It's a matter of timing you see. I've had the doctors appointment booked for nearly two months now - and I need to see her to refill some scripts. She's hard to get into at the best of times for these ongoing appointments and as I don't have a repeat script and I'll run out of my blood pressure meds on Wednesday, I have to keep the appointment. If I tried to change it I'd be without BP meds and HRT for a few weeks - not something anybody needs to see - especially me.
If it was any other day, I'd be at the rally. If she's running on time, I might go into town and join the throng. Take the afternoon off and lend my voice to the crowd.
Stuff work.
I march for women's rights. Like my suffragette great-granparents, I'll take to the streets to respectfully yell for the right to be heard, understood and treated equally. I march for the rights of those silenced by the patriarchy for centuries. I march for the rights of those who cannot be heard.
Because like what seems like half the country, at the moment, I'm angry. I'm fuming over what's going on in Canberra, where rapes and sexual assaults are covered up, not investigated and summarially dismissed. If I hear the words 'rule of law' as an excuse for the horrific treatment these women, who have had the courage to speak up, have had to put up with, then I will be standing with them.
Having first hand knowledge of how sexual assault fucks up your life, and knowing how powerless you feel to do anything about it, of course I will be there in spirit, lending my voice against the silencing, the shaming and the lack of action women have often experienced.
Is it getting better? Yes and no. The attitudes are still there. A lot of the attitude is found in Canberra, where they appear to be dismissing years of misbehaviour from all sides of the system just to maintain power.
Well, I've had enough.
And sure, I was brought up to a culture where women, like children, were supposed to be seen and not heard. I've been told not to drink beer in the front bar, because ladies don't do that. Or told that if I'd smile more I'd get a bloke, or that my salary is less than that of a man because I don't have a family to keep, or not to tease men ever, because that can lead to trouble. It's your fault, not theirs.
And don't start me on how 90 men died as a result of a king hit over a ten year period, bringing in harsh laws for king hitters - I refuse to call them 'coward's punches' - it's a John Howard term. Mandatory sentences. Shame.
Then you look at the statistics. Around 70 women a year are killed by their domestic partners in any given year. Do they change the laws? No? They strip funding from the women's shelters and aid programs - because of course, it's not the man's fault... Let's all have a cup of tea and wear a white ribbon. See, we've done our jobs, says Canberra.
So don't ask me why, as a woman, that I feel the need to bleat on about equality.
Okay, I'm in my invisible middle aged period, but I occasionally have insults thrown out of a car window at me as I walk down the road. At night, I walk with my keys laced between my fingers. I get in the back seats of cabs. When I get home after a night out, when I'm not in my car, I text my friends to let them know I got home okay.
How many men feel the need to do this?
You do this because this has been ingrained into me from a young age. It's what you do to keep safe. Because we all know somebody who's been followed home, accosted, had a dodgy cab/uber drive make them uncomfortable....and.... and.... and...
And yes, this is life for most women. It's why we travel in packs. It's generally safer.
So when the Federal Government all but dismiss old, but serious rape allegations against the Attorney-General, stating that the Rule of Law is the law and there is no more to be done, yeah, nah. Christian Porter asked at that train wreck of a presser to imagine for a second, that the allegations were not true. I counter, think, for a second, that he has been accused of is true. Do you want somebody capable of such acts to be in power. There's no ifs or buts about it.
I'm sick of the white blokes privilege. I'm not going to condone it any more. I mean, have a look at the trailer for this movie which is out at the moment. This wasn't long ago. And we're still contending with it.
We're marching, not for just one issue. We're marching because we deserve a hell of a lot better.
We've had enough.
This isn't going to go away.
Today's song:
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