Kate McIntyre works at UMCG and has been living in Groningen for years. She is hardly a political activist, but last Saturday, she travelled all the way to Amsterdam to take a stand against Donald Trump.
Text and photos by Traci White
The Netherlands may be an ocean away from the United States, but for Americans working at the RUG and UMCG, events back home can still have a direct impact on their lives here. That also goes for Kate McIntyre, an English editor in the genetics department at UMCG. Together with a friend who is a former American and several other American Groningers, McIntyre – clad in a winter coat covered in quotes and a home-made knit cap with cat ears – boarded a train headed to Amsterdam on Saturday morning to participate in the Women’s March in the Dutch capital. ‘I’m not a born rally attender, but that makes it all the more surprising that I feel I have to do this’, McIntyre says.
Tweede slide: overloop tekst
On the way to the march, while Rachel Heller (McIntyre’s friend) came up with slogans for her sign and wrote her contact information on her arm, McIntyre explained she had not participated in a protest anywhere since an abortion rights march in Washington, D.C. in 1989. ‘But the current situation feels worse’, she says. Her concern about the future of marriage equality, reproductive rights and higher education (climate science in particular) moved her to travel to Amsterdam this past weekend to make her voice heard. ‘I just want to make sure that women in America know that they’re not alone’, McIntyre says.
The demonstration was in solidarity with women’s marches being held across the world: the main one in D.C. attracted more than 500,000 participants, and current estimates project that more than three million people marched across the United States.
Hope
The Amsterdam demonstration, which was one among hundreds of similar events outside America, was attended by roughly 3,000 people of all ages, many sporting pink ‘pussy hats’ and marching for a variety of social justice causes. Although the global events were ostensibly women’s marches, the demonstrations were effectively an anti-Trump event: they were not coincidentally scheduled for the day following his inauguration as president of the United States, and many of the causes the marchers stood for are in contrast to the new president’s platform.
While McIntyre is concerned about what the future holds, she says that she draws inspiration from the future generations. ‘My daughter is 14 now, and after the election, she told me, ‘I’ll be able to vote in four years.’ That is what really gives me hope.’
frontpage: McIntyre (center) and Heller (right) enjoy themselves during the march as it comes to an end outside of the American consulate in Amsterdam.
1e slide: Vertrek station Groningen
Kate McIntyre, wearing a homemade knit cap with cat ears, waits for her friend Rachel to arrive at the Central Station in Groningen.
2e slide: Schrijven op arm
Rachel Heller, a friend of McIntyre’s who travelled with her to Amsterdam, writes emergency contact information on her arm, a step which was recommended by the organizers of the various marches around the world in case something were to happen to the participants.
3e slide: 2 personen tegenlicht
McIntyre and Heller head toward the Rijksmuseum, where the march participants were asked to gather, after arriving at the Museumplein.
4e slide:
Heller smiles after picking up her hot pink ‘pussy hat’: a knit cap with points resembling a cat’s ears.
5e slide:
The banner for the Women’s March Amsterdam in front of the Rijksmuseum, where thousands of men, women and children gathered to make a short march along the Museumplein.
6e slide:
March participants mill around prior to the official beginning of the march.
7e slide:
McIntyre holds up her sign featuring Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, reading ‘A woman’s place is in the resistance’, and her friend Heller’s sign, referring to American president Donald Trump’s reputation for lying.
8e slide:
Thousands of protestors gathered on the Musemplein Hill next door to the Stedelijk Museum, chanting, cheering and waving their signs.
9e slide:
The crowd at the march was estimated to be around 3,000 people.
10e slide: Handjes
Two march participants wear tiny hands on their fingers, a reference to the alleged size of president Trump’s hands.
Mobile versie
Women fight back
Kate McIntyre works at UMCG and has been living in Groningen for years. She is hardly a political activist, but last Saturday she travelled all the way to Amsterdam to take a stand against Donald Trump.
Text and photos by Traci White
The Netherlands may be an ocean away from the United States, but for Americans working at the RUG and UMCG, events back home can still have a direct impact on their lives here. That also goes for Kate McIntyre, an English editor in the genetics department at UMCG. Together with a friend who is a former American and several other American Groningers, McIntyre – clad in a winter coat covered in quotes and a home-made knit cap with cat ears – boarded a train headed to Amsterdam on Saturday morning to participate in the Women’s March in the Dutch capital. ‘I’m not a born rally attender, but that makes it all the more surprising that I feel I have to do this’, McIntyre says.
On the way to the march, while Rachel Heller (McIntyre’s friend) came up with slogans for her sign and wrote her contact information on her arm, McIntyre explained she had not participated in a protest anywhere since an abortion rights march in Washington, D.C. in 1989. ‘But the current situation feels worse’, she says. Her concern about the future of marriage equality, reproductive rights and higher education (climate science in particular) moved her to travel to Amsterdam this past weekend to make her voice heard. ‘I just want to make sure that women in America know that they’re not alone’, McIntyre says.
Hope
The demonstration was in solidarity with women’s marches being held across the world: the main one in D.C. attracted more than 500,000 participants, and current estimates project that more than three million people marched across the United States. The Amsterdam demonstration, which was one among hundreds of similar events outside America, was attended by roughly 3,000 people of all ages, many sporting pink ‘pussy hats’ and marching for a variety of social justice causes. Although the global events were ostensibly women’s marches, the demonstrations were effectively an anti-Trump event: they were not coincidentally scheduled for the day following his inauguration as president of the United States, and many of the causes the marchers stood for are in contrast to the new president’s platform.
While McIntyre is concerned about what the future holds, she says that she draws inspiration from the future generations. ‘My daughter is 14 now, and after the election, she told me, ‘I’ll be able to vote in four years.’ That is what really gives me hope.’
McIntyre (center) and Heller (right) enjoy themselves during the march as it comes to an end outside of the American consulate in Amsterdam.Kate McIntyre, wearing a homemade knit cap with cat ears, waits for her friend Rachel to arrive at the Central Station in Groningen.Rachel Heller, a friend of McIntyre’s who travelled with her to Amsterdam, writes emergency contract information on her arm, a step which was recommended by the organizers of the various marches around the world in case something were to happen to the participants.McIntyre and Heller head toward the Rijksmuseum, where the march participants were asked to gather, after arriving at the Museumplein.Heller smiles after picking up her hot pink ‘pussy hat’: a knit cap with points resembling a cat’s ears.The banner for the Women’s March Amsterdam in front of the Rijksmuseum, where thousands of men, women and children gathered to make a short march along the Museumplein.March participants mill around prior to the official beginning of the march.McIntyre holds up her sign featuring Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, reading ‘A woman’s place is in the resistance’, and her friend Heller’s sign, referring to American president Donald Trump’s reputation for lying.Thousands of protestors gathered on the Musemplein Hill next door to the Stedelijk Museum, chanting, cheering and waving their signs.The crowd at the march was estimated to be around 3,000 people.Two march participants wear tiny hands on their fingers, a reference to the alleged size of president Trump’s hands.
