I went to the Boston march on Saturday planning to write an opinion piece. But as I watched the signs go by, I realized that tens of thousands of people had already gotten together and written it. Here’s what they had to say:
Women’s rights are human rights • Science is not a liberal hoax. Go back to school, Donald • Keep Planned Parenthood funded • Trump has more temper tantrums than my 3-year-old sister. • Decency must prevail • Respect existence or expect resistance • Stop truth decay • We are watching. • Justice is what love looks like in public. — Cornel West • Black lives matter • I march so my daughter won’t have to • Show up. Dive in. Stay at it. — Barack Obama • Stand up for science • Ignoring climate will flood the swamp • Protect the ACA • Payback’s a bitch. And she votes • I will not go quietly back to the 1950s • “I do solemnly swear that I will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States” — future lawyer (sign carried by a young girl) • I can’t believe we still have to protest this crap • OMG. GOP. WTF • If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention • America, if you’re not terrified you’re not paying attention • Facts matter • Hey Trump, my mama don’t like you and she likes everyone • Not usually a sign guy, but geez • Thou shalt not grab pussy. Fallopians 4:28 • Marching for my daughter • I prefer my dystopias in YA novels • We outnumber you • Rights are not up for grabs • This is what democracy looks like • Show us your taxes • Kongratulations Trump Pence (in Cyrillic characters) • Will 3 sane Republican senators please stand up? • Syrian immigrants created me, raised me, loved me • The Constitution is more than 140 characters • Ugh • If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity. - Albert Einstein • We are the majority and we are not going away • Nope • Brown, queer, proud, and here to stay. • This is my first protest, but not my last. (sign carried by a little girl) • Hang in there, justice. (picture of Ruth Bader Ginsburg) • I served. Combat veteran. Nasty women unite! • Protect the press • Healthcare is a human right • We have no Planet B • History has its eyes on you • This is what democracy looks like • Deliver us from ego • Real men don’t talk like that • This is not a medical device. (picture of a coat hanger) • Girls just wanna have funding for Planned Parenthood • One of 22 million who will lose healthcare • Respeta mi existencia o espera resistencia • We stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters • #Why I march: Nobody asks what my rapist was wearing • Women’s rights are human rights • This pussy grabs back • My body, my choice • Liar, liar, world on fire • When everything else fails, read the instructions: “We the People . . .” • My mother didn’t raise a doormat • Women’s rights are not up for grabs • Mourning in America • Don’t mourn — organize • Thank a school librarian if you can tell fact from fiction • We didn’t come this far to only come this far • We will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends. - Martin Luther King • Patriotism demands dissent • Trump is a symptom • Science facts ≥ your opinion • We deserve better • How can America be great if it’s underwater? • Lobstah rolls, not gender roles • Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored • Girls just wanna have fundamental human rights • Donald, you ain’t seen nasty yet • The problem with political jokes is that they get elected • I’m too worried to be funny • I’m here so I can set a better example for my son than the president • Media: Be courageous or be complicit • Prevent unintentional presidencies • A woman’s place is in the resistance • Queer Muslim 4 peace • Missing: moral compass • Our daughters need a planet to have rights on • DO NOT NORMALIZE HIM • I am not a sore loser. I am a concerned voter • A racist president is not my president • Power concedes nothing without a demand. - Frederick Douglass • Trump keep your hands off my patients • I’m marching for my patients who could lose their healthcare • Build a wall around Trump. I’ll pay for it • Love and resist • Woman. Jewish. Disabled • The power of people is stronger than the people in power • Most days I fight with my mom. Today I fight with her • I wish my uterus shot bullets so the government wouldn’t regulate it • We are all immigrants • The glass ceiling won’t shatter itself • I’m no longer accepting the things I can’t change. I’m changing the things I can’t accept • Fight like a girl • America is great when we put those who are most vulnerable first (sign held by a woman walking with a child in a wheelchair) • History has its eyes on you • This is what democracy looks like • This is what democracy looks like • This is what democracy looks like.
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Joan Wickersham’s column appears regularly in the Globe.