Snap correspondence from the Women’s March in Washington, DC

“Finding Our People”... Uniting with the Women’s March and Driving Out this Fascist Regime

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From a member of Refuse Fascism and the National Revolution Tour

Thousands of people poured out to the Women’s March in Washington, DC

RefuseFascism.org was there with hundreds of organizing packets, a very vibrant Handmaid’s Tale Contingent wearing Trump/Pence Out Now signs on their persons. Lots of new people stepped into the powerful handmaids contingent—college students, people who came from different parts of the country, mothers who came with their daughters. The streets of DC rang out with the chant “Women Are Not Incubators, Trump/Pence Out Now! We got to get in the streets and stay in the streets. Trump/Pence Out Now!” It was a sight to be seen and a magnetic force for everyone who felt a deep desire to see the regime removed. We advocated very powerfully at the beginning for why voting is essential but voting is not enough when Trump is stealing the election and packing the courts—we must take to the streets and stay. Almost everyone took the flyer, took the stickers, bought Out Now! sweatshirts, etc. Horns were honking in the street.

One person was saying how heavy their heart was after seeing everything that was happening with Amy Coney Barrett and that they were thinking of not coming, and when they found out we were going to be there—felt very heartened and like she had “found their people.” Another person was saying that she agreed that Trump was stealing the elections, and was concerned about this nominee but thought that all we could do was “pack the Senate” i.e. vote Democratic senators in—and so it was important to walk through the message on the flyer that we will inspire millions more to join this struggle until those in power, to stem the rising tide of protest, are compelled to concede to our single demand that this regime must go. There were some who wanted to know what we were doing this week and were concerned that waiting until October 24 would be too late and there were people asking when they should come back to DC.

Another woman with NOW (National Organization of Women) said that she is very concerned about Trump stealing the election but at the same time felt pretty certain Biden would win. People were so grateful to meet us, and one volunteer who had been handing out flyers all week felt the response was totally different, wide-eyed and really listening to what the meeting was gonna be about and where it was gonna be, what group is this about—saying “this is the only group I know that is working to get Trump/Pence out before the election because he is trying to steal the election.” And there were people intrigued that there was a group like that with a plan to move on that action—this was a resounding theme from people running up to get stickers, saying, “I’ve been trying to get one of these and what do I do?” People were listening very carefully to us—and you could see the gears turn. Also people were very much confronting this Christian theocracy and what this was gonna mean for women. One woman said in Iran women had rights and then they didn’t, people think it can’t happen here but it can and it is. People were also referencing others countries like Chile and Hong Kong where they have driven out hated regimes.

There were also people who joined who talked about how they came from Christian fundamentalist families and how much shame and guilt they were raised with, and there are a lot of people who have watched The Handmaid’s Tale and were seeing the parallels and were very frightened about what this was gonna mean. It was also very intense for people to be in front of the Supreme Court with all these anti-choice people and then chanting “Women Are Not Incubators, Trump/Pence Out Now!” This was when people really got the most intense and spirited.

There were also people who knew exactly what we meant by “take to the streets and stay” and were like, “sign me up.” And then there were others who were having a hard time wrapping their minds around this—one woman saying that if we are in the streets, they are gonna call us rioters and looters and we will lose the swing vote, and make Trump come after us. Others from states where the voter suppression has already begun—like Charlottesville where tens of thousands of ballots have been considered “invalid”—and so are putting their energy into making phone calls so that people know their ballots are invalid because they don’t know that their votes haven’t been counted.

All this makes clear how it is really important for us to use and hone the argument that is in the revcom.us article “When YOU Take the Streets...”


Photo: RefuseFascism.org

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