#WomensMarch: “What Are They Looking To Accomplish?!” THIS

For starters, if you’re against anyone who has an issue with President Donald Trump, then don’t pretend as if you have some profound desire to really learn why women have marched today and will likely do much more of in the future. The bottom line is that you don’t. You’re simply looking to argue. So you can stop reading this now.

Also, there are a lot of you out there who will huff and puff any time a woman, person of color, or other minority wants to take a stand for something. Doesn’t matter what it is about, how legitimate the cause or how peaceful or legal it is. Just the fact that someone speaks is enough to just ruin your entire day.

YOU can stop reading as well.

Now, for those of you who choose to continue reading, I’ll get right to the point.

In terms of the marches that have taken place today, many have asked, “What are these women looking to accomplish?!”

First off, I could NOT be more proud as an American and overall, human being. Women all over the WORLD (not just the United States) have marched today and will likely continue doing so, no matter how much some of you will pout on social media about “not wanting to see it.” It’s not as if anyone has a gun to your heads anyway, but hey…what do I know?

Second, the answer.  Why are they doing this?

Easy.

For solidarity. For unity. To make the world aware of the issues many of them face on a daily basis. To inform others that women are NOT treated equally in so many facets of life. Because they are not taking it anymore. Not from men, other women who would prefer that they “shut up,” and most of all, not from President Trump.

What’s so hard to understand about that?

I’m seriously appalled by the level of dismissal when it comes to issues from women, people of color and other minorities. It’s the dismissal, along with the belief that these issues simply do not exist. Unless a rock has been your residence for most of your life, this is not a question.

If you have never experienced discrimination of any kind, great. If you have, I’m truly sorry. If you’ve experienced this and recovered, great for you. If you are still struggling from the effects, then I’m sorry about that as well. But neither one is better than the other. Just because you got through it okay doesn’t mean others are going to have that easy of a time. Everyone else is not you.

For those of you women who want to dismiss those marching by saying, “Well I’ve experienced discrimination also. I’ve been sexually harassed and assaulted. But I’m not weak. I learned to deal with it and move on with my life. I don’t need to march.”

Wow.

First off, I feel incredibly sorry for you that you’ve experienced that in your life. I’m even more sorry that you’ve been led to believe that you are to “shut up” and learned to “just deal with it.” That is NOT okay, and I am deeply sorry that you have been taught to live your life that way, along with believing that any woman who does not is “weak” in some way.

Second, understand what the march is about.

The women who participated in these marches are not these delicate little flowers that will come apart if someone blows on them. Some have experienced the worst of the worst and others have not. A lot of MEN participated as well. Men who have NEVER experienced what women go through each day.

Many took part in the marches in support of their fellow sisters. Again…not that hard to understand. I don’t need to have experienced it myself in order to want to support someone else who wants to protest or to march about it. There are lot of important women in my life and knowing that they’ve experienced much of this horror is enough for me to want to show my support.

I’m serious…I really don’t get why people are questioning this as if it makes no sense. I am certainly not even close to being the smartest man in the world. But I get it.

Now, I’ve also seen people say, “This is just a waste of time. Nothing is going to happen today or tomorrow.”

Let me ask you this.

Do you choose to NOT paint your house once you discover that you won’t be able to finish it all in one day?

If you’re looking to lose 10-20 pounds, does the mere fact that it won’t happen in a day cause you to give up on it?

Do you choose to NOT buy a house, a car, or any other expensive item just because you won’t be able to have the money in one day?

Do you tell your children to do or not do something ONLY ONCE and then never say it again?

If you don’t get the idea, here is my point of the questions.

The women participating are intelligent enough to realize that change will not happen today. Not even tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next day. But they knew this before they chose to march, yet they still did so.

I’m certain many of them understand that for long term change, marches like these NEED to happen. That’s all there is to it.

And guess what?

Whether you LIKE it or not, you’re talking about it, aren’t you?

Mission accomplished.

MILLIONS took part in these marches all over the world. MILLIONS.

Mission accomplished.

Something that wasn’t on your radar before is there now.

Mission accomplished.

And whether or not you believe so, a LOT of women who were once too afraid to speak up about the horrible ordeals they have experienced in their lives are not any longer, thanks to these marches. Even if they weren’t actually present for them, they see these other brave women, along with the men who support them, and realize that they are NOT alone.

Mission accomplished.

No matter how much I write here, I’m sure I could never capture things in the way that a woman could. So here’s what I encourage you to do.

If you don’t understand why marches and protests like these happen, open your mind and ask one of the women who took part in it. I say that again…OPEN YOUR MIND. Don’t ask in a condescending manner with a pre-determined answer. If you claim to REALLY want to know, then for once, close your mouth, open your mind and LISTEN.

You can say whatever you want about me. I couldn’t care less. But one thing I will ALWAYS pride myself on is that I have learned SO MUCH about people who are different than I am and it came from simply sitting down, shutting up, and LISTENING to them. So I’m not telling you or suggesting that you do anything I haven’t done or don’t do myself.

I haven’t experienced what women have and do on a daily basis. Even upon hearing stories, I could never truly understand. But I want to. And the only way for it to happen is if I open my mind and heart, and hear it from THEM. LISTEN to them. Not fill in the blanks  with whatever I want from tired stereotypes and hearsay, along with fussing every time a woman wants to speak up just because it may make me uncomfortable. The world doesn’t revolve around me, nor does it any of you.

If you are “uncomfortable” with any of this, I am just SO sorry. The women participating in these marches obviously has NO clue about what it means to be made to feel uncomfortable about something.

Poor you.

My mindset is simple. Many of you wouldn’t hesitate to raise hell about something you don’t like. If you have the right to do that and expect everyone to listen to you, then show that same respect to the women who participate in marches like these.

I am a man of QUALITY. So I am not threatened by EQUALITY. And if you consider yourself a person of quality, you should not be, either.

I can’t expect everyone else to be like me in that aspect. Some of you are set in your ways. That’s on you. But just because you don’t understand or WANT to understand means that life stops for everyone else and that everyone is going to shut up just because YOU’RE uncomfortable with folks speaking up.

They’re NOT going away. And they shouldn’t.

The beauty of living in America, to me, is DIVERSITY. Diversity of people, cultures, lifestyles and opinions. Some of you who call yourselves patriots seem to have the most problem with that. You need to look up the word again and take a look in the mirror. Because you have it confused.

No one is forcing you to agree with everything other people choose to do. But the berating, insulting and dismissing need to stop. It will NOT stop anyone from protesting or marching. They WILL continue.

And personally, I have MUCH more respect for those who STAND UP when they feel they need to or for what they believe in rather than those who pout about the ones doing it on social media. I’ve said MANY times that I don’t have to agree with the cause. I respect that people feel they need change, so they get up and work on MAKING that change. Even if it doesn’t work out, at least they did something besides just talk.

So again…if you are asking the question, try walking with them. Try talking with them. You’ll learn exactly why they are doing it. You’ll find out exactly what they are looking to accomplish, whether it is now, tomorrow, three days, months or even years from now.

If you are not interested in doing that, then move over so someone else can.

Did that answer your question?