The Squad Abandonned People Like Me in Favor of the Culture Wars
Yesterday, I wrote a piece titled “I Feel Powerless and Am Losing Faith in Humanity” about how we’re living in a hotel struggling to find a place to live. I was originally trying to get this current piece in a publication, but now, I think it’s much more suited as a follow-up to yesterday’s post.
Democrats are in big trouble going into the mid-term elections, and things are looking even worse for 2024. Pollsters like Brian Stryker and economic researchers like Amory Gethin are trying to ring the alarm that the ongoing culture wars aren’t what the working class cares about, yet it’s all that The Squad can talk about. While lower-income, less-educated working-class Americans are struggling to survive, the progressives people like me had faith in are letting us down.
Currently, I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a rat-infested apartment that my complex, but I can’t afford to move myself and my son to a new place because of sky-high rental prices. I was laid off in September, and like so many other Americans, I have no leverage against the multi-million dollar rental management company because they know people like me are in an impossible position. Meanwhile, representatives like Ilhan Omar, AOC, and the rest of The Squad are fighting a culture war that doesn’t help families like mine. So, is it any wonder that Congress has a terrible approval rating, even with a Democratic majority?
For the last week, Ilhan Omar has been in an ongoing feud with Lauren Boebert, and it’s all Omar can talk about. Aside from her Twitter feed promoting her news clips discussing the Boebert feud, her press releases haven’t been any better. Omar’s last two press releases are about her remarks on Islamaphobia and her statement on a conversation she had with Lauren Boebert. I’d never claim that Islamaphobia isn’t a problem, but is it the most pressing issue that we need Omar fighting at the moment?
When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was endorsed by Bernie Sanders, and we saw that she was going to fight for universal healthcare and living wages, most of us progressives were thrilled. Unfortunately, we’re witnessing her time and efforts are constantly being split with the culture wars. On December 1, AOC tweeted a defense of fellow Squad member Ilhan member and said, “Kevin McCarthy is so desperate to be speaker that he is working with his Ku Klux Klan caucus to look aside & allow violent targeting of woc members of Congress.” I’m half Black and no fan of the KKK, but even the Black side of my family hasn’t had any run-ins with the Klan in recent years.
To AOC’s credit, she manages to squeeze in a little time to fight for student debt cancellation, but while those of us just trying to get by are seeing her and Ayanna Pressley waste their public voice. The Build Back Better bill has been gutted beyond recognition, but most voters don’t even know what’s in it. “The investments in the Build Back Better Act—in housing, home and community-based services for the elderly and disabled, climate justice, universal paid leave, pre-k and childcare, lower prescription drug costs, and so much more—are the direct result of months of relentless advocacy by House progressives and will help us repair the hurt and harm felt by our communities.” Pressley said in a press release, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
While Ilhan Omar was busy dancing with a School House Rock rip-off on the steps of Congress, those of us paying attention have been appalled by the bill. As Jeff Stein from the Washington Post reported, “In reality, BBB offers states $ to expand if they choose -- but the $ disappears entirely in year 7, as Ds seek to reduce headline #. Rs call that an unfunded mandate.” The provisions for prescription drug price negotiations are laughable as well. Alex Ruoff writes in Bloomberg, “Under the plan, the 10 drugs that cost Medicare the most each year would be subject to negotiations, starting in 2023, including those used to treat cancer and rheumatoid arthritis and anti-coagulant medicines.” I’m a recovering drug addict who relies on anti-depressants to keep my sanity as well as two heart medications, and this does absolutely nothing for me.
On November 17, we found out 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, and you won’t find one mention of it from any of the aforementioned Squad members as well as the others like Rashida Talib, Jamaal Bowman, or Cori Bush. This is a major issue seeing as how these deaths are directly linked to wealth inequality, lack of mental healthcare, and terrible working conditions.
If people like Ilhan Omar continue to get sucked into a losing culture war battle with the Right, our chances of holding a majority in 2022 and 2024 are abysmal. What’s worse is seeing others who identify as progressives get just as distracted from the real issues. As long as we continue to be sold on the idea that white supremacy, Islamaphobia, and transphobia are our biggest issues, more and more people are going to abandon the left.
Frankly, it’s hard for progressives like me to even speak up on these issues. Of course, I care about reducing systemic racism, violence against women, and discrimination against the trans community. But when I’m sitting here wondering how I’m going to provide for my son on a daily basis, it’s impossible to feel like progressive representatives from The Squad are fighting for people like me.
My buddy Xavier Bonilla from the Converging Dialogues podcast just wrote an excellent piece for Newsweek titled “'Latinx' Democrats Don't Understand Latinos Because They Won't Talk About Class” that touches on this as well but about the Latino community.
I’m currently writing a book about how we’re manipulated by the news, social media, technology, advertisers, and each other. It dives into the psychological history of manipulation, our biases, tribalism, and more.
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