Final Project - Women's March on Washington

For my final project, I attended the Women's March on Washington in St. Paul. I had never been to an event like this, so I had no idea what to expect, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. I hadn’t even heard of this event until a few days prior, but when I learned about the group's values and goals, I knew it would be something that I would want to experience. I asked a friend of mine to go with me, and we were very excited to help show support.

We knew we were in the right place before we were even within a few miles of the area. There was traffic packed all the way down through the freeway, and we ended up getting out of the car at a stoplight, because we didn’t think we’d be able to get any closer. We got out of the car and just started following the crowd. To be honest, I have no idea where the march actually started, because the closest we could get to the start was the St. Paul Cathedral. There were people as far as I could see in front of me and it wasn’t long before I couldn’t see the end of the people behind me either.

 

The march started at at 11:00, but the people around me didn’t start moving until about 11:45. If I had to guess, I’d say we were pretty close to the middle of the group of marchers, but we still took a long time to begin the march at that spot. While we waited to move, there was still a lot going on around us.  People were chanting while we waited and playing music to get the crowd pumped up. We were all huddled together in the middle of the street for blocks and talking to one another. I saw many people start talking and connecting to people that they had never met before. There were a lot of signs and clothes that people had made themselves and that was a big conversation starter. Of all the people I encountered (there were a lot), I never once noticed anyone be anything but nice and friendly. It was such a positive, accepting, and powerful environment. The only bad thing that I heard of was that one counter-protester got arrested for spraying “chemical irritants” into the crowd. At one point an ambulance had to drive through the crowd while we were waiting and I assume it was related to that incident.

  

At  around 11:45, when we finally began moving, the crowd's energy-level peaked. I believe that we only walked less than a mile, but there were many uninformed people helping  direct us to where we needed to go. There was a lot of chanting going on the whole time and here are some of the ones I remember:

• “Love. Not Hate. Will make America great.”
• “Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like.”
• “Who are we? The majority. What do we want? Equality.”
• “Love trumps hate.”

Initial view of the MN Capitol from the march

Once we got to the capitol, we had to make our way to the front so that we could see. It took us at least 10-15 minutes to find a place where we could see, but once we had gone through the wall of people, it was easier. There was more space when we got closer to the capitol, and we listened to the speakers from a pretty good spot. The speakers were very interesting, and one of the most memorable being Rep. Ilhan Oman. Everyone who spoke was very passionate and about particular issues that mattered to them. Despite what some people think, most people never even mentioned Trump by name, it was more about coming together on the issues that we are passionate about.

View of crowd from the top of the MN Capitol

St Paul police estimate between 90,000 and 100,000 people showed up to march. That is 5 times more than they projected, which was impressive in itself. I think that more people showed up than expected, because they realized how big of a deal it was. For example, my family planned on just dropping me and my friend off, but all of them ended up joining us because they realized it was something that they couldn’t miss.

There is perceived to have been at least 3.7 million marchers worldwide, in at least 500 cities. The estimate is that 1 in every 100 Americans marched on Saturday. Several groups have been attempting to put together a spreadsheet to accurately state the total populations. Out of all of those people, there hasn’t been one report of violence in any of the cities by marchers.

It was very cool to feel like I was part of something important. So many people showed up and that’s not something that you can ignore. It was a very big statement that we are still here and expect our new president to acknowledge our values. It was such a positive atmosphere filled with passionate, loving people. In fact, the main themes that I saw in the crowd and signs were love, hope, and acceptance. There were people from all walks of lives, races, genders, and ages, and it was great to see everyone come together. It was one of my favorite experiences and I am very happy that I chose to attend.

Sources:
*All pictures of the march were taken by the me
http://www.fox9.com/news/230598563-story

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/01/21/womens-march-mn/

https://qz.com/891978/womens-march-one-out-of-every-100-americans-took-to-the-street-according-to-estimates/

http://www.startribune.com/thousands-flock-to-st-paul-for-women-s-march/411409885/

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xa0iLqYKz8x9Yc_rfhtmSOJQ2EGgeUVjvV4A8LsIaxY/htmlview?sle=true#gid=0

Mental Health in Teens

Mental health problems are very common among people today, but they are surprisingly prevalent in teens as well. 20% of youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition. That is 1 in every 5 teens. Some of the most common disorders include ADHD, depression, and anxiety disorders. The stresses of adolescence and high school can force youth into these disorders, and some can last all their lives. 50% of lifetime mental disorder cases begin by age 14. The earlier that these conditions are diagnosed and treated, the better off the patients are.

Diagnosing and treating mental health problems is a very important part in the process of recovering/coping. 75-80% of children and youth with a mental disorder, who need treatment, have not received it. Many kids feel that they are weak or broken if they admit to struggling with mental illness. This is probably a result of bullying or stigma that surrounds people with mental health issues. 49% of youth who are struggling with Depression, never even tell an adult.

Keeping mental disorders from being treated may have a variety of negative effects. Suicide is the 3rd cause of death in youth ages 10-24. Also, 90% of people who die by suicide have an underlying mental illness. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. This holds people back from living to their full potential. In fact, 70% of youth juveniles, and 26% of homeless people have a mental illness.

The main way that I believe that we can improve the prevalence of mental health among teens, is to reduce the stigma around the subject. Adolescents are already feeling the need to find themselves and belong, and mental health can just be seen as another hurdle to jump. It is often feared that people won’t accept or support you if you tell them you have a mental health condition. I hope that one day, that doesn’t have to be a fear.

Sources:

http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers

http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_929.html

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2011/majority-of-youth-with-mental-disorders-may-not-be-receiving-sufficient-services.shtml

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/05/11/youth-mental-illness_n_3259752.html

Effects of the AIDS Epidemic on Gay Rights

The AIDS epidemic was a time of widespread panic and suffering throughout the U.S. The virus is known to have affected more than 50,000 people in the first six years that it was discovered, and has now affected over 1.2 million people in the U.S. This epidemic had a variety of negative impacts on the gay community, but it seems to have also played a role in helping the gay rights initiative get to where it is today.

Before the AIDS epidemic broke out, there was already a gay rights movement underway. The Stonewall Riots had taken place just over 10 years before the AIDS virus took effect. However, the events and treatment that many homosexual people experience during the epidemic motivated them to take a stand.

As people began to notice the start of an epidemic, it was recognized that there were a large amount of gay men being diagnosed with this disease. It was then that people switched their thinking to the idea that this was a “gay disease”. It was often referred to as “gay cancer”, “gay pneumonia”, or “the gay plague”. Although only 63% of AIDS victims are gay men, they soon became the stereotype for the AIDS epidemic. Gay men were often fired from their jobs or evicted from their homes, even if they didn’t have the virus, just because of this stereotype.

At this point, the gay rights movement became less about social treatment, and more about politics. Activists believed that the process of treating and curing the AIDS virus took far longer than necessary, strictly because people were not concerned about this so-called “gay problem”. It was only natural for gay rights movements to increase after the AIDS epidemic, because many people had to deal with inequality and homophobia everyday while battling this disease or helping someone who was. It was not uncommon for people to be denied sick days or rights to see their partners, because they were not technically “family”.

These people, who were fed up with the treatment of the gay community, soon began to connect with each other and form groups. One of the most famous groups from the AIDS epidemic was ACT UP. This was an advocacy group to help people with AIDS and to spread the word about the way it was being handled. Their motto was “Silence = Death” and they wanted to tell their stories to inspire change. This helped bring light to how many gay people there were in the world. It could be people that you would never expect. Many famous people were outed because of contracting the AIDS virus and people realized that they admired them just the same. People soon began to see the humanity of the gay community and that nobody deserves to suffer the way many people were. They gained publicity and people were hearing them. It wasn’t just a gay issue anymore. It was a human issue and people were dying from it.

If you had told people in 1981 that by now Gay Marriage is widely accepted, human rights protections are in place for gays and lesbians, and events like World Pride are tourist draws, I don’t think that they would believe it. It took a lot for the U.S. to get here, and there is still plenty way to go, but it is a very big achievement. Although the AIDS epidemic was an awful time, and still continues to affect people, it seems to have had a large impact on bringing gay rights to where they are today.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/how-the-advent-of-aids-advanced-gay-rights/article20083869/?page=all

http://www.hrc.org/resources/hrc-issue-brief-hiv-aids-and-the-lgbt-community

https://www.quora.com/Did-HIV-AIDS-help-or-hinder-the-progress-of-LGBTQ-human-rights

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=693601

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5021a2.htm

https://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/aids-timeline/