The rest of the world views the United States as prosperous and privileged; even smug and self centred. However the election of Donald Trump as the new president of the United States; a person seen as being a racist and an unashamed misogynist; a narcissist with serious impulse control issues and someone perceived as a bare faced liar – has changed all that. People outside the United States are amazed and horrified; many now contemplate Americans with something akin to pity. As for Americans themselves, some are still in denial and many others are horrified enough to actually do something to stake a political claim for the first time in their lives. If ever the US had its Viva la Resistance moment, it is now:
In cities across the United States, women gathered for the protest against their new president. Women of all ages, hues and political persuasions including many celebrities came out in solidarity with each other and to make a statement on issues such as reproductive rights, civil rights, immigration and others.
An estimated 2.9 individuals joined the march and experts say that this was the biggest one day march in the history of the country. Some commentators dubbed it the Pink Apocalypse.
Men concerned with women’s issues and civil liberties, people from the LGBT community – were all out in force.
Some were funny, some poked fun at their new leader and his idiosyncrasies, some were angry, all were heartfelt.
Days before the inauguration of the new POTUS, the American media addressed an open letter; nay a veiled warning to Donald Trump laying down a few ground rules; something else that exemplified the resistance.
The protests range from Trump’s climate change denial and pushing through notifications to defund climate change research and other programs to his attempts at censorship.
Netizens on Twitter do not shy away from calling their leader a controlling, angry, fractious narcissist. This and other Donald Trump cartoons are examples.
Americans are protesting various issues from the defunding of birth control and women's health to the banning of immigrants from Muslim majority countries, to the budget restructuring that could impact the country's wildlife negatively. So clearly, America Resists; the resistance is alive and well; Long Live the Resistance.
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