Taking a stand against the war on women's rights

Today, across the nation, people gathered at rallies to support a resistance to the political attacks on women and women's rights -- health care, equal pay, voting rights, and more -- organized by UniteWomen.org. Here at Oregon's capital city, folks gathered on the Capitol steps to make their voices heard. I got about two inches of sock knitted in the few hours I was there.

The crowd was small, in the hundreds, but enthusiastic:

I found a nice seat in the shade with my sign (thanks to Marty Davis for the picture posted on the local site's Facebook page). I had my knitting with me, too, not visible in this pic.

 Here's what I wrote on the back:

 There were signs with pointed messages, like these:

And this, which pretty much sums up the feelings of the folks gathered there:

And these:

The Raging Grannies from Portland came and sang hilarious protest songs. Anyone remember protest songs? What ever happened to protest songs?

Dancers from a mission that rescues young women from street life were there:

More raging grannies, these from Corvallis:

More signs:

And more:

State Troopers were on hand for riot control... well... not so much. We're pretty civilized around here.

This slogan is carved into the front of the Capitol building, right behind where the rally was taking place. I wonder how many of the legislators who make laws in this building abide by this?

It doesn't end there, of course. I'm appalled that we're re-fighting the battles for voting rights and equal rights for women. I'm appalled that anyone thinks there's no need for feminism, "because women can vote and have jobs," as one online critic of feminism whined. I'm appalled that no one from the media, even the local newspaper located just a few blocks away, was visibly present in spite of press releases that went out.

I'm heartened by all the women of all ages who showed up, particularly young women, when five years ago or so I was hearing young women in college, on the brink of a career, saying, "Oh, I'm not a feminist," in a tone that suggested it was a dirty word, that "feminist" means angry, ugly, bra-burning, man-hating creatures instead of rational beings who believe that women should have equal pay for those careers that these young women were going into and equal opportunities, such as going to college in the first place. I'm heartened that the apathy I saw during the Iraq war is changing to, "We've got to do something about this."

We just need to say it louder.