Image by Lois Keller, via Twitter
I started this article Saturday morning, and planned on writing about those attending the Women’s March in Los Angeles. I was going to ask people I met there why they were protesting. I quickly discovered, that while there were many reasons people attended—from women’s reproductive issues to creating a sense of unity to concerns about the welfare of the planet—the common denominator was that people just wanted to be heard.
So I polled people from LA’s march, and when I got home, I took to social media to collect more thoughts, and curated them here.
I asked everyone a simple question: if you could speak to President Trump, in one sentence, what would you say? Here are the responses:
“If 99% of climate scientists agree that climate is changing and humans are responsible, who are you to second-guess them? What education and research experience in climate science do you have? Are you aware that the longer we fail to act, the worse the world will be for future generations?”
— Donald Ross Prothero, geologist, science writer, lecturer, Los Angeles, CA
“Why did you repeal/suspend Obama’s reduction of rate on private mortgage insurance on FHA loans, eliminating many home buyers from the market?”
— Russel Rivera, KAL Financial
“Why would you take away Foundation for the Arts when the arts are a crucial part of our spiritual growth as a people?”
— Michael Thomas Daniel, screenwriter, Southern California
“When will you close your Twitter (TWTR) account and spend that time listening to American’s biggest concerns?”
— Shelley Lee, Bullhead City, AZ
“I honestly can’t think of a single thing I would want to say to DT. He is a textbook narcissist and there is nothing anyone can say to him that he will actually hear.”
— Gila Brown, marriage and family therapist
“Act like a man, not an eight year old.”
— Johnny Angel Wendell, radio talk show host
“President Trump, with a beautiful wife, two ex-wives who are the mothers of your children and female, how could you be against healthcare and equal rights for women?”
— Linda Salvin, MPH
“Mr. President, I am so excited for our country because I am confident you will pursue our country’s best interests both financially and militarily with the same zeal and tenacity you have in building your own investments and companies, and for that I am very grateful.”
— B. J. T., machine operations in plastics, Waupun, WI
“Would you be willing to dismiss your cabinet and resign from the Presidency, if no charges are pressed against you?”
— T. Brawley
“Labeling the press ‘dishonest media’ and ‘garbage’ reflects your opinion. Will you continue to allow your opinion to have an adverse and chilling effect on our fundamental right to a free press, or will the press remain free so that I may draw my own conclusions about their reports?”
— C.R., Texas
“Get over yourself—the sun is the center of the solar system, not you.”
— Jay Vee
“Time to put away the rhetoric and get serious about helping this nation.”
— Tim Crawford, chemist
“I put my trust in you… don’t make me regret it.”
— LilBitOfSass @xmssweetnessx (Twitter)
“If you want to make America great again please research the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 and abandon your protectionist economics which will leave you with a failed presidency.”
— Edward Fox
“Mr. Trump, I can tell just by looking at you, that you’ve never been in an actual fistfight in your life. When you talk tough, I laugh.”
—Phil Hendrie, broadcaster, netcaster, satirist
“Everyone who voted for you told us to give you a chance, and yet your first full day in office starts with you lying to the CIA, and your press secretary lying to the world. When are you going to spend time on real issues and get to the job that you were hired to do? Let’s deal with issues that affect us and the world, not the turnout at your inauguration.”
— Leiha Mann, Washington
“You are not my president because you support racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and many other things that are the direct opposite of what this country stands for.”
— Sunny Megatron
“With the majority of citizens from both sides of the aisle disagreeing with your policy proposals, why would you proceed? Why do you insist you are correct despite proof to the contrary?”
— Leanne McNeil
“You are the leader of the free world. Why are you so thin-skinned? You know this job comes with dissent. You know this job comes with people not agreeing with you. What will it take for you to put on your big boy pants and get thicker skin so you can actually work on some serious issues in this country and not go on Twitter rants about crowd sizes at your inauguration?”
— Leslie Simmons, labor union communications director
“Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other being’s frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another’s position.”
— Lori H. Schwartz, Storytech
“Where do you think America would be today without all our immigrants? They helped build our nation, where would we be today without them or all they did for us?”
— DawnMarie Ferrara, actress, writer, producer
“What justification do you use when claiming that Obama was our most divisive president, despite the fact that his entire presidency focused on equal rights and what we can accomplish together, and during your entire campaign, you boasted about yourself and your accomplishments, while not proposing any ideas of working together and bringing unity—and in fact thrived on highlighting differences and encouraging division?”
— K. M., Louisiana
“What are your plans and goals in environmental policy apart from the fact you believe climate change is a hoax?”
— K.L., Tarzana, CA
“With the recent cyber attacks on corporations, hospitals and banks, what will the Trump administration be doing to make our digital infrastructure more secure?”
— Inga K. Van Riper, marketing manager
“We are one. We Are One! WE. ARE. ONE!”
— Unidentified marcher from Los Angeles
Read Next
