Tomorrow, August 19th, freedom of speech will be tested again

 

Dear Boston,

Tomorrow, you have a choice. The far-right has scheduled another rally. Some may be your citizens, some may come from other places.

Some of you will oppose the rally.

Yes, the far-right has a right to speak. Perhaps, if you are like me, you will continue to “fight” for justice and equality for all people. But please “fight” with words.

Regardless of your “side”, I know how tense passions are – how they can escalate to the rise in blood pressure, to teeth grinding, to clenched fists. But please, put down your shields, your torches, your tear gas. In fact, don’t bring them at all.

And to my NON Alt-right friends: As difficult as it may be, perhaps you can stand back and listen. Then, maybe we will discover why the alt-right is so afraid of differences and what led them to that fear.

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Sincerely,

Carolyn D-W

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Keep Your Poisonous Swab away from MY Canal

On a scale from one to Ten on the happiness meter, I’d say that  I’m a fairly consistent eight. But, unfortunately, the needle of my frustration o-meter’s is perilously close to the danger zone. Why?

My core belief system, my moral code has not only been challenged, but also marginalized by the flip of a narcissistic man’s hand.

Anyone who has read some of my past blogs know who I am and what I stand for. And, what I acknowledge as my truth, isn’t about to change now. In fact, now, that select politicians have dipped their poisonous swab into my ideology canal, the results will come back as they always have, and this time, with a vengeance. I will continue to fight for the oppressed, for the rights of humanity and stand up against tyranny.

It has come to my attention that many folks did not understand the reason for the “Women’s March.” That’s okay. Hopefully, after so much has been written, they now understand. It wasn’t a protest against, but a march for. A march toward a better place for all humans.

How is that a bad thing?

Yes, I heard that somewhere in the world, there were acts of violence at the women’s march. The one I read about was of a pro-life supporter who was spit upon for her beliefs. Outrageous, in my opinion. I am not pro abortion in any way. I would have done (and tried) anything to have given birth to my two wonderful children who have made me a grandmother.

I am for the right to choose. I know, some of you might not understand this, and it’s too hard to explain in this post.

I also believe that some of the signs carried at various marches were “inappropriate.” Yet the ones who carried them had as much right to do so as the pro-life marchers.

Because, in that march, there was room for everyone, Republicans and Democrats alike who believed in the rights of humanity.

Now, here is my frustration. Four million plus people across the world marched to show their support for equality and since then, my mind has returned to vague memories of the sixties and the more prominent ones in the seventy and eighties. So why didn’t the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) pass? The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women .

“Gender equality, also known as sex equalitygender egalitarianismsexual equality, or equality of the genders, is the view that everyone should receive equal treatment and not be discriminated against based on their gender.[This is one of the objectives of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which seeks to create equality in law and in social situations, such as in democratic activities and securing equal pay for equal work.”    (see wikipedia for more info on the 9th amendment to the constitution and also the 14th which finally gave rights to same-sex couples.)

The National Organization for Women, N.O.W., founded in 1966, worked toward equal pay for women. How has that worked out so far?

I recently turned, gulp, sixty. Do I really have to do this all over again?

We Did It!!

Unfortunately, due to traveling, I was unable to be part of this glory.  I am so proud of my city’s turnout, including my daughter and granddaughter.  Over 50,000 showed up and made their voices heard.It  makes my heart swell! A Successful march, indeed!

I am also proud of the one million-plus who showed their support from around the world. Thank you!

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all the above photos are from Mike Holp http://holpphotograhpy.com

 

And, no, Mr. Trump, I have no need, nor a desire to purchase your coin. Please stop sending me your emails. I’d rather have LOVE instead.

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We will not go back!

This blog post is dedicated to strong women and the men who love us.

In history, although suppressed by politics, there have always been strong women.  In the 1800’s women couldn’t fathom the idea of breaking, or even reaching a glass ceiling. I know. We’re closer today, but…

 

Seventy years after the American Revolution, a different kind of tea party took place. A woman named Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the invitees. Here, at this tea in 1848, Ms. Stanton spilled out her discontent on the status of women in America.

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They planned a convention. 

Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments” is drafted.

  • Married women were legally dead in the eyes of the law
  • Women were not allowed to vote
  • Women had to submit to laws when they had no voice in their formation
  • Married women had no property rights
  • Husbands had legal power over and responsibility for their wives to the extent that they could imprison or beat them with impunity (see entire list in this full article)

Let’s not forget. African American women had it much worse.

(Today, we have fast-forward buttons- FF>. But in this case, I’ll use FFS> as in fast forward slow. It took us a LONG time to get where we are!)

FFS>  to 1920. Seventy-two years later, we get the right to vote.

FFS> to 1936, a Supreme Court decision declassified birth control information as obscene.

FFS> The Women’s Rights Movement began in the 1960’s

FFS> In 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment, which had languished in Congress for almost fifty years, was finally passed.

It’s almost 2017. We have accomplished much but why have we fast-forwarded so slow? 

This is what  I do know. In this new political climate, WE WILL NOT REWIND AND GO BACKWARDS.

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