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President Lyndon Johnson observed that “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” This doesn’t just work on disaffected white men. It’s anyone who feels wronged, angry that society seems to treat others better.
President Donald Trump and politicians who enable him have given us license — indeed, encouraged us — to look down on and hate everyone except themselves. He’s mocked disabled people, belittled women, demonized immigrants of every color except white, and disparaged trans kids, among many others.
He’s turning us against each other and while we’re hating and belittling each other, he and his collaborators are stealing our security and our future. He’s spending over $1 billion a day of our money in an unnecessary, ill-conceived war against Iran. He wants Congress to appropriate another $200 billion for that war, and he’s still giving trillions of dollars in tax cuts to himself and his Epstein-class friends.
Yet he couldn’t find enough money to fully fund SNAP benefits for hungry American children, or Medicaid benefits to provide health care to poor Americans, furthering closure of rural hospitals, and he and Republicans in Congress ended ACA subsidies, forcing millions of Americans to drop their health insurance and lose their safety net.
All while making our food, our fuel, our heat more and more expensive. Check your pockets people.
Sandy Scholar
Greenville Junction
