to say how many people will actually turn out to Saturday’s event, but Ferris has heard from people on the south shore of the province as well as people in Cape Breton who plan to attend.
“I have been very hopeful,” she says. “The response we’re getting—the private messages we’re getting (on Facebook), the public messages people are posting—from men and women alike, about: ‘we have to do something.’”
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This article appears in Jan 19-25, 2017.
Rallys will not change the fact the US voted in Trump. It will not change Trump into a feminist. This seems like a bunch of wasted energy.
No one expects a rally to change what has already occurred, of course this isn’t going to magically make things better. Change takes work, hard work. This peaceful protest is a medium for people to air their opinions on what’s happening in this world. It’s a way to get a discussion going, a way to bring attention to something that isn’t right. People who stand on the side lines and gripe about the state of things aren’t going to change a thing. But the people willing to stand up and say this isn’t right, this isn’t what we want in our lives, in our world. Those are the actions that are going to bring about change. It may take a long time, it may not make a difference at all. But doing nothing is worse. Doing nothing will guarantee that the Trumps of this world win. Doing nothing is exactly what Trump wants you to do, because action and noise is what makes us heard. Saying something is the first step towards change. Coming together and letting everyone know that you aren’t willing to just stand on the side lines is what makes people listen. Looks at what happened, Trump ran for president, Donald Trump. He ran on a platform of telling people what the wanted to hear, he ran on a platform of hatred and greed. No one thought there was any chance he would win, no one did anything about it and all the rich, white, hateful men voted for him while everyone else stayed home and was secure in their knowledge that someone else will fix the problem, my one vote doesn’t make a difference. Well, now we can see that it does matter, it does make a difference. It’s too late to change the outcome of the election, but it’s not too late to come together and make that little bit of difference.
What needs to happen is that people need to vote, otherwise we end up with the Trump, Mulroneys and Harpers of the world. Rallies – post-event – are simple temper tantrums which reinforce the ideals of these idiots. I might add that voting for parties with no hope in Hell to govern are wasted votes.
Will these be white feminists, marching without examining their privilege…?