by RYAN SHANKS//Staff Writer
As a millennial, it seems to be sinful to say anything against the recent slew of “women’s marches” that have taken place. While I support the idea that women are equal to men and applaud how peaceful the marches were, I have found it nearly impossible to not mention certain flaws I have observed with it and some of the reasoning behind it.
It has to be said; it seemed that there were several different marches going on at once. I am on board with peaceful protests of real issues. But what was actually being protested? Some wore pink vagina hat. There were children with “Love Wins” shirts, and one random guy had a sign wanting to know why guac is extra. It looked as though these people all came together to “make a difference” without first determining what difference they wanted to make. What they are hoping will go down in history as “the largest and most peaceful American march of all time” felt to me like a variety of people hanging out in the street hoping to snap a good pic for Instagram to seem “woke.”
The Women’s March wasn’t a human rights march, but a gathering of people wanting to further the public support of a woman’s right to have an abortion funded by Planned Parenthood. What is most confusing from my standpoint is that even in the event that the Defund Planned Parenthood Act would be passed, abortion rights have not been in danger of being taken away. No new laws have been passed taking away anyone’s rights to their own bodies.
I understand there are fears that radical things could take place under the Trump Administration, but the reality is that nothing has actually happened that would lead to women losing abortion rights, apart from statements made during the 2016 campaign claiming that funding would be taken from Planned Parenthood if Donald Trump won the election. It seems that on the internet, the phrase, “defunding of Planned Parenthood,” has been made out to mean, “demolishing of Planned Parenthood.” But if the bill passed, Planned Parenthood would only be in jeopardy of closing if it could not be funded another way apart from the government – which, I do not foresee happening. The services offered by Planned Parenthood and similar clinics will still be available to all American women. That being said, the intensity of this march simply felt out of sync and possibly inappropriate considering the issues actually at stake.
Everyone has a right to support different topics more passionately than others. But if the main concept of the march was “women’s rights awareness,” it failed to translate effectively. However, I do acknowledge that the “Women’s March” did make an impact worthy of its size. I applaud those who had a reason to march and participated in this triumphant milestone. Many voices were heard, and I look forward to witnessing the effects it may have society.
Therefore, the march was a success, but I still wonder – why is guac really extra?
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