Rebuttal: To Protest Trump or…Sell Your House?

The Townie is an opinion website. The views expressed in this piece belong solely to the author, do not represent those held by The Townie, and should not be interpreted as objective or reported fact.

Were you one of those who followed the spirited debate begun in February by P. Christian Neverette when he wrote a piece, published in The Townie, entitled “Local Protests Divide More Than Unify?” An obviously concerned citizen, Mr. Neverette argued that the weekly Anti-MAGA protests at Newburyport’s Bartlett Mall were pointless demonstrations of affluent people who are doing little more than regurgitating complaints fed to them by the media.

“All the protesting has achieved is to widen the gap between parties,” he warned.

He made a point of suggesting that these protesters, most of them senior citizens, were acting childishly. Their actions proved that “emotionalism and easy manipulability is not at all exclusive to the young.” He thinks these citizens need to behave more responsibly. He tells us “Waving signs on the side of the road is the most egregious disappointment of that responsibility.”

He concluded his first piece saying, “I hope you enjoyed this article, that it pissed you off…”

And indeed he succeeded in pissing people off. Mr. James Roy, a friend of mine and a fellow never reluctant to enter a worthy debate, responded with “Rebuttal: When it Comes to Protests, Silence is Compliance.” Mr. Roy admitted “I am falling for his bait.” An historian who has published a number of books, Roy argued that local protests are an important way to change political environments. He pointed to history. The Vietnam era protests eventually led to the end of that disastrous war. The Civil Rights movement that began with protests led to the creation of laws that expanded rights for all Americans. So while Roy believes that protests can, over time, lead to results, Neverette sees these local protests as further dividing Americans. On one hand he seems to be urging people to unify, but then concludes by telling us he hopes to piss people off.

Mr. Neverette seems well-intentioned. He wants….SOMETHING….that he’s not getting from the Newburyport protesters, who clearly annoy him. I tried to understand his point when he wrote the following:

“If I made it public that I am convicted [sic] of the incipient destruction of the democracy I and my children live in, I don’t believe I’d omit any asset which could fund counter effort. You asked what I think you should do other than selling your homes?  Put your money where your mouth is. Any act greater than standing on the side of the road in your embarrassment of luxury, waving signs that serve as flaccid handshakes to the initiated and nothing at all to anyone else: Please, be pissed at me. Let me rattle your cage. But for God’s and your children’s sake, question the status quo.”

But aren’t the protesters at the Mall questioning the status quo? Isn’t that exactly what they are doing?

He tells the protesters (who suffer from an “embarrassment of luxury”) to put their money where their mouth is. I think he might be more sympathetic if he realized the extent to which many of these people (few of whom are probably as rich as he imagines) are doing exactly that.

I’ll defend Roy and other Newburyport sign-holders, and point out that these are often the same people who, like Mr. Roy himself, have volunteered for numerous public boards and commissions. Do we need to validate Mr. Roy and mention that he spent years as co-chair of the committee that renovated and expanded Newburyport’s Public Library? That he worked with groups that lobbied for today’s beautiful waterfront? That he, and other protesters like him, have spent hundreds and hundreds of hours giving their time to make their community a better place to live?

I’m sure Mr. Neverette does his own good deeds for his community, but he needs to be reminded that Mr. Roy and other protesters are often the very people who make a town like Newburyport the liveable place it is. It is insulting to suggest that these are simply people who hold signs on Saturday mornings. I’m betting that most have done far more for their local communities than the people who drive by and offer an upright finger.

And I’m sure Mr. Neverette has not had a conversation with one of the demonstrators, a woman whose family members serve in the U.S. military. She shows up because she does not want her grandchildren to be fodder for Trump’s pointless wars. It’s degrading to describe her protest as pointless.

I would ask a question to people sympathetic to Neverette’s frustrations. Should Trump’s cruelties be dismissed when they are called out by people who have an 01950 zip code? Do we dismiss an argument, or a sign-holder, because of their address? If that’s the case, then Neverette should put together a list of zip codes and towns whose residents deserve to listened to. Then another list of towns whose residents should be ignored.

Despite the problems in his arguments, Neverette is indeed attempting to tell us something important. There are many people out there who feel very much as he does. “Fuck Trump. Fuck Kamala. Fuck Bush. Fuck Biden. Fuck Hillary. This isn’t about party politics, this is about the reality that we are a global human community.”  When I read that, I hear two contradictory sentiments: great frustration, and a hope for a better world. Neverette says he is not a Trump or ICE supporter, and I believe him. Yet his articles express an unmistakable anger and resentment, very much the sort of resentment that led millions of voting Americans to put Trump back in the White House.

The Neverette-Roy debate is another symptom of what’s gone wrong with the system of American capitalism. Much like what happened during the Gilded Age, today there is a growing awareness that in our country there are the Have’s and the Have-Nots. Neverette regards Roy as one of the Have’s, while he is one of the Have-Nots. I can understand why Neverette is pissed. The problem is that he really doesn’t know what to do about it. He sees no difference between the parties, and tells us to “Fuck Trump, Fuck Kamala, Fuck Bush…” Like so many Americans he’s disgusted, and complains about “politics” in general.

The frustration of the Democratic Party has been its inability to convince such alienated voters that there is, in fact, an enormous difference in the goals of the two parties. It would be in everyone’s interest to identify these differences, and take sides. For all their failures, Democrats have at least tried, through efforts like Obama’s Affordable Care Act, to provide comprehensive healthcare for Americans. (Republicans have repeatedly tried to eliminate it.) Democrats in Congress believe the science behind global warming, and vaccines. (Republicans do not.) Democrats have tried to institute tax laws that would not allow Jeff Bezos to pay a measly 1% of his income in taxes, while most people – probably including both Messrs. Neverette and Roy— are paying around 25%. (Republicans for decades have successfully tilted the tax system to benefit the extremely rich – though not even the somewhat-rich, like doctors, professionals, and most people in 01950.)  

Until Democrats can demonstrate that there is in fact a profound difference between the goals of these parties, disgruntled voters like Mr. Neverette will go on being frustrated. This is exactly what Trump and Republicans are counting on.

It’s unfortunate that many Americans are so angry and alienated, and feel the system has screwed them. The challenge for Mr. Roy (and for me, and people of our Democratic political persuasion) is to convince Mr. Neverette that the first step is recognizing that the Trump is creating chaos, and there is value in standing up – even by the side of the road in Newburyport – and saying so. He’s very correct in saying that protesting alone will not be enough. All of us are frustrated, and this year we can usefully channel that energy by working on campaigns to replace Trump’s Republican congressional allies.

Like most people, Mr. Neverette really does want the best for all of us. But if we followed his advice and put down our signs and went home, Trump and his collaborators would have us right where they want us.

Hugh Kelleher
Newburyport resident

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