Miner Queries | Cherie Miner
As “protesters” were marching around the world on Jan. 21, one of my friends who voted for President Trump asked on Facebook why they were marching. Another of my friends explained some of the many reasons people showed up to march.
But nobody said it better than Carrie Shalters when she was interviewed in last week’s Red Oak Express about her participation: “I don’t feel as though the atmosphere was a protest, but more of a ‘See me, hear my voice and listen. These are my concerns.’”
And really, wasn’t that the reason so many voters cast their ballots for Trump? Tired of “establishment” politicians ignoring the concerns of rural white voters, they opted for the anti-establishment Republican, as Trump claimed to be. Although their numbers did not win Trump the popular vote, the Electoral College’s uneven weighting of rural states gave Trump the win.
Put more simply, both Trump voters and the Jan. 21 marchers want to be seen. So why can’t these minorities come together? Because the reality is these rural white voters are every bit as much a minority as the women, African American, Latino, Muslim, Jewish, LBGT and other subgroups who marched Jan. 21.
Together, we are the 99 percent. And who does President Trump represent? As a child of great, inherited wealth, he is solidly with the 1 percent.
And what can we learn from his actions in his first two weeks?
Candidate Trump pledged he would protect Medicare and Social Security, yet he’s made no effort to stop Congressional Republicans from promoting reforms (think cuts) to both programs.
And although Trump pledged to repeal Obamacare and replace it with something better, signing an executive order for repeal shortly after the inauguration, no details have been revealed yet. However, his Health and Human Services nominee, Tom Price, has long advocated not just the repeal of Obamacare, but the dismantling of employer-provided health insurance, which insures far more people. Meanwhile, people with all kinds of health conditions wait.
Candidate Trump also promised to use the power of negotiation to make the pharmaceutical companies lower drug prices for Americans. Yet last week, after meeting with representatives of Big Pharma, the new plan is deregulating drug production and giving drug companies tax cuts. What about the American consumer? We are not part of Trump’s tribe.
And speaking of tribes, Trump promised to build a border wall with Mexico and get Mexico to pay for it. So he’s signed an order to begin construction, but it seems American taxpayers must foot the bill until President Trump can figure out how to get Mexico to reimburse us.
He also issued an order barring Muslims from immigrating to the U.S. As initially written, the order left Muslims with resident status in limbo as they were traveling, separating families. Interestingly, majority-Muslim nations in which Trump has business ties were not included in the immigration order.
Why all this tribalism? Because if we the people fight among ourselves, we won’t notice the 1 percent robbing us blind and stripping us of our security and power. Keep us fighting for scraps according to our designated labels, and maybe the smallest minority of all can completely consolidate its power and wealth.
To quote my favorite columnist, Molly Ivins (may she rest in peace), we all need to be in the streets “banging our pots and pans.”
Cherie Miner is a local parent, community volunteer, freelance writer and artist. In a former life, she was a corporate writer and public relations professional. Contact her at news@redoakexpress.com or on Facebook.