Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man

Reminder: 290 and 67. The 290 represents how many U.S. House of Representatives members it takes to override a presidential veto (all Representatives are up for reelection this year). It takes 67 U.S. Senators to override a presidential veto (35 Senators are up for reelection this year with 22 of those being Republicans—the ones we have to concentrate on the most). These numbers are very important this year at the ballot box because it will take this number of votes to help right this vast ship of a country for all of us, not just the billionaire class.

Reading about laws and comments geared towards discrimination of minorities that are happening, at what seems an ever increasing rate, always makes me wonder why. Why go after the people who are most vulnerable in society? There is only one thing that keeps coming to mind.

The majority of white people must be the most easily frightened people in the United States. 

That can only be it since white non-hispanic people make up over 60% of the population. 

Yet this group is afraid to issue marriage licenses or bake a wedding cake if its for same-sex couples because it must in some way affect their own marriages. Someone went all the way to the Supreme Court just so they wouldn’t have to bake a cake—although the decision seems to have been made based on faulty, even non-existent, evidence.

They are afraid of transgendered people in general, but especially those competing in organized sports. This itself would be laughable if it weren’t so serious against trans women in particular—all the major fear and upset over maybe 15 (yes, just 15) trans females wanting to participate in the entire country. I also firmly believe the real fear of trans people (and others in the LGBTQ+), is that, straight white men in particular, may actually be attracted to a trans woman and what that might mean about themselves when they discover the true person with whom they have fallen in love.

They are afraid to help the poor, the sick, the disabled, and the elderly thinking apparently they should be taking care of themselves somehow when society is stacked against these humans in need—how so very Jesus-like.

They are afraid to pay taxes because someone who doesn’t look like them might have smooth roads, fire and police protection, excellent schools, parks, and such.

But they are really afraid of black and brown folks because they are working overtime to make sure they either can’t vote or that their votes will never elect a black or brown person—only whites are entitled to have their votes mean anything and of course only white people should be in positions of real power.

All that is happening in our country right now—the war, the invasion of sovereign nations, the Thug Fund, the demolition of the White House, the boondoggles of the planned ballroom and arch, the alleged insider trading, the hate posts, the decimation of the social safety net, the tax cuts for the billionaire class, the alleged pay for pardons, the pardons of the 1,600 people found guilty by their peers for attacking the Capitol on January 6, and so much more—can be laid at the 60% of white men (and 53% of white women), the 72% of white Christians, and 82% of white evangelical Christians, who voted for Trump in 2024.

Trump voters must also be the least accountable people of all time, as everything seems to be someone else’s fault. It is never their own actions that are at fault.

It’s the migrants taking their jobs even though I’d be hard-pressed to find a white person willing to work in the fields picking tomatoes or apples for 40 or more hours a week in the hot sun or rain being paid by the amount of harvest they did for that day. I’d also be hard-pressed to find a white person willing to work in the extreme heat of summer or the extreme cold of the winter putting the roof on a new house. I’d be hard-pressed to find a white person working in a chicken slaughterhouse. Just listen to the farmers who are now complaining they don’t have the workers needed to harvest crops or work their farms.

It’s the “illegal” or undocumented people who are taking social safety net funds away from U.S. citizens. Not sure how this is possible since there are laws in place that specifically state a non-U.S. citizen is ineligible for SNAP, Social Security, and other federal programs.

It’s the “illegal” or undocumented people who are voting in elections to benefit the Democrats. Since the White House and Congress, along with 28 states, are under full Republican control. If people were voting illegally to help Democrats, wouldn’t everyplace be run by Democrats at all levels of government? Also, in study after study, even those written by Republicans, have found voter fraud at 0.000096% of votes—with most recent convictions coming from Republican identified voters.

But, from the Republican side, which is mainly white voters, anything and everything is the Democrats fault, or Biden’s fault, or Obama’s fault, or Hillary Clinton’s fault. Republicans, especially the White House, try to place blame on even events happening during Trump’s term and authority on anyone but himself. Recent case in point was a statement President Biden ordered FBI agents be in the January 6th crowd to incite violence even though Trump himself was still president during the insurrection—Biden couldn’t have ordered the FBI to do anything.

The sad thing is that in the 28 states led almost completely by Republicans, the quality of life has gone down during their tenure, especially for those states led entirely by Republicans for over a decade (just look at the decline of Ohio and Texas as examples). This is what happens when politicians gerrymander to the point politicians are choosing their voters rather than voters choosing politicians to represent them. But, it seems the majority of white America would rather blame Democrats rather than looking in the mirror or at facts.

Basically, until average white Americans wake up to reality, that because they seem to want to keep minorities in “their place” rather than wanting us all to live comfortably and freely, we will continue this downward spiral until even whites are treated as they are treating minorities by the billionaire class in power. This includes the current White House who keeps marching us toward authoritarian rule where all the power and all the money flows to, and through, him.

It’s voting season, make your decision wisely.