A moment in history

My journey began today when I joined the Women’s March in Boston.

The turnout was grand – I’ve seen estimates from 100,000 to 125,000 – and I totally believe them. [Edit: The Boston Globe reported 175,000 attended the rally.] The Boston Police say it was the largest gathering in Boston’s recent history. It was history in the making and I was proud to be there.

Boston Police say #BostonWomensMarch likely the largest gathering in one place in city’s recent history. No incidents reported. #NBCBoston pic.twitter.com/MUN4oG0H3Y

— Elysia Rodriguez (@ElysiaNBCBoston) January 21, 2017

Judging by my social feeds, I had to have known at least 50 people at the march. I never found any of them, so I ended up marching alone. It was also so crowded that I never heard any speeches or saw any dignitaries. (Happily, Boston featured politicos rather than celebrities.) But you know what – it was amazing. To see so many people moved to act was inspirational.

Will it make a difference? Whether this was a collective cathartic act by thousands of Americans, or the start of a meaningful political or cultural movement, is still to be seen. I’m generally skeptical about marches in this day and age – though I’ve never seen a march of this scale, motivating so many people to act. Indeed, something motivated me to take action in a way that I haven’t before. I’m a little like this guy (sorry for the bad photo), whose sign reads, “I’m so angry I made a sign.” I guess you could say, “I’m so angry I started this blog.”