#WhyIMarch and Why You Should Too
My development as an “activist” and political human didn’t happen overnight.
It began with one person: An LGBT teacher who was comfortable with their identity. That lead to: 2008. Anti-gay marriage laws sweep the country, California too. I realize that someone I respect and admire is having their rights taken away in front of me. That lead to: Attending a march/parade at the steps of the Capitol. That lead to: high school me, taking the train to the city to phone bank for equal rights. That lead to: college me, learning about the other issues that affected my community — “intersectional” issues, that made me think more broadly in terms of race, gender, class, ability, and nationality. That leads to today.
This is how an activist is made. It doesn’t even need years of academic learning or take a lifetime of political education. All it takes a simple invitation to be part of something bigger.
Sociologist Ziad Munson, who studied anti-abortion activism, made a fascinating discovery: many women who joined the “pro-life” movement and became lifelong activists didn’t start out ideologically zealous. Some of them were even technically pro-choice. What started them on the path was the casual invitation to participate in a rally or a march.
That is to say: “commitment to an idea is the consequence, not a cause of activism.”
So when skeptics ask, what do marches and protests actually accomplish? What do you actually achieve? The answer is, when done right, you create the path to long-lasting social mobilization. Yes, a poorly planned protest can be an ideological circle jerk at best and a counterproductive lightning rod of backlash at worst, but I’ve always understood the role of the nonviolent demonstration in the democratic political process, because I am a product of its ability to instill a sense of agency and responsibility for the direction of your community.
A march turns into a local chapter meeting. A meeting turns into a lobby day. A day turns into a lifetime of meaningful engagement in real-world politics, beyond social media and blogs/news articles and online petitions.
I want others to share in that transformative experience. I am who I am today because I marched.
