My friend Mark Roberts has again captured the essence of the Woman’s March in New York City.  I believe he is not only a captures people; he captures who they are with his photographs.

While there are many signs proclaiming Trump as the enemy, I believe that this year women realize that this is not a problem he created.  It is old as time itself, but what Trump took away, was HOPE.  Hope that finally here in the US a woman would have a chance to be given equal consideration as a man.

Of course, Trump also has done something good.  He has exposed that the nation most of us thought we lived in, never existed.

Trump did us the favor of showing us where hate was hiding.

We all thought our own story of “Me too” was “Just me”.  That somehow being the only woman in a group meant you were always asked to get the coffee, “Oh my boss is just old fashioned.”….or being pinched or swatted on the butt by that Vice President who is “Just that guy who thinks it is funny, maybe I should dress differently, long jackets?” to finally, being raped by someone powerful, and when you talk about it, people laugh at you saying “Well we all knew about him. ”

Not just a female issue.  Equality is for everyone.  

Because what follows is guilt.  Not by the man.  He sleeps well at night.  The woman. “What was I wearing?”  “Did I give the wrong signal?” “I smiled at him, it was probably that smile.”

(One woman where I worked was hit on horrifically by every male at work, when she wore her Girl Scout leader outfit to work to help sell cookies with her daughter.  In front of her daughter, age 8, every male thought he had the right to comment how she was his “fantasy” and “Could you wear that outfit over to my place?”)

Every generation, will have to march.  

I lived through the early butt slapper.  He was the Principal of my Middle School.  The students who worked one class in the front office were his primary victims.  I worked in the nurses office as I had a medical issue.  The school nurse, knew about his behavior.  He grabbed butts, grabbed boobs telling the girls they were “Growing up fast now!” Took photographs of them.

It’s not just Trump, he just let everyone know they could open their mouths and say sober they before would say only when drunk.

The school nurse retaliated by not reminding him to take his diabetes medication.  Think about this, the school nurse was basically hoping to murder this man.  Because she had no other option of how to deal with this atrocity that everyone knew was happening.

A good mother, educating her child. You never stop marching

He finally left, due to poor health, and one girl finally told her parents.  He was never exposed, except the school nurse did bring cupcakes to school to celebrate his retirement.  She gave him two at the party they threw for him.

She’s joking here, but in reality women have had to depend on themselves for defense. Juries understood this.  Women were rarely found guilty of murdering their husbands at one time, because even male juries understood, there was no other option.

This dealing with things ourselves, as we are alone, is a long tradition for women.

I feel sad she will probably have to march also. But perhaps, things will change for GOOD this time!

In Victorian times in the United Kingdom saw few upper class women convicted of murder.  One notorious crime, was that of “The Priory Murder”.  Most scholars agree the wife, Florence Ricardo, is the most likely murderer of her husband, Charles Bravo.  But, she was found “not Guilty”.

No male bashing here, I grew up with two brothers that are feminists, and a feminist husband.  What does that word mean to them? Just treating women with the same respect you would treat a male friend or coworker.  Also treating your wife as a partner, not a servant.  I bet this man, if he has children, hugs them and reads to them. Trump admits he was a horrible father, with pride!

This was because Charles Bravo was guilty of attempted murder.  The murder of his wife, who was an heiress and had a lot of money.  His method of murder? His wife had several very dangerous pregnancies where she had almost died.  Her doctors recommended her not to become pregnant again.  At the very least they wished her to rest after her last almost lethal pregnancy.

She’s going to need to march also, it appears hate never really goes away.  Every generation will have to work to ensure our nation is governed by empathy and equality, not hate.

Bravo was demanding his marital rights.  There was nothing she could do in Victorian times.  The husband was the law.  Despite every physician telling the couple another pregnancy too soon upon the last one, would result in her death, Bravo demanded access to her bed chamber.  He knew what he was doing.  He was going to inherit her fortune.

Vote in every election.  One thing we learned, each office is important.  Including town and county and state.  The President doesn’t have unlimited power.  A form of protest, voting in EVERY ELECTION, even dog catcher, and make sure that candidate is one you think is best for the job.  Every election matters.

The jury, all men, often had great sympathy for a young woman married to a brute.  If she were rich and beautiful, all to the better.  Not guilty was the verdict, which is still debated in books today.

You can smile while marching! Being united feels good.

The belief I had was that the butt smackers and the dirty jokes men and the let’s pay her less people…. were GOING AWAY.  They were the anomalies of our society.

Let’s admit, it’s everyone in danger now.  Not just women. 

Then Trump does that good thing.  He is showing the world that protection for all United States citizens, even those protected by law now, is not something he supports.  He’s also showing he is determined to pass restrictions rather than protections.

This is HOPE.

Trump woke us all up. Males and females and the LBGT community.  We have to fight, and continue to fight, because those rights can be taken away  quickly.  Generations of protests and marching and hard work, can be swept aside by one man, unless we continue to make our voices heard.

Hatred never truly goes away.  It creeps into dark corners, waiting for a leader to tell it to come out again.  In the light of Trump, what has always been here, is being seen BRIGHTLY and with CLARITY.  Trump didn’t start inequality for women.  But he did remind us, it’s never been gone, it was only sleeping. Still now that we can see the hate, we know who the are the enemies of FREEDOM.