The Trump Inauguration and Women's March in Washington DC, January 20/21, 2017
The train trip to see The Orange One inaugurated as president initially started out to see Hillary Clinton get inaugurated. I guess living in the bubble of Chicago I was absolutely certain that Hillary Clinton was going to win the election. So I reserved a train ticket and hotel room to witness the first female president being inaugurated.
But since that did not turn out as expected, I boarded Amtrak in Chicago anyway on Wednesday January 18 and went to Washington DC for the not so expected inauguration and the Women's March on January 21. The train was full mostly of anti-Trump people heading to the Women's March rather than to see the Orange One inaugurated. Discussion was everywhere regarding the election issues and how in the world The Orange One could possibly be president.
Trump supporters were not visible until I reached the Capitol building on Thursday afternoon. There, preparations were underway for the inauguration on Friday, January 20. The Trump supporters were clearly enjoying their moment of victory. Pictures were taken in front of the Capitol building and just about anywhere else on the mall. But there seemed to be fewer people there as I would have expected even for a day early.
Even though the Orange One was sponsoring a rally at the Lincoln Memorial, I moved over to the White House in an effort to see Obama during his last day there. A large crowd had accumulated but were kept at a distance from the White House. They were not able to get close at all to see the White House. So I decided to stand with my sign, 'OUR FIRST STAND, SAVE HEALTH CARE'. Surprisingly despite about half of the pedestrians were Trump supporters, the response was overwhelming positive. Hopefully this is a good indicator for the future of health care.
A few Trump supporters did make snarky comments but they would move on quickly rather than stop to talk about their comment and the ACA. In essence the Trumpers would agree that we should all have health insurance but disagreed on how to accomplish the task. The troubling part was that when I asked 'how does Trump intend to provide health insurance for all' the usual ephemeral answer was 'trust Trump he will make it happen. How? No answer from them, just trust Trump.
The Inauguration Day Ceremony
The next day was inauguration day. I got in line to see the ceremony about 7:45 am for the noon event. The only condition was that a Clinton supporter would have to stand in line with Trump supporters for about four hours. I realized this would be difficult and would be slightly out numbered. So in a feeling of self-preservation I was determined to ask non-threatening questions, if that was possible and listen to their positions on why they voted for the Orange One, sorry Trump. The folks I met in line were decent, hard working family oriented and regular people. All the people I met were from the South, such as Tennessee, the Carolina's, Georgia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Florida. In some cases many were there with their families including grandparents. For sure there were plenty of folks to avoid, such as the group of guys with motorcycle jackets emblazoned with pictures of Hillary behind bars and 'Lock her Up' in bold print.
So, I selectively chose to get on line with what appeared to be the sane people, since I would have to stand with them for at least four hours. They assumed I was a Trump supporter, besides who would come here unless otherwise? So after some small talk, we became semi-friends and we would eventually get around to 'Where are you from'? This is when the quizzical looks would start to appear. I informed them I was from Chicago and I was definitely not a Trump supporter. What was even worse I was a retired Chicago Public School teacher. At that most were interested on how I could possibly survive Chicago's gun war. This of course was a result of Trump's constant barrage against Chicago during the campaign. I assured them that all Chicago was not like what Trump portrayed during the campaign. This was an early indication to the Trumpers, that maybe, just maybe Trump was not all about truth.
But by that time we had become semi-friends and were stuck together. Much to my surprise we got along and we had normal conversations about the election. As my intention was to only listen to the Trump supporters and not to challenge them on any point for any length, I gained some insight as to what they were thinking by voting for Trump.
After we all realized that a Clinton supporter was now in line with all the Trump supporters, I would begin to ask them what reasons did they vote for Trump? I was sincere and I believe they felt I was asking them in an attempt to understand. Yet strangely I could sense their uneasiness and nervousness when I started to ask them questions. Some of their responses were as follows:
On the subject of how dirty the campaign was Trump supporters had plenty of explanations:
The music was classic Motown and the news was strictly good. It was a revolution insisted Mr. Daniel. We had some fun with possible combinations of good music and good news. So I would name a song by the Temptations such as 'My Girl' and Mr. Daniel would cite a news item about a surprise wedding proposal, 'Wish It Would Rain', the drought in California is over, 'Ball of Confusion', the 2016 Election Campaign and so on. This killed some time.
Mr. Daniel was a Jimmy Carter Democrat but he has since moved Republican with Reagan. So he could at least see the Democrat viewpoint in my discussion. His son said the nation is completely divided and only a drastic event could bring it all together. When I mentioned that event would be a war, he was visibly shaken and said it had better not be. He said that no one understands the horror of war unless you have been there, and hoped that that would not be the case.
I liked these two guys. They were alternately funny and serious, easy to get along with. They said the ex-governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue III, not related to the poultry company, had just been picked for Secretary of Agriculture. University of Georgia, Athens is a well respected Agricultural school. Georgia is also a serious agricultural state. But Trump did select him so there has to be a big business connection or ethics question somewhere.
Finally, I got on the mall to see the inauguration at about 11:45 am after going through two TSA security points. Since I only had a lunch bag I moved to the second TSA point rather quickly. There the agent confiscated my apple only. Maybe he was hungry, I am still not sure why my apple was taken. It was just in time to see Pence and Trump take their oaths and to hear Trump's inauguration address.
Our area was about half full or half empty as you see fit, the pictures below will attest. Clearly the overflow crowd that was expected did not materialize. The mood was really not as euphoric as I would have expected, but rather subdued. There was some cheering but after Trump delivered his address, people just filed out and went over to the Inauguration parade down Pennslyvania Ave.
On the way to the parade route I thought I might pause and flash my 'OUR FIRST STAND, SAVE HEALTH CARE' sign to all exiting Trump supporters. This completely caught most Trumpers by surprise. A significant majority of people that did offer a comment was positive, as it was by the White House the day before. They seemed to agree that all should have access to health care. But Obamacare was a complete disaster, and Trump will do it better. When I asked how? Once again just like at the White House they would respond, 'trust Trump, because he said that he will fix it'. (We shall see).
Since I was a lone protester standing inside and at the exit of the Trump inauguration, many pictures were taken and I was interviewed by German, French, Brazilian press and New York City media. They were mostly pro-Obama Care. Many folks did stop and agreed with the sign. I caught one middle aged woman standing back and crying, then she asked if she could hug me. I agreed. Why not? She did and then she left.
A few negative remarks regarding health care were in order from the die-hard Trump supporters. But when I responded to their comments, they simply moved on with no further discussion. I especially enjoyed directly flashing my sign at the hard core Trump supporters as they exited the inauguration. They were muted, as bullies usually are when you directly come at them. Bullies are real easy to defuse. You come right at them, something they are not used to and also have the truth around as well. It is a guaranteed bully killer.
The Inauguration Parade
The inauguration parade was on Pennslyvania Ave. Once again I had to go through a security check point at 7th and Pennslyvania. Across the street ANSWER, an anti-war coalition, was holding a massive demonstration ironically at the Navy Memorial. The parade route was not that crowded as I was able to get a spot along the route. I once again met several folks with their families there to see the parade. One family was from Kansas City and was wearing Royals baseball caps. We talked cordially about the White Sox and the Royals, which share the American League Central. The real problem was that it would be difficult to see the parade because of so many security officers along the route.
Finally the parade started about 3:30 pm, after a violent demonstration at the beginning of the parade. Then newly inaugurated Trump's caravan flew by so quickly, it was your guess which car the President and Vice President were in. Word came down that Trump got out of the limousine and walked for awhile on the route, right in front of Trump Hotel. I casually mentioned to a fellow bystander that Trump is taking advantage of the election to advertise his businesses, thinking that act would be considered uniformly disgusting. But the Trump supporter next to me responded by saying, "Sure why not? He should be able to take advantage of his position. I do not see anything wrong with that. I would do the same." It is going to be hard to argue Trump's conflict of business interest with these folks.
After Trump's heavily armored cars passed, then after a long pause when many people departed, the real parade began. Marching bands from the Navy, The University of Tennessee and high schools participated, including an impressive display of Vietnam helicopter pilots and the machines they flew.
The contrast between the lock down atmosphere caused by Trump and the sheer talent of the marching bands was astonishing. It was sad to witness that contrast. It seemed that the rest of the parade was just an innocent attempt to gloss over the tenseness of the Trump/Pence election and inauguration. It was the passing of two Americas, the present with Trump's heavy security cloud and the past with Norman Rockwell marching bands. There was talk that Trump wanted a military style parade like North Korea or something. He almost got that wish with the heavy display of security vehicles preceding and following his caravan.
The parade ended about 6:30 pm in the dark. Sadly many bands went by in the dark to an almost empty grandstand. Somehow i feel this parade portends the future under Trump's administration. I wandered back to the hotel to get ready for the Women's March on Saturday.
The Women's March
There was no hotel taxi shuttle to the Shady Grove Metro line on Saturday January 21 and worse yet no complimentary breakfast. Although the latter was a blessing gauging from the previous day breakfast that was served under the guise of a hot meal. Anyway after a short cab ride I was at the Shady Grove station at 6:45 am ready to board the train for the Women's March in DC. The train quickly filled up as it headed downtown. I checked my bags at Amtrak's Union Station, ate a similarly awful breakfast and was on the Mall by 8:00 am. I did have to leave that day for Chicago so the baggage check was really convenient and would not have to lug my bag around the march.
There were people everywhere looking to find the beginning of or at least the best place to participate in the march. Crowd advisers were guiding everyone to different locations, to either view the actual stage or see the speakers on television screens. We were in front of a screen and the speakers began at 10:00 am. Unfortunately the sound system did not work on our screen. So unless you could read lips you could not hear what they were saying. But because we were one street over from the main stage we got a delayed sound, most people did not seem to care as chants and sign waving continued unabated. But one has to wonder why the sound system worked just fine the day before at the inauguration, but seemed to have major malfunctions today. We thought that was no accident.
Speaker after speaker came to the microphone with basically the same message, 'This march is not enough, you must go home and GET INVOLVED'. I completely agree. About 11:30 am I turned around and could not see the end of the number of people. It was both inspiring and frightening to be in a crowd that was estimated to be about 500,000. In my estimation the March turnout was much greater than Trump's Inaugural turnout.
Speakers continued until 3:00 pm and no March was ever ordered. In effect there was no march, because participants filled all of the of the route, so there really was no where to march. But people were starting to get impatient and wanted to move and march. We had been standing there since 8:00 am. But the speakers just kept coming with no sound to boot.
Finally I had to push through the crowd to get back to Union Station and catch a 4:05 pm Amtrak back to Chicago, which I barely made. On the way back to Union Station a FOX news reporter was being swamped by women marchers. The FOX reporter was saying that the marchers were not giving Trump a chance to be President. Like Obama was given a chance by the Republicans? It was interesting to see how easily emotions can rise. I am still not sure if the FOX reporter was just provoking the crowd or not, either way the crowd was getting unruly. I could not stick around as my train would not wait.
The Women's March was inspiring and energetic. I also understand there were many sister marches that occurred around the world that day. The people I met there were friendly and devoted to resist Trump's agenda with all of their might. I really hope this is the beginning of a movement and not just a one day event.
My Health Care sign made the scene once again. And once again I had many conversations about health care for all. All seemed to agree that everyone should get health care and the ACA, Obamacare, should not be repealed. This opinion at the march was almost unanimous as you might expect.
Summary
The inauguration ceremony, the parade, talking with many Trump supporters and then attending the Women's March the next day one thing became crystal clear: this country is as divided as I have not witnessed since the anti-Vietnam War days. During the anti-war days of the late 1960's and early 1970's was a binary time. By that I mean either a 1 or 0, black or white, for the war or against the war. Period. Generation gap and all. Families, friends, and neighbors were split along these definite lines. Demonstrations against the war were frequent and received a large share of the attention, but many private actions were also taken such as dodging the draft, draft resistance, and protests in schools and places of work. The only distinction between then and now is the lack of violence that so often happened during the anti-war days, at least so far.
The division now is as real as it was during those times, but one definite event quickly closed the yawning gap then, the Vietnam war ended. Once the war was over and troops returned home from Vietnam the pressure was released and the country seemed to move on. This time it appears that no one event can quickly close that yawning ideological gap, except ironically a war starting instead of ending.
In line at the inauguration we talked about what would bring the country together. When I mentioned the event to unify everyone would be a war, the Afghanistan war veteran winced and said, "I hope not. People do not understand how awful that would be." Unfortunately we have a blueprint for exactly how a war can quickly unite a country. In 2001 after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Bush's war on Iraq his approval rating increased by 40% and 14% respectively. Please remember how divided the country was after the election of 2000 when the Republicans stole that election as well with the aid of the Supreme Court.
Frankly after the events of the last three days I am not real confident about the next four years. Judging by the campaign Trump is clearly not a unifier and I would expect the divisions to continue. Health care being the pivot issue. If Trump supports changes to the ACA that takes away insurance from many people it will further divide the country. I also suspect that after standing in line with many Trump supporters that they are benefiting from the ACA too.
Income inequality is playing a major role in the fight over health care. By subsidizing insurance premiums with taxes on the rich, the ACA is an income leveler. The money not spent on insurance premiums would be spent in the economy and the constituents would have health insurance as well. But of course these are the two things that Republicans hate most, taxing the rich and helping the poor.
Even after confronting Trump supporters, as they left the inauguration about health care, the overall experience was positive. But I do not beleive that these divisions will heal quickly, it is up to Trump to bring all factions together. And honestly I do not believe that Trump will be able to bring the country together. Trump is not going to change from his campaign as the inauguration speech demonstrated. There are many questions remaining about Trump that will probably get in the way. Enjoy the slide presentation below from the inauguration and the Women's March.
And all I know for sure is:
OUR FIRST STAND--SAVE HEALTH CARE
But since that did not turn out as expected, I boarded Amtrak in Chicago anyway on Wednesday January 18 and went to Washington DC for the not so expected inauguration and the Women's March on January 21. The train was full mostly of anti-Trump people heading to the Women's March rather than to see the Orange One inaugurated. Discussion was everywhere regarding the election issues and how in the world The Orange One could possibly be president.
Trump supporters were not visible until I reached the Capitol building on Thursday afternoon. There, preparations were underway for the inauguration on Friday, January 20. The Trump supporters were clearly enjoying their moment of victory. Pictures were taken in front of the Capitol building and just about anywhere else on the mall. But there seemed to be fewer people there as I would have expected even for a day early.
Even though the Orange One was sponsoring a rally at the Lincoln Memorial, I moved over to the White House in an effort to see Obama during his last day there. A large crowd had accumulated but were kept at a distance from the White House. They were not able to get close at all to see the White House. So I decided to stand with my sign, 'OUR FIRST STAND, SAVE HEALTH CARE'. Surprisingly despite about half of the pedestrians were Trump supporters, the response was overwhelming positive. Hopefully this is a good indicator for the future of health care.
A few Trump supporters did make snarky comments but they would move on quickly rather than stop to talk about their comment and the ACA. In essence the Trumpers would agree that we should all have health insurance but disagreed on how to accomplish the task. The troubling part was that when I asked 'how does Trump intend to provide health insurance for all' the usual ephemeral answer was 'trust Trump he will make it happen. How? No answer from them, just trust Trump.
The Inauguration Day Ceremony
The next day was inauguration day. I got in line to see the ceremony about 7:45 am for the noon event. The only condition was that a Clinton supporter would have to stand in line with Trump supporters for about four hours. I realized this would be difficult and would be slightly out numbered. So in a feeling of self-preservation I was determined to ask non-threatening questions, if that was possible and listen to their positions on why they voted for the Orange One, sorry Trump. The folks I met in line were decent, hard working family oriented and regular people. All the people I met were from the South, such as Tennessee, the Carolina's, Georgia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Florida. In some cases many were there with their families including grandparents. For sure there were plenty of folks to avoid, such as the group of guys with motorcycle jackets emblazoned with pictures of Hillary behind bars and 'Lock her Up' in bold print.
So, I selectively chose to get on line with what appeared to be the sane people, since I would have to stand with them for at least four hours. They assumed I was a Trump supporter, besides who would come here unless otherwise? So after some small talk, we became semi-friends and we would eventually get around to 'Where are you from'? This is when the quizzical looks would start to appear. I informed them I was from Chicago and I was definitely not a Trump supporter. What was even worse I was a retired Chicago Public School teacher. At that most were interested on how I could possibly survive Chicago's gun war. This of course was a result of Trump's constant barrage against Chicago during the campaign. I assured them that all Chicago was not like what Trump portrayed during the campaign. This was an early indication to the Trumpers, that maybe, just maybe Trump was not all about truth.
But by that time we had become semi-friends and were stuck together. Much to my surprise we got along and we had normal conversations about the election. As my intention was to only listen to the Trump supporters and not to challenge them on any point for any length, I gained some insight as to what they were thinking by voting for Trump.
After we all realized that a Clinton supporter was now in line with all the Trump supporters, I would begin to ask them what reasons did they vote for Trump? I was sincere and I believe they felt I was asking them in an attempt to understand. Yet strangely I could sense their uneasiness and nervousness when I started to ask them questions. Some of their responses were as follows:
- Trump is a successful businessman and since the government is like a business what better than to have a successful business man straighten out this mess?
- Trump came up from a rough background and knows how to pull himself up by his bootstraps. He has failed many times and has come back from failure so he does not quit.
- Trump stands up for the little guy and will bring back our jobs lost to the world market.
- Trump does what he says he will do.
- Trump owes no one as he financed his own campaign. He will bring reform to Washington DC.
- Obamacare is a disaster and he will provide health care for all cheaper and better.
- Trump is more trustworthy than Clinton. Clinton is a criminal, cannot trust her.
- Trump is a religious person and not under the influence of Wall Street. He will stand up to Wall Street.
- We have to clean up the mess Obama made, Trump is an American and he will build a wall to stop the illegal immigrants.
- Trump will bring back manufacturing and coal jobs by repealing trade deals.
- Muslims and other illegal immigrants will be kicked out of the country. They have taken our jobs.
- Voting for Trump will save my job.
On the subject of how dirty the campaign was Trump supporters had plenty of explanations:
- Everyone was picking on Trump starting in the primaries when all the candidates were ganging up on him. Trump was just fighting back, after all when someone hits you, you have to hit back harder and faster to win. We are glad he is on our side.
- Clinton continued the dirty tricks in the general campaign and Trump was fighting back, as he was always alone in the fight.
- The media was against Trump, we felt sorry for him.
- Trump would tell the truth and the media would twist it around against him.
- He admitted that he spoke vulgar of women, so he is honest and really it was a long time ago.
- The assaulted women should have come forward a long time ago. Why did they wait until now? Men and women all talk that way.
- They are going to vote against Clinton and for Trump to prove 'we the people' actually have political power
- The Russian thing is over-blown and was used to deflect attention away from Clinton's e-mails.
The music was classic Motown and the news was strictly good. It was a revolution insisted Mr. Daniel. We had some fun with possible combinations of good music and good news. So I would name a song by the Temptations such as 'My Girl' and Mr. Daniel would cite a news item about a surprise wedding proposal, 'Wish It Would Rain', the drought in California is over, 'Ball of Confusion', the 2016 Election Campaign and so on. This killed some time.
Mr. Daniel was a Jimmy Carter Democrat but he has since moved Republican with Reagan. So he could at least see the Democrat viewpoint in my discussion. His son said the nation is completely divided and only a drastic event could bring it all together. When I mentioned that event would be a war, he was visibly shaken and said it had better not be. He said that no one understands the horror of war unless you have been there, and hoped that that would not be the case.
I liked these two guys. They were alternately funny and serious, easy to get along with. They said the ex-governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue III, not related to the poultry company, had just been picked for Secretary of Agriculture. University of Georgia, Athens is a well respected Agricultural school. Georgia is also a serious agricultural state. But Trump did select him so there has to be a big business connection or ethics question somewhere.
Finally, I got on the mall to see the inauguration at about 11:45 am after going through two TSA security points. Since I only had a lunch bag I moved to the second TSA point rather quickly. There the agent confiscated my apple only. Maybe he was hungry, I am still not sure why my apple was taken. It was just in time to see Pence and Trump take their oaths and to hear Trump's inauguration address.
Our area was about half full or half empty as you see fit, the pictures below will attest. Clearly the overflow crowd that was expected did not materialize. The mood was really not as euphoric as I would have expected, but rather subdued. There was some cheering but after Trump delivered his address, people just filed out and went over to the Inauguration parade down Pennslyvania Ave.
On the way to the parade route I thought I might pause and flash my 'OUR FIRST STAND, SAVE HEALTH CARE' sign to all exiting Trump supporters. This completely caught most Trumpers by surprise. A significant majority of people that did offer a comment was positive, as it was by the White House the day before. They seemed to agree that all should have access to health care. But Obamacare was a complete disaster, and Trump will do it better. When I asked how? Once again just like at the White House they would respond, 'trust Trump, because he said that he will fix it'. (We shall see).
Since I was a lone protester standing inside and at the exit of the Trump inauguration, many pictures were taken and I was interviewed by German, French, Brazilian press and New York City media. They were mostly pro-Obama Care. Many folks did stop and agreed with the sign. I caught one middle aged woman standing back and crying, then she asked if she could hug me. I agreed. Why not? She did and then she left.
A few negative remarks regarding health care were in order from the die-hard Trump supporters. But when I responded to their comments, they simply moved on with no further discussion. I especially enjoyed directly flashing my sign at the hard core Trump supporters as they exited the inauguration. They were muted, as bullies usually are when you directly come at them. Bullies are real easy to defuse. You come right at them, something they are not used to and also have the truth around as well. It is a guaranteed bully killer.
The Inauguration Parade
The inauguration parade was on Pennslyvania Ave. Once again I had to go through a security check point at 7th and Pennslyvania. Across the street ANSWER, an anti-war coalition, was holding a massive demonstration ironically at the Navy Memorial. The parade route was not that crowded as I was able to get a spot along the route. I once again met several folks with their families there to see the parade. One family was from Kansas City and was wearing Royals baseball caps. We talked cordially about the White Sox and the Royals, which share the American League Central. The real problem was that it would be difficult to see the parade because of so many security officers along the route.
Finally the parade started about 3:30 pm, after a violent demonstration at the beginning of the parade. Then newly inaugurated Trump's caravan flew by so quickly, it was your guess which car the President and Vice President were in. Word came down that Trump got out of the limousine and walked for awhile on the route, right in front of Trump Hotel. I casually mentioned to a fellow bystander that Trump is taking advantage of the election to advertise his businesses, thinking that act would be considered uniformly disgusting. But the Trump supporter next to me responded by saying, "Sure why not? He should be able to take advantage of his position. I do not see anything wrong with that. I would do the same." It is going to be hard to argue Trump's conflict of business interest with these folks.
After Trump's heavily armored cars passed, then after a long pause when many people departed, the real parade began. Marching bands from the Navy, The University of Tennessee and high schools participated, including an impressive display of Vietnam helicopter pilots and the machines they flew.
The contrast between the lock down atmosphere caused by Trump and the sheer talent of the marching bands was astonishing. It was sad to witness that contrast. It seemed that the rest of the parade was just an innocent attempt to gloss over the tenseness of the Trump/Pence election and inauguration. It was the passing of two Americas, the present with Trump's heavy security cloud and the past with Norman Rockwell marching bands. There was talk that Trump wanted a military style parade like North Korea or something. He almost got that wish with the heavy display of security vehicles preceding and following his caravan.
The parade ended about 6:30 pm in the dark. Sadly many bands went by in the dark to an almost empty grandstand. Somehow i feel this parade portends the future under Trump's administration. I wandered back to the hotel to get ready for the Women's March on Saturday.
The Women's March
There was no hotel taxi shuttle to the Shady Grove Metro line on Saturday January 21 and worse yet no complimentary breakfast. Although the latter was a blessing gauging from the previous day breakfast that was served under the guise of a hot meal. Anyway after a short cab ride I was at the Shady Grove station at 6:45 am ready to board the train for the Women's March in DC. The train quickly filled up as it headed downtown. I checked my bags at Amtrak's Union Station, ate a similarly awful breakfast and was on the Mall by 8:00 am. I did have to leave that day for Chicago so the baggage check was really convenient and would not have to lug my bag around the march.
There were people everywhere looking to find the beginning of or at least the best place to participate in the march. Crowd advisers were guiding everyone to different locations, to either view the actual stage or see the speakers on television screens. We were in front of a screen and the speakers began at 10:00 am. Unfortunately the sound system did not work on our screen. So unless you could read lips you could not hear what they were saying. But because we were one street over from the main stage we got a delayed sound, most people did not seem to care as chants and sign waving continued unabated. But one has to wonder why the sound system worked just fine the day before at the inauguration, but seemed to have major malfunctions today. We thought that was no accident.
Speaker after speaker came to the microphone with basically the same message, 'This march is not enough, you must go home and GET INVOLVED'. I completely agree. About 11:30 am I turned around and could not see the end of the number of people. It was both inspiring and frightening to be in a crowd that was estimated to be about 500,000. In my estimation the March turnout was much greater than Trump's Inaugural turnout.
Speakers continued until 3:00 pm and no March was ever ordered. In effect there was no march, because participants filled all of the of the route, so there really was no where to march. But people were starting to get impatient and wanted to move and march. We had been standing there since 8:00 am. But the speakers just kept coming with no sound to boot.
Finally I had to push through the crowd to get back to Union Station and catch a 4:05 pm Amtrak back to Chicago, which I barely made. On the way back to Union Station a FOX news reporter was being swamped by women marchers. The FOX reporter was saying that the marchers were not giving Trump a chance to be President. Like Obama was given a chance by the Republicans? It was interesting to see how easily emotions can rise. I am still not sure if the FOX reporter was just provoking the crowd or not, either way the crowd was getting unruly. I could not stick around as my train would not wait.
The Women's March was inspiring and energetic. I also understand there were many sister marches that occurred around the world that day. The people I met there were friendly and devoted to resist Trump's agenda with all of their might. I really hope this is the beginning of a movement and not just a one day event.
My Health Care sign made the scene once again. And once again I had many conversations about health care for all. All seemed to agree that everyone should get health care and the ACA, Obamacare, should not be repealed. This opinion at the march was almost unanimous as you might expect.
Summary
The inauguration ceremony, the parade, talking with many Trump supporters and then attending the Women's March the next day one thing became crystal clear: this country is as divided as I have not witnessed since the anti-Vietnam War days. During the anti-war days of the late 1960's and early 1970's was a binary time. By that I mean either a 1 or 0, black or white, for the war or against the war. Period. Generation gap and all. Families, friends, and neighbors were split along these definite lines. Demonstrations against the war were frequent and received a large share of the attention, but many private actions were also taken such as dodging the draft, draft resistance, and protests in schools and places of work. The only distinction between then and now is the lack of violence that so often happened during the anti-war days, at least so far.
The division now is as real as it was during those times, but one definite event quickly closed the yawning gap then, the Vietnam war ended. Once the war was over and troops returned home from Vietnam the pressure was released and the country seemed to move on. This time it appears that no one event can quickly close that yawning ideological gap, except ironically a war starting instead of ending.
In line at the inauguration we talked about what would bring the country together. When I mentioned the event to unify everyone would be a war, the Afghanistan war veteran winced and said, "I hope not. People do not understand how awful that would be." Unfortunately we have a blueprint for exactly how a war can quickly unite a country. In 2001 after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Bush's war on Iraq his approval rating increased by 40% and 14% respectively. Please remember how divided the country was after the election of 2000 when the Republicans stole that election as well with the aid of the Supreme Court.
Frankly after the events of the last three days I am not real confident about the next four years. Judging by the campaign Trump is clearly not a unifier and I would expect the divisions to continue. Health care being the pivot issue. If Trump supports changes to the ACA that takes away insurance from many people it will further divide the country. I also suspect that after standing in line with many Trump supporters that they are benefiting from the ACA too.
Income inequality is playing a major role in the fight over health care. By subsidizing insurance premiums with taxes on the rich, the ACA is an income leveler. The money not spent on insurance premiums would be spent in the economy and the constituents would have health insurance as well. But of course these are the two things that Republicans hate most, taxing the rich and helping the poor.
Even after confronting Trump supporters, as they left the inauguration about health care, the overall experience was positive. But I do not beleive that these divisions will heal quickly, it is up to Trump to bring all factions together. And honestly I do not believe that Trump will be able to bring the country together. Trump is not going to change from his campaign as the inauguration speech demonstrated. There are many questions remaining about Trump that will probably get in the way. Enjoy the slide presentation below from the inauguration and the Women's March.
And all I know for sure is:
OUR FIRST STAND--SAVE HEALTH CARE