BEACON – A small but mighty group of locals braved the cold weather to protest for women’s rights on Beacon’s Polhill Park during the Women’s March, one of a series of demonstrations being held across the country.
The site marks a spot where 19th-century journalist Margaret Fuller wrote “Women in the Nineteenth Century,” often considered the first major feminist work in the U.S.
Women’s rights were on the minds of the protesters, but so was the upcoming presidential election. “We really want to get rid of Trump,” said Lynda Ewen, a resident of Beacon.
Her friend, who was identified as Tony, served six years in the U.S. Navy and was insulted by President Trump’s military deference during the Vietnam War. “I spent six years in the Navy, and this guy spent six minutes in a doctor’s office to get his bone spurs diagnosis,” he said.
Naomi Kynan showed her support for Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of three female Democratic candidates running for president currently. Kynan would like to see a stronger presence of women in office throughout the country. “I think that the country being that it is 50 percent women should have 50 percent representation,” she said. “Women look at life and the world and community in a very, very different way than men do. And we need their viewpoints in office.”
Sandy Wulcutt weighed in on comments allegedly made in 2018 by Warren’s political rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, stating that a woman could not win a presidential election. “I disagree,” she said. “I think it’s time for women. It’s the perfect time for a woman to be president, actually.”
The Women’s March in Beacon was one of hundreds of demonstrations that were held across the country. The nationwide event was started in 2017 after the election of President Trump, and was held on the weekend of his inauguration.
