The “women’s march” is global, apparently

Last updated on: January 21, 2017 at 4:07 pm by Jane the Actuary

The “women’s march” is global, apparently 2017-01-21T16:07:18-06:00 Jane the Actuary

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And I find it distasteful. Sorry, but I do. This is, above all, an anti-Trump march. It’s organizers say that this is a march for “human rights” but fundamentally this is not about social justice generically but a march specifically aimed at voicing opposition to Trump for the things he’s said in the past and the things he’s expected to do in the future, however realistic those fears are.

So, fine, a march in Washington D.C. makes sense. Marches in large cities across the United States make sense. But “sister marches” abroad, not so much.

Here’s the list of locations of such marches — from Tblisi, Georgia, to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Hanoi, Vietnam. Some are clearly organized by American expats; in other cases, it’s less clear. Some are not marches but “gatherings” of various kinds, or even a picnic in Yangon, Myanmar, where a march would be illegal. Many post a generic “mission statement”:

We stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families – recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country. The rhetoric of the past election cycle has insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us – women, immigrants of all statuses, those with diverse religious faiths particularly Muslim, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Native and Indigenous people, Black and Brown people, people with disabilities, the economically impoverished and survivors of sexual assault. We are confronted with the question of how to move forward in the face of national and international concern and fear. In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers is too great to ignore. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us.

The Women’s March will send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world, that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.

Mic posted various pictures and these are all clearly anti-Trump, not just generically supportive of social justice. A woman in Paris holds up a sign that says “Not My President” — is she American? French? A woman in Buenos Aires has a similar sign, and a flag-design bandana. In Berlin, women hold up pictures of the image of a woman in an American flag-hijab. (Remember when flag clothing was considered disrespectful?) Same sign in Athens, along with “Hands off my (cat picture).”

So, look, I get that if the United States had truly elected the next Hitler, it would be entirely appropriate for outsiders to take notice. But everything I’ve read seems to at this point be focusing on defending Planned Parenthood. And consider the regimes in other parts of the world who actually violate human rights every day. How many rallies against Assad have you seen occurring, well, anywhere?

As it is, it feels like people in other countries are butting in on our electoral politics. Am I glad that Trump is our president? No. If we had a presidential primary system that wasn’t, in many states, constructed in a winner-take-all fashion, we’d be in a very different situation. But the idea of people in other countries thinking that it’s their business how we run our country, absent any actual human rights violations, doesn’t sit well with me. In the end, it feels like it’s really voicing an anti-Americanism that’s found it’s voice as anti-Trumpism.

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