I have not been giving this website the attention I promised. I wasn't expecting to be faced with so many opportunities I wanted to be a part of in the world. So I have been pulled away to do a bit of battle and report back when I can. I wish my photos could all be about fun landscapes and a cute dog. Picasso once put it best: "Painting is not made to decorate apartments. It's an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy."
So I am going to Washington DC. I almost didn't go - I was going to throw my soul into protesting in Seattle instead. But a wonderful friend reached out to tell me she had everything arranged and I was going. And now as I get ready to head out the door with my emergency protesting kit (camera, eye liner, copy of I Am Malala, and a couple cliff bars) I stop to think about how different DC is going to feel on this trip.
I ran 12 miles that night. Lightning was so constant I managed to get a selfie with it.
I LOVED Washington DC. I have been a few times now. My first night there I went for a run through the mall in a massive lightning storm. My first full day I walked over 20 miles to see the museums. I saw a photo from a photographer I knew personally in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The Archive Museum had an exhibit the Prohibition - which was ended after massive protests. There was also an exhibit on the Suffragettes, who changed the world with their protests. The District of Columbia was a special place to me. I almost didn't want to leave and tried to pitch a plan to permanently move there (Puget Sound Mountains set me straight).
One I was in DC during the anniversary of the Million Man March. It was an amazing experience to see the people there. I was one of the very few white people but I was proud to walk with them. I remember wishing they didn't need to march for equality. I wish they could had put all of that energy they had put into the event into art, science, and medicine. But we don't live in a world where they had that opportunity. It is improving, but they reminded me that we can't let go of the progress made while we continue to move forward.
So I am going to go march. I am going to march for the doctors I talk to every day and their patients. I am going to march for the women who want to be scientist, engineers, and executive officers, because being a woman isn't a good enough reason to not be successful. I am going to march for women who need contraceptives so they can be in charge of their future. I am going to march for women who need access to safe abortions so they can have a stable family when they are ready. I am going to march for the women who have been a victim of assault and couldn't find help or a voice. I am going to march for women who have been affected by gun violence - 94% who are shot by someone they knew. I am going to march for Hillary Clinton, because even though she didn't win the election she is still an inspiration and she earned it. I am going to march for the LGBT community and their right to love. I am going to march for the Muslims, Hispanics, and every other religion and race that isn't white or Christian because they are just as much a part of this country as I am. And I am going to march for those who voted for everyone in every branch of the government - because we are all in this together and we all need education, access to medicine, and stable living wages.
Thank you for all your support. I am appreciative of how people react when I tell them I am leaving for DC tomorrow. I started this web page because I wanted to be a positive change in the world. And I am going to go do that.
My photography has changed (got better) since I last went to DC. But I wanted to share my photos. Because the next photos I share of DC will be very different. They will be of people. Some sad people, probably some happy people. But they won't be of buildings or monuments alone. I still love DC, I still believe in our government. Hell - I still believe in the electoral college! And this is why women need to march on Washington.
