It’s a weird time to be living in Washington, DC. This is my first time being here for a Presidential Inauguration, but from what I understand, this week bears little resemblance to past Presidential Inauguration weeks.
To be in DC this week feels a little like you’re at one big funeral. I’ve been constantly on the verge of tears for weeks, and most people I know (regardless of political party) are in the same boat. Everyone’s also spoiling for a fight. Trump staff and supporters ready to fight the establishment, the rest of us trying to figure out how to fight back against the insanity. If you can’t have the fight you really want, petty arguments with co-workers, neighbors, spouses, or the person in line in front of you at Starbucks will do.



Are you going to the Inauguration? Are you going to the March?
Normally there’s one question DC residents ask each other in the lead up to January 20th – “Are you going to the Inauguration?” This year there’s a follow-up – “Are you going to the March?” There’s a feeling that all you need to know about a person can be discerned from the answers to those questions.
And yet it’s not that simple. I can understand those who don’t support Trump but want to attend the inauguration. No matter how you feel about the man, it’s going to be an historic occasion. A day you’ll be telling your ancestors about for generations to come.
In my world, the consensus seems to be that the only socially acceptable activity this week is the Women’s March on Washington.The anti-inauguration being held on Saturday, January 21st. The first gathering of the Resistance. However, I don’t fault people who are anti-Trump but are nervous about joining a mass gathering like the March.
I’ve gone back and forth for months on my inauguration plans. A large part of me wanted to hop on a plane and get far, far away from this city. Hide my head in the sand and pretend this isn’t really happening. Or stay here, get in bed on January 19th, and remain there for the next four years (or at least the next four days).
Good Trouble
But I’m lucky to come from a family of fighters. A family that doesn’t shy away from a fight. So tomorrow my people are coming. My parents and I will hunker down on Inauguration Day. We won’t turn on the TV or go near the Capitol. We’ll go self-investigate Comet Ping Pong and drink a helluva lot of wine; cry, yell, and hold each other tight.
And on Saturday? On Saturday we’ll march alongside our cousins, aunts, nieces, and nephews. We’ll march because the Affordable Care Act saved my mom’s life when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. We’ll march to #DefendThe5th because we’re proud to call John Lewis’s ‘horrible‘ district our home. And we’ll march to let President Obama know that we won’t let his legacy be erased.
I’m awfully proud to have been raised by a family who believes in making ‘good trouble’. I’ll be prouder still when we sit down together after we’re done marching and figure out how to continue this fight after inauguration week is over.
How are you planning on ‘celebrating’ the Inauguration?
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