I marched.

I marched for equality.

I marched to prove that one man does not speak for all.

I marched to show the world that those who can stand up will stand up.

I marched because it is time to take a stand for what is right in a world filled with lies and madness.

I know this isn’t strictly speaking fitness related, but it is super important so I want to tell you all about it!

(just as a warning…this post could get long, and political…)

Also, it included a lot of walking so totally does count really…although that was not really the focus of the day.

Anyway… to the point…

In case you haven’t noticed there is a fairly large amount of disgruntled people out in the world at the moment. Ok…too vague… there are a large amount of people who are upset/worried/angry/dismayed/insert appropriate adjective about the recent election of Donald Trump for the Presidency of the USA. There is a large outpouring of feeling about what this means for the world in general and human rights in particular.

Donald Trump, throughout his campaign was shown up to be misogynistic, and if not outright racist and homophobic, he certainly did nothing to stop the bigots working in his name. He threatened journalists and judged women on appearance and an outdated view of what he thinks women should be.  He said a lot of things that mean nothing but sound appealing.

“we’re going to start winning” “make america great again” etc no information on how but the sentiment sounds immensely appealing to those that believe (rightly or wrongly) they have been held down by the government.

He has been shown to lie, blatantly  and on camera and they deny it. and he has been recorded explaining how he sexually assaults women and recommending it as a course of action.

These examples and so many more have caused millions of people around the world to fear for the future of women’s rights and many many other rights that can be (for the sake of a relatively concise blog post) grouped under the heading of human rights.

The point of all of this, is that in a huge outpouring of feeling, a women’s march was organised to take place on the first day of his presidency. A march that was simply put to promote equality, show solidarity and stand against the politics of fear and hate that has been promoted in the election campaign. This is what the website says:

We marched for the protection of our fundamental rights and for the safeguarding of freedoms threatened by recent political events. We united and stood together for the dignity and equality of all peoples, for the safety and health of our planet and for the strength of our vibrant and diverse communities.

We came together in the spirit of democracy, honouring the champions of human rights who have gone before us. Our numbers were- and still are – too great to ignore. and the message to the world is clear: We’re here, and we aren’t going anywhere!

If you have read my blog before you know that I am British and live in the UK. So you might think that US politics do not affect me, but anyone that thinks that the actions of the US will not have far reaching consequences is kidding themselves…

So I marched…

I marched for equality and equal rights for everyone.

I marched to show that the politics of hate and fear is not acceptable.

I marched to show that the misogynistic, hate filled ideals legitamised by the election of Donald Trump are not acceptable.

I marched to show that, no matter what you try to do to certain groups of people, there are people who will stand up and stop you.

I marched for unity and solidarity with the people who this affects much more directly than it does me.

I can wholeheartedly say it was an awesome experience. I am so glad I got up and stood up for what I believed in instead of seeing it on the news later and thinking I should have done!

the feeling of the march was positive, despite the fact that there are a lot of very cross people out there, the march was peaceful. The other thing that stood out for me was the amount of causes represented. The sheer variety of causes being championed was outstanding, but they all had one thing in common, they were all  representative of equality and fundamental human rights!!

and yes…I am wearing cat ears in the pictures…many many people were wearing pussy hats which are a statement of defiance against the famous (infamous) recording of the  now US president condoning grabbign pussy.

In the immortal words of many people chanting on the march…

Donald Trump, what do you think about that, this pussy grabs back!