# Women's March On Washington -- are you going? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 11, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885 "2017-01-11T18:39:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/21 "2017-01-12T07:43:05Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > **sigh** > He has called for or supported > > 1. mass deportations > 2. Banning of people on basis of race/religion > 3. Torture > 4. Locking up political opponents > 5. Caused large Corps values to fall with a single tweet > 6. Openly appointed racists to his inner circle > 7. Threatened to start a war with China > 8. Gift wrapped the US for the use of Russia > 9. Destroying international trade deals. > … > > And you > i) Concentrate on an empty boast made in a private conversation and > ii) Think that will somehow sink him? Sigh, I can assure you that his casual willingness to reduce women to meat is very troubling to a great deal of women. Sigh, harrumph and sneeze ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/22 "2017-01-12T07:44:16Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > cotd… > Brought up Megan Kelly’s periods > Insulted the parents of a dead servicemen > Called for killing suspects families’ > Called Mexicans Rapists > Wanted to Bang his own daughter > And undoubtedly a whole host of other stuff which I cannot recall right now. Get over yourself, how many protestors are you hosting? ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/23 "2017-01-12T12:15:11Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > There was another thread on it a few weeks after the election and several posters indicated it was rather loosely organized, slapdash in nature. The lack of organization was a turnoff, certainly, but it was the extremely dismissive attitude toward people who _actually live in the region_ and have _actual experience coordinating large-scale events_ that did it for me. A number of people got banned for politely pointing things out like “where are people going to go to the bathroom?” and “you can’t decide to block roads and sidewalks and not expect the police to respond/non-attendees to get angry with you.” They were actually saying “if they won’t give us a permit, just show up anyway- they can’t arrest all of us!!” which is just a ridiculous thing for event organizers to say. And when people were asking for updates on the status of the march (because non-refundable tickets and hotel rooms were booked), the general attitude was “we’ll tell you when we’re ready to tell you; if you’re not supporting us 100%, you shouldn’t have bought tickets.” Their attitude toward people who asked about accommodations for disabled attendees was even worse. As I said, I live in the area and many of us were flabbergasted at the lack of understanding of the infrastructure here- transportation, disability access, restroom access, laws on protests, etc.- and the unwillingness to address those concerns. I think they bit off more than they could chew and got scared when they started choking, which is what prompted most of the online clashes. But banning someone because they point out bathrooms are really limited in the protest area? Not the way to garner support. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/24 "2017-01-12T15:38:50Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > The lack of organization was a turnoff, certainly, but it was the extremely dismissive attitude toward people who _actually live in the region_ and have _actual experience coordinating large-scale events_ that did it for me. A number of people got banned for politely pointing things out like “where are people going to go to the bathroom?” and “you can’t decide to block roads and sidewalks and not expect the police to respond/non-attendees to get angry with you.” They were actually saying “if they won’t give us a permit, just show up anyway- they can’t arrest all of us!!” which is just a ridiculous thing for event organizers to say. And when people were asking for updates on the status of the march (because non-refundable tickets and hotel rooms were booked), the general attitude was “we’ll tell you when we’re ready to tell you; if you’re not supporting us 100%, you shouldn’t have bought tickets.” Their attitude toward people who asked about accommodations for disabled attendees was even worse. > > As I said, I live in the area and many of us were flabbergasted at the lack of understanding of the infrastructure here- transportation, disability access, restroom access, laws on protests, etc.- and the unwillingness to address those concerns. I think they bit off more than they could chew and got scared when they started choking, which is what prompted most of the online clashes. But banning someone because they point out bathrooms are really limited in the protest area? Not the way to garner support. I sure hope they clean that stuff up before the march. Probably the other 300 to 400 other marches won’t all have the same problems. Idealists sure can be a pain in the ass at times. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/25 "2017-01-12T16:00:08Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Wasn’t paying attention then, what about their behavior was so terrible? The organizers have caught a lot of [flak](http://www.womensmarchonwashington.com/) for being inattentive to intersectional feminism issues – i.e., obliviously white. That controversy also now may be causing [backlash](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/us/womens-march-on-washington-opens-contentious-dialogues-about-race.html?_r=0) among some participants. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/26 "2017-01-12T16:00:21Z")
I think my wife wants to go the the one in Portland and drag me along. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/27 "2017-01-12T16:04:38Z")
I suspect the local marches will have a bigger impact than the Washington one will. Trump and friends won’t care a whit. Local politicians, who have to deal with their constituents more directly, might. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/28 "2017-01-12T16:08:18Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > The organizers have caught a lot of [flak](http://www.womensmarchonwashington.com/) for being inattentive to intersectional feminism issues – i.e., obliviously white. That controversy also now may be causing [backlash](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/us/womens-march-on-washington-opens-contentious-dialogues-about-race.html?_r=0) among some participants. Good article. This is the perennial problem of the left, of course – everyone thinks their issues are the important ones and if those are not put front and center they won’t play. Race is the big one, but not the only one. So many wish to be heard. Not enough microphones. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/29 "2017-01-12T16:11:01Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I suspect the local marches will have a bigger impact than the Washington one will. Trump and friends won’t care a whit. Local politicians, who have to deal with their constituents more directly, might. Of course trump won’t care – do we have to reiterate what he cares about? But even in far-off Washington, representatives still have to be re-elected. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/30 "2017-01-12T16:24:19Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Probably the other 300 to 400 other marches won’t all have the same problems. Likely not. One of the things we tried to point out was if you get arrested in DC standing on the street, the local police handle everything. Not a huge deal. If you get arrested standing on the sidewalk, it’s a federal crime. The organizers were advocating that if they didn’t get a permit, attendees could simply walk en masse down the sidewalk- all 100,000 of them at the same time- and dare the police to arrest them. Federal charges on your record are very, very different than a local traffic ticket. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/31 "2017-01-12T16:26:05Z")
I am planning to go. I attended several large protests during the W era and found them to be energizing, not at all a waste of energy. I was on the fence early on when the coordinators didn’t seem to have a handle on the logistics, but they seem to have a better grip now. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/32 "2017-01-12T16:31:49Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > Likely not. One of the things we tried to point out was\*\* if you get arrested in DC standing on the street, the local police handle everything. Not a huge deal. If you get arrested standing on the sidewalk, it’s a federal crime.\*\* The organizers were advocating that if they didn’t get a permit, attendees could simply walk en masse down the sidewalk- all 100,000 of them at the same time- and dare the police to arrest them. Federal charges on your record are very, very different than a local traffic ticket. Not disputing it but how did that come about? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/33 "2017-01-12T16:44:48Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > Likely not. One of the things we tried to point out was if you get arrested in DC standing on the street, the local police handle everything. Not a huge deal. If you get arrested standing on the sidewalk, it’s a federal crime. The organizers were advocating that if they didn’t get a permit, attendees could simply walk en masse down the sidewalk- all 100,000 of them at the same time- and dare the police to arrest them. Federal charges on your record are very, very different than a local traffic ticket. I don’t think this is accurate. As far as I know, federal law only kicks in on federal property, and there is nothing that makes DC sidewalks necessarily federal property. Indeed, DC has a [local law](http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/13046861/where-the-sidewalk-ends-dcs-law-against-blocking-the-sidewalk) against blocking the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![Wednesday\_Evening](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Wednesday\_Evening](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wednesday_Evening)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/34 "2017-01-12T17:30:46Z")
Not the one in DC, but my excuse is that I’m from California and it’s too long of a trip. Still, I have one local friend who is going to the DC march. There will be a local march here in San Luis Obispo. I believe it’s the only march between Los Angeles and the Bay Area so hopefully it will be well attended. I will be marching along with my daughter. My son unfortunately has another commitment that morning otherwise the whole family would be going. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/35 "2017-01-12T17:33:25Z")
My wife and daughter are going. I have to admit that I’m a bit nervous since I saw that James O’Keefe is going to try to disrupt everything. > **[Counter-Sting Catches James O'Keefe Network Attempting To Sow Chaos At...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/counter-sting-catches-james-okeefe-network-attempting-to-sow-chaos-at-trumps-inauguration_n_5873e26fe4b043ad97e516f7)** > > The stinger gets stung. ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/36 "2017-01-12T18:30:25Z")
There’s one in [Los Angeles](https://womensmarchla.org/) on the twenty-first. Seeing as I have that day off work, I’m going to travel up and at the very least show solidarity with the marchers. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/37 "2017-01-12T18:37:37Z")
> [@Wednesday\_Evening](#): > > Not the one in DC, but my excuse is that I’m from California and it’s too long of a trip. Still, I have one local friend who is going to the DC march. > > There will be a local march here in San Luis Obispo. I believe it’s the only march between Los Angeles and the Bay Area so hopefully it will be well attended. I will be marching along with my daughter. My son unfortunately has another commitment that morning otherwise the whole family would be going. There’s one in Monterey and one in Santa Barbara. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/38 "2017-01-12T18:39:27Z")
I personally can’t attend the march in Washington, but hope to be present for a sister march in Eugene. Depends on how much I can get caught up on my work as this is my busiest time of year. I understand Oregon will have about 3,000 attendees join the Washington event. Pussy hats are locally being knitted at a feverish pace as we speak. I don’t think you could find pink yarn in Oregon right now on a bet. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/39 "2017-01-12T19:13:27Z")
My wife (and several of our friends) are driving from Ohio to the march in Washington. I fully support her in her desire to go and be a part of the protest. I think the GOP and Trump are a direct threat to women and who am I to try to say she can’t/shouldn’t go be a part of this? It is important to her to be a part of this. Personally though I think it is a waste of time - the Trump administration and the GOP will not care one bit about this protest other than to exploit any examples of poor behavior to further their agenda. My wife has had concerns about the organizational aspect that have been pointed out by others in this thread but she is not discouraged from going. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885/40 "2017-01-12T19:41:06Z")
I’m going, although I find the march pretty frustrating - they won’t come out and say it’s an anti-Trump march, it’s all very obnoxiously vague, first they said we could bring backpacks and now they say we can’t, etc. But I think the optics are going to be pretty incredible and I think it’s important, so I’m getting on a bus at some unconscionable hour, getting off and hanging out in DC in surely miserable weather, and then getting back on a horrible bus. I’ve got some friends going with me. I’m working on our hats. You know, men’s marches never seem to have a craft project involved. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-march-on-washington-are-you-going/776885.md?page=3)