Eight years later, the Women’s March is back—minus the march, for now.

Sara Rubin here, trying to remember how I felt at this time eight years ago. Regular readers of the Weekly and Monterey County Now know that I think whatever positive promises Donald Trump might offer, they are more than overshadowed by dangerous promises that are massive in their negative implications for our society. (For example—just one of many examples—mass deportation of immigrants is not just morally unjustified, but also a gut punch to our local economy, where agriculture, the biggest industry by far, relies on an immigrant workforce which, open secret, is largely undocumented.) 

What’s different than in 2016 is that this time, I saw it coming. I was shocked then, as were many Americans. That sense of shock was a galvanizing force. Within days, the Monterey County Democratic Party hosted a gathering, which drew many first-timers to the room. Hundreds of people showed up—despite rain—for a pro-peace march just days after the election. And around the country, women’s marches were organized, including here, with the first-ever local Women’s March drawing thousands to the campus of CSU Monterey Bay. 

In 2024, Trump was elected on an even bolder platform, promising to do even more damage to many marginalized groups. And yet, I feel a collective shrug in the air—a feeling that people knew it was coming, we’ve already been through it. The people who identified themselves in 2016 as “the resistance” are tired. I find myself wondering: Where is the action? 

Maybe people just need time to regroup before the action. Esther Hobbs of Seaside is the lead organizer of the Women’s March Monterey Bay. She organized in response to Trump’s first election victory, and again when Roe v. Wade was overturned. And now she’s organizing again. 

The group is not yet organizing a march or a rally—that will likely come in January around inauguration time—but instead is hosting a community gathering tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 9) from 10am-noon at Window on the Bay in Monterey. “It's just a place to come together,” Hobbs says. “[People are seeking] the sense that you're not alone with your feelings, and the encouragement we felt when we were all together.”

Activities will include writing positive notes on Post-its to place on bathroom mirrors or other public spaces, for people to take one if it boosts their spirits; there will be friendship bracelet making. 

There will be time for more political actions, but for now it’s about community, Hobbs says. “We want people to have a space to come together this weekend, to feel they're not alone…We can get through it, we've done it before. There's a sense that we know how to mobilize, we know how to resist, and together we will persist.”