By Maddy Sell ’18

On Saturday, Jan. 21, an estimated 3,244,087 people participated in the Women’s March on Washington. The mass amount of participants not only made their voices heard, but they made themselves seen, leaving the comfort of their homes and their Facebook rants behind to stand up, get out and march. So, whether or not you support the feminist movement, whether or not you support President Donald Trump, it is hard to argue that this march was not legendary.

But, many conservatives have been quick to attack the Women’s March, declaring it disrespectful to our new president. They have belittled its significance, reminding everyone that, in the words of conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren, “Even after all that marching and cardboard signs, Trump is still our president.” Well, if you are someone who supports this logic, I’m here to tell you that you have missed the point of the march entirely.

To begin, the Women’s March was not exclusively anti-Trump. While many of the messages broadcast by marchers pertained to sexist comments of Trump, that is not why this march was organized. The acceptance of sexism that has accompanied the rise of Trump made it clear that something needed to be done to combat the societal disrespect towards women. This march was not created to be anti-Trump; it was simply pro-women. While the sole purpose was not to put down Trump, it did serve as a mechanism to show that the citizens of the United States will absolutely not tolerate his anti-women remarks and attitude.

Furthermore, the right to protest is a right protected by the First Amendment, which clearly speaks to the significance the Founding Fathers placed on it. The right to protest was not dictated just to make sure that people were free, but also to remind people that they can speak out against their government, and the Women’s March was an effective, legal way to do so.

I will not tolerate the belittling of the march’s importance. The Women’s March was the most attended protest in history. And to have a march hold that sort of monumental power, especially on the day immediately following the inauguration, and for no arrests to have been made, is something our world has never seen before. This immensely widespread activism is important, and it does mean something. It is a huge reminder to the country that we will not accept maltreatment from anyone, even the President of the United States.