The one thing Trump's inauguration and the Women's March had in common
I spent two full days on the streets of D.C. this week. My feet ache; my cheeks are red and chapped; I’m sick of worrying about the battery life on my phone.
But I witnessed and documented history — so much history — in 48 hours.
The two days felt so different. Friday, Inauguration Day for President Trump, was both celebratory and violent. Saturday's Women's March — a protest over women's rights and other issues many fear could be at risk under Trump — was aggressive and peaceful. But both days provided tangible views of democracy.
On Friday, protesters were much louder than Trump supporters. Washington couldn't have been a welcoming place for some coming to witness the inauguration of the 45th president and the peaceful transition of power.
I kept ending up at the same turbulent park throughout the day. Franklin Square is less than a mile north of the National Mall where throngs of people stood to watch inaugural festivities. I won't call what happened there protests. A limo was smashed and later set on fire. Trash cans were burned. Police in riot gear had to act. There was no message, only violence, and violence is not a pillar of democracy.
The National Mall was a safe haven for Trump supporters, mostly, once they made it through the anti-Trump groups blocking or nearly blocking their way (depends on which gate you maneuvered).
Saturday, the city was entirely different. The massive crowds were evident early with lines in coffee shops out the doors as the sun came up. Friday, the same streets in my D.C. neighborhood a few blocks north of the Mall were empty. Trump gear was present, but not dominant, from what I saw that day. Almost everyone was wearing something pink Saturday.
Friday's crowds were split between celebratory and combative. Democracy was represented by the highly visible swearing-in ceremony in front of the Capitol and protesters a few streets away. Saturday, it seemed that everyone was in the city for the same reason. Democracy, this day, was overwhelmingly represented by free speech. And that speech was very unified.
For the Women's March on Washington, the crowd was historic in size, diverse in nature and aggressively creative with their signs.
Some were simple and straightforward and drew just as much attention.
Friday, a police van drove through a restless crowd and the passenger-side window was smashed. Saturday, an ambulance drove through a crowd and gently tooted its horn to a familiar tune. Protesters cheered.
They peacefully assembled. They marched past the new president's home and shouted their most-clever sayings.
As a large group moved through the city, a mother answered her young daughter’s question: "Yes, this is part of democracy. This is our First Amendment right."
Forty-eight hours in D.C. this weekend were historic, turbulent and evolving. From where I stood, the nation's capital was all about democracy — and all about our First Amendment rights.
Emily Brown is a Senior Mobile Editor at Paste BN