To bloody love Madonna for doing this?

[Destinysdaughter]

I've been watching the speeches from the Washington women's march today and have felt so inspired and uplifted by them, it's really given me hope, didn't know Madonna was going to be there and I don't want to take away anything from the other speakers as they've all been brilliant but I just wanted to say well done Madonna for being there and adding your voice ( and admittedly celebrity kudos and attention) to this amazing show of dissent, power and love.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/live/2017/jan/21/womens-march-on-washington-and-other-anti-trump-protests-around-the-world-live-coverage?page=with:block-5883cfe4e4b00b8fc2ae363c#block-5883cfe4e4b00b8fc2ae363c

new numbers for marches:
673 across the world
4,700 000 participants.
unpresidented

BillSykes A great post. Some 'celebrities' are behaving in the same way they accuse Trump of behaving. Childish and bullying.

Dawndonnaagain

I don't agree with people simply because we both have vaginas. Wouldn't that be a sad state of affairs. I'm also fairly sure that this kind of thinking is what lost Clinton the election.
There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other!

Serious question - What rights is Trump actually proposing to remove from women?

He intends to replace all Supreme Court judges with pro-lifers, which means Roe V Wade is in peril, which means in practice that abortion will become a state issue.

So it will be come expensive and cumbersome for women in anti-abortion states to get an abortion.

new numbers for marches:
673 across the world
4,700 000 participants.
unpresidented grin

How many marches were there for women's rights in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Nigeria etc yesterday? Where is the solidarity for all the poor women in the world who genuinely have no rights in so many parts of the world?

I'm all for it, good for her.

By all means exercise your (Western) freedoms to be able to march against Trump but as a woman I sometimes feel like the real threats to women never get addressed because of religious and cultural sensitivities.

I agree with you. Linda Sarsour is one of the organisers today.

mothertruck3r the marches were for the rights of all women, not just those in America but if we give up the rights we've already won without a fight, it sets a dangerous precedent for all women's rights, and weakens our ability to fight for the rights of women in emerging countries when we can't hang onto our own.

You don't need to respect the opinion of a celebrity just because they're a celebrity but you can't deny them the right to express that opinion surely?

Women in America have far more rights than women in certain other countries. I'd have more respect for Madonna, and the women who marched against Trump, if they devoted their energies to help the women who are really suffering. China, India, Pakistan, Yemen for example - women in those countries are hugely disadvantaged compared to American women.

But I guess they don't count, or it's just too much hassle to organize a demonstration on their behalfs.

Where is the solidarity for all the poor women in the world who genuinely have no rights in so many parts of the world?

So how would you have shown solidarity with those women, mother?

What would you have done differently?

barina the way to support women's rights in developing countries is not to allow ones to be taken away from others! As I said upthread - if we let go of the rights we've already won, it weakens our ability to fight for rights in other countries by setting a dangerous precedent.

How many marches were there for women's rights in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Nigeria etc yesterday
Two: one in Saudi and one in Nigeria, none in Pakistan.

Hollywood loves Obama - they never peeped a word of protest when he veered into some very Trump-friendly territory (drones, surveillance, etc). Why is that?

That's not true. Susan Sarandon, Mia Farrow, Rosario Dawson and Matt Damon were all critical of Obama for his 'Trump-friendly' type actions. So was MSNBC producer Jeff Cohen. Joan Baez, who's only ever foray into politics was to endorse him when he was first running for president, has criticised his actual presidency and said she doesn't understand how he could have acted as has.

It is very good that people care enough to come out and march, because there is potential for America to become a more unequal society in a number of ways.

However, it feels that there isn't a lot of clarity of thought here. I guess one reason Trump got elected is that there wasn't an appealing alternative and the opposition was divided. It would be great if the energy of the opposition out there could be focused somehow into the work of providing a credible alternative for the the next election (not sure when that process begins).

Sounds like a very accurate description of Trump tbh.

Trump doesn't seem to be part of the established elite who hate him. And he has certainly managed to convince a large section of society that he is not part of the establishment. He's managed to tap into exactly the sections of society who resent the interference of people like Madonna.

Because, the Baldwins, the Madonnas, the Streeps and the Moores of this world - they will hitch their wagon to the latest trendy cause, but they would never speak out against anything as mundane as the decline of American industry, unemployment or a decline in living standards for ordinary Americans. For a start unemployed factory workers probably don't make good PR shots.

Much better to do a Bono or an Angelina and get your picture taken with some photogenic refugee children and demand somebody else pay to help them and jump on your private jet back to one of your 12 property or private island to have a meeting with your accountant about avoiding the tax which actually pays to help them.

Because if you posed with unemployed American workers awkward questions about why some Americans are so rich and others so poor. And that would never do.

And this is the left wing today. Perverted beyond belief into a movement for the wealthy leaving poorer people with no real representation which drives them into the arms of Trump.

That's not true. Susan Sarandon, Mia Farrow, Rosario Dawson and Matt Damon were all critical of Obama for his 'Trump-friendly' type actions. So was MSNBC producer Jeff Cohen. Joan Baez, who's only ever foray into politics was to endorse him when he was first running for president, has criticised his actual presidency and said she doesn't understand how he could have acted as has.

In interpreting my post a bit more literally than I intended (I meant Hollywood collectively loves Obama, not that there has never been a celebrity to speak out against Obama), you've proven my point: there are five.

I wouldn't count an MSNBC producer as a Hollywood type.

And, I'm nodding in agreement with BillSykes. As usual.

Museum - Thanks. I don't agree with the removal of women's right to choose and I hope they do not make it harder for women to have abortions.

Fenella - I didn't see any protestors holding banners or signs complaining about the lack of women's rights in any of the countries mentioned it was all about Trump and America. Last time I looked women in America had some of the best rights on the planet (obviously if he changes abortion laws that would be a negative but at the moment women in America DO have excellent rights) and protesting that they are being oppressed belittles the real abuse of women's rights in other parts of the world.

I think it is disingenuous to protest about the potential loss of women's rights when huge swathes of women in the world never had those rights in the first place and kill for even a few of the rights women have in the West. It just seems hypocritical and an easy target and once again chooses to ignore the real elephant in the room. It would be much braver and usher the potential for real change if these women marched in solidarity with women who genuinely have no rights.

Madonna loves talking about herself. She has a huge

ego.

The organiser of the Saudi march said four people were marching although 800 had registered interest...

What rights is Trump actually proposing to remove from women?

The right to abortion.
The availability of easily accessible, affordable birth control.

Oh, and don't forget his buddy Mike Pence, who'd like to see LGBT people - male and female - in conversion therapy.

A foul mouthed rant followed by threatening to blow up the White House.

She's disgraceful and no role model to my children.

Didn't she leave her own brother homeless on the street? Such a hypocrite.

I abhor Trump, and his vice pres Pence. Trump is an abject opportunist and Pence a true believer of retrograde policies, so a true danger to planned parenthood (Trump, imo, is not that much).

But I think the celebs did more harm than good to the democrats. We are sick of being patronised and lectured by entertainers. They act and they sing. That's what they do, which is perfectly honorable, and get paid huge amount of money for, which is fine too. But having jay-z (big fan of singing about bitches), beyonce (that sung about women ruling the world while in skimpy clothes and writhing on the floor), Madonna (that is such a pro at doing "shock" statements that it just rings false now, and tired) and all those actors and actresses lecturing, pouting, sulking and even crying on tv is getting ridiculous and exhausting. They are not important. They have no reponsabilities over the lives of entire communities.
They are entertainers that want their fame to give them political power. They are part of the system that give a reality tv star the ultimate role.

I do think Hilary Clinton might have won in the crucial rust belt if she hadn't spent the last week lapping up celebrity endorsements. People who are desperate and feel disenfranchised do not particularly like multi millionaires lecturing them. (Although Trump couldn't give a shit about them either he just managed to pretend he did).