General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWomen march in all major cities except... St. Paul, MN, "indoor event," instead, with registration
required.
Why no march? Some Twin Cities women want to take movement to the streets again
The womens march that drew 100,000 protesters to the State Capitol last year will be indoors and downsized this year. And that has some advocates miffed that they wont be taking their message to the streets where the protest would be more visible.
Rather than go inside, some Twin Cities women may head to Duluth, Rochester, Bemidji or Chicago where protesters will rally in the streets this weekend.
(snip)
Womens March Minnesota organizers planning Sundays St. Paul rally in the Union Depot say 2018 calls for new tactics, so theyre following the lead of national womens march organizers, who are kicking off a national voter registration tour in Las Vegas rather than another march in Washington.
The St. Paul rally scheduled from 3:30 to 7 p.m. will include performances and speakers to celebrate the anniversary of the marches that popped up last year around the country and the world. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in a show of opposition to President Donald Trump and perceived threats to undo progress for women, minorities, the environment and other policies put in place during the Obama administration.
Last years marches were a spectacular moment, said Alicia Donahue, Womens March Minnesota co-founder and vice chairwoman. All we had to do was stand up and say, Were here, and show up in numbers too great for the administration to ignore on its first day in office, she said.
But a year later, their purpose and intent has to be different because of the 2018 elections in Minnesota, including races for governor, two U.S. Senate seats and U.S. congressional seats that organizers hope to hold onto or flip, Donahue said. Were moving from a march to a movement that will harness our collective power as we go into a tide-shifting election year, Donahue said. To do that, she said organizers will ask women to commit their time and money to make real change.
Those who attend the St. Paul event will need a ticket to get in, and that too has upset some posters on the event page because it might discourage people from attending.
Donahue said tickets, which range in price from $5 to $100, allow people to pay what they can afford while helping organizers recoup their expenses. But free tickets are also available. Last years march cost organizers $50,000. This years rally should cost several thousand dollars less, Donahue said.
Advance tickets are necessary because the fire code limits the Union Depots capacity to 2,500, she explained.
More..
http://www.startribune.com/why-no-march-some-twin-cities-women-want-to-take-movement-to-the-streets-again/470137163/
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Wonder whether other cities changed this way. And, no, weather is no excuse. Was not last year.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,829 posts)Minnesota has not one but two senate elections coming up (both Dems are women) on account of the ridiculous and unjustifiable sandbagging of Al Franken, as well as the usual house and local elections. The organizers decided it was more important to focus on getting some committed people to actually work for those campaigns rather than make the symbolic gesture of showing up at a big march. Under these unique circumstances I don't think it was a mistake to do it this way.
nocalflea
(1,387 posts)The march is a statement .
rurallib
(62,444 posts)that leaves out @ 97,500.
They should have held in the football dome. That's owned by the public isn't it?
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,829 posts)We just had to pay for it. And don't get me started on THAT.