Being 'Hungry' in Trump's America. What Will It Mean?
We are about to get 'great' again. Are the poor and working classes ready for the ride?
This is an image of homeless and impoverished Americans enjoying Thanksgiving in Los Angeles. Feeding the homeless, an act it seems the good Christians who voted for Donald Trump would appreciate, is under attack by right-wing politicians. In Houston, Texas, a group known as “Food Not Bombs” has fed Houstonians for 20 years without incident — until March 2023.
The Houston police now regularly show up at the downtown library, where the charitable organization feeds the needy and tickets the workers.
Police decided to start issuing citations to the group for “violating the city’s Charitable Feeding Ordinance,” an ordinance that has been on the books since 2012, but one which area volunteers say has never really been enforced. It requires both registered and non-registered food service operations to “obtain owner consent before using either public or private property for food service of more than five people (Criminalizing the Samaritan).”
Regardless of what they say, no matter how loud they preach about their love and devotion to Jesus, most Trump voters hate the poor. Many of them are impoverished and barely hanging on, struggling to make ends meet. Thanks to the belief that the carnival barker, Donald Trump, will show them the “greatest show on Earth,” they vote against their interests. They believe that Trump’s imagined largesse will trickle down to them like fat from a turkey drumstick, filling all their pots. It never happens. Instead, many of these duped, misinformed citizens end up on the street, hoping for someone else’s charity. The hate subsides, or it doesn’t, and they struggle even more.
If presidential candidate Donald Trump and the Republican congress have their way, millions more will join their ranks as additional dollars are scrubbed from food programs. GOP congressmen have already tightened rules for food stamps and ended pandemic-era programs that benefited families with children, despite their success. The new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has said that reducing funds for food assistance is a priority for him.
But cutting food programs is nothing new for the GOP. Reducing aid to needy families was at the heart of Ronald Reagan’s domestic policy. Reagan, a devout Christian, believed God blessed America with freedom, but Americans would not be free until government was off their backs and citizens took responsibility for their own lives. His solution: cut taxes and reduce spending for social services. It was a twofer that pleased voters aggrieved by their tax burden and also his evangelical base (The Republican War on Food Programs).
Charity used to be the thing that made the U.S. better — kind of. Instead of waiting for the government to act, America had a well-developed and active foundation that promoted charitable behavior. Everyone in America, from when we were kids, has taken part in drives and collected money for “those in need.” Charitable contributions to organizations that then do the “good work” the government failed to do filled the cracks in our society and cleared our consciences.
The soothing mantra that “I give to charity” permitted many of us to look the other way, or not, and pass by the “beggars” on the street. It was tidy and neat when you “gave at the office” or added an extra dollar at the check-out. However, we do not like seeing the poor and the needy gathered outside at collective tables participating in Thanksgiving celebrations. It brings the reality of our cultural excess too close to the fire for comfort. Conservatives love to imagine America as being a spectacularly exceptional country. The truth that our system is tragically flawed is not one they can accept.
Conservatives, however, love to make charitable contributions. Trumpists of the MAGA cult regard the needy as being at fault. Given that so many MAGidiots themselves are floating barely above the line of poverty, the idea that they should help someone with less than them is a ridiculous notion. MAGA cultists resent needy people because they consider them weak. They view them almost as if they were the enemy. Trump says America is a garbage dump, and he will make it great again. Seeing the needy and poor is not a “great thing;” instead, it’s a reminder that maybe their cult leader is wrong — but he can’t be, so the poor and homeless are wrong. They are to blame. This could explain why cities are fighting back and fining anyone caught feeding the homeless.
In almost every city in the United States, there is a sizable group of people living on the streets because they are too poor to have any other options. According to a report by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 3.5 million people will experience homelessness in a year. The issue of homeless people is one too big to be ignored, and one that often invites a response of compassion from people with a wide variety of backgrounds.
Many people from both religious and secular backgrounds have responded to the crisis of homelessness by giving out donations of things that can meet tangible needs of the very poor, including food. However, giving food can sometimes be controversial, particularly the mass feeding of people in large groups.
Houston’s law demands that anyone giving free food to more then five people could be fined as much as $2,000, unless they first registered with the city. A recent law in Fort Lauderdale, FL requires all feeding sites to be 500 feet away from each other, and 500 feet away from any residential property. In enforcement of these laws, members of groups in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale have been arrested for giving out food in parks.
Trump’s America, the one that rejected sanity, civility, and an amazingly smart and qualified woman for the presidency, has let it be known that the powerless are suckers. The dead are even worse — losers. Trumpists offer no room at the inn for folks in need, so they will welcome rhetoric that promises them that simply by being close to him, the goodness rubs off. Trumpists don’t care that being close to Trump and his movement means stomping on others who are in need or weaker. It just means that if someone is below you, then it is your duty as a Trumpist, as a MAGidiot, to let them know they are not wanted.
The policies Trump will put forth and pass, given that he has full control of Congress, will make the street-side Thanksgiving bigger. They will also ensure that more Americans helping the hungry will spend time in jails. Somehow, Trump will turn those feeding the homeless into our enemies, the way he did to election workers, and we will soon hear about how the “real enemies” are those volunteers. Soon, we will see how street dinners and food handouts have become places where cowardly gun enthusiasts congregate to intimidate homeless people.
Our nation is in a really good place.
On this Thanksgiving, think for a second about our fellow citizens who, through no fault of their own, are alone and just want to feel the joy of a hot meal made by someone who doesn’t judge or hate them. But maybe even loves them.