I’m furious. What message are we sending to women in America, the world even? That a man who admits to sexually assaulting women, that boasted about it, that didn’t even realise why it was wrong is now the president of the united states. It’s a fucking joke. Except it’s not even funny.
I’m ready. Let’s do this.
There was loud cheers around the room. We were geeing ourselves up, we were in the zone – we were ready to show the world the privileged man can’t fuck with us anymore.
In the silence that followed, a woman in the audience held up her hand. As we turned to look at her she blushed deeply but still spoke, her voice wavering only at the start.
I guess I worried. Not that I’ll be killed or put in prison. But the legacy I’ll leave my family. They’ll say we’re crazy, that we’re not right in the head. They’ll destroy who we are in the media, they’ll tell lies whether we succeed or not. I guess I don’t want people to think of me as a crazy woman….
She stopped suddenly and the silence that followed was palpable.
Gillian walked towards her and held her hand.
Yes they will. Men and other women will call us crazy, call us bitches. But history will prove us right. Like it did for Susan Anthony, Emily Davison, Kate Sheppard and all those magnificent women who stood up for what they believed in. If our actions help even one woman realise it’s not ok for a man to touch her without consent or more men to realise we are not commodities to be bought and sold then I’ll be happy. If we keep fighting, eventually people will understand why we’re fighting and they’ll join us. The time is right. The time is now.
The time is right! The time is now!
The time is right! The time is now!
The time is right! The time is now!
The time is right! The time is now!
The time is right! The time is now!
We had a plan. It was time to execute it.
