Many Americans who find themselves dissatisfied with the current state of national politics and upset about the passing of RGB chose to exercise their first amendment right at Women’s Marches across the country on October 17.
Every year, the world puts on a national women’s march. Often there are other days where smaller ones are held, but this year Knoxville’s annual march took place downtown on October 17.
Women have been marching down their city’s streets since 1913 in hopes to turn the heads of policy makers and make an inclusive environment that supports, embraces, and uplifts every woman across the globe. Maddie Marshall, a junior at CHS, and Bri Richards, a senior at CHS, said that they were not aware of this year’s women’s march but were interested in attending.
Maddie says that she has memories from the march she attended in 2016 and states that she felt timid at first, but once it got started up, she felt powerful, like she was a part of something that supported her. Ms. Sharp, one of our dedicated counselors believes “marching is a valid form of protest, and if done well, it can certainly bring awareness to a particular cause.” Many moments in history have proven that peaceful protests and marches successfully created change.
Ella Wilds, senior at CHS, believes many good things could come from the march. She says, ¨I think that the only negative thing to come from marches like this in recent years is the bad light they’ve been cast in.¨ This comment holds a lot of truth and shows that we should, in the words of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, ¨Fight for the things that [we] care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join [us].¨
Speaking of RBG, many people have differing preferences on her replacement on the Supreme court. She was an activist and a powerhouse in the fight for women’s rights. She was one of the wisest and most inclusive people not only in the court, but also in the image that her fight left behind.
Some believe that time is of the essence and that the empty Supreme Court seat should be filled as quickly as possible. Bryson Richie, a senior at CHS says she should be replaced. He believes RBG´s death won’t necessarily affect their rights directly, but it may decrease the morale for women around the world. Maddie says, ¨I think that the effects of her death on women’s rights are going to be based on who she is replaced with. RBG opened so many doors for women to live their own lives rather than being accessories to the lives of men. I think that some of those rights won’t be taken away by even the most conservative replacement, but very controversial things such as abortion rights and maternity leave are at high risk in this situation.¨ Many are concerned about her seat, but even more are mourning the loss of such a remarkable woman. Marching is something that RBG enjoyed, so just another reason to march and celebrate her life and legacy.
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