Rainbows and silver linings

Shaylyn McMahon, NEWS COLUMNIST

Last semester I wrote a column expressing my hopelessness after Donald Trump became the president-elect of the United States.

I was angry and scared and didn’t have much hope for the future of the world, particularly for equality among minority groups, including women, LGBTQIA, Muslims, indigenous communities, Africans, people with disabilities, and many more.

As Trump’s official inauguration filled my social media newsfeeds on Friday, Jan. 20, that hopelessness prevailed. I still couldn’t fathom how many Americans were willing to ignore his sexist, racist, homophobic and misogynistic rhetoric in hopes that he could make their country great again.

Needless to say, it was a bad day. But after the rain comes the rainbow — this time in the form of the Women’s March on Washington the morning after Trump’s inauguration.

Worldwide, more than one million people came together to protest Trump’s presidency and to show their support for women’s rights. The march originated in Washington, but there were more than 650 different “Sister Marches” around the world showing support for the initiative.

From Japan to Nigeria to Norway, people marched in protest of Trump. For many people, myself included, it’s devastating to think about how enough people supported Trump for him to win the election. But these marches reminded us many around the world do not support him.

I had the honour of attending the march in Winnipeg, and I’ve looked back on the pictures I took at the march almost every day since. Photos of families with young children bearing signs that read “Girls Run The World” and “Boys Will Be Respectful to Girls” and groups of people from all walks of life gathered in unity filling my memory card.

And it wasn’t just people marching in the protest that showed support. People who were stuck in traffic on Portage Avenue because of the march waved and honked in support as well.

I know it doesn’t seem like much in comparison to the power that Trump holds in his hands, but the Women’s March on Washington succeeded in reminding me that there’s still hope. We will not be silenced.

_________

Shaylyn McMahon is an aspiring communications professional,

an avid coffee drinker and a wannabe world explorer.

She’d rather be cuddling her cat at any given moment, and if you can’t see her,

you can probably hear her laugh.

Follow her on Twitter @ShaylynMcMahon.