The photo freezes one moment in time during President Trump’s State of the Union (SOTU) speech. For me, the picture truthfully encapsulates the failure of the Democratic strategy to “sit out” the speech.
On the surface, it probably sounded like a great idea. Listen but don’t respond. Sit quietly without any emotion. They wouldn’t succumb to the theatrics of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) who generated international attention when he shouted, “You lie!” during a speech by then-President Obama. However, somebody forgot to tell those grown, elected officials that sitting still is an art. And since they had just gone through eight years of the Republicans acting stupid toward a Democratic president, the phrase “respecting the office of the presidency,” which was their rallying cry against Republican behavior, should have been at the forefront of their memory.
Members of the Black Caucus arrived at the address wearing kente cloth. It was a subtle message directed at Trump because of referring to certain African countries as s***holes. Kente cloth’s various colors represent a variety of concepts in regard to life; green is vegetation and yellow is like an egg yolk for fertility. The shapes on kente cloth also have real meanings based on historical occurrences. The cloth was once reserved for kings, so wearing the cloth carries a lot more weight than just sending a message to Trump.
The cloth is still held in high esteem by Ghanaians where the cloth originated, especially among the Akan tribe. So to see the Black Caucus members displaying the mannerism this picture captured is an insult. I wonder how many of them have even done a DNA test to know what region of Africa their ancestors came from? Even more telling is to find out how many of them have ever set foot in Africa? I know I was extremely insulted to see Little Louie Gutierrez wearing the cloth as he has done little to help the African American community while he promotes his illegal alien agenda.
One of the biggest problems with the Democrats’ decision is that it made them look childish and petty. Every SOTU speech I’ve seen has had the current president highlighting individuals. They are usually fellow Americans, and their stories should be unifying moments. You know like when then Sen. Barack Obama delivered the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He said, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there’s the United States of America.” So to see them sit there stone-faced and disinterested when the young boy was highlighted for having gotten flags to go on the graves of veterans, or when the parents of the two young girls killed by MS-13 gang members were recognized is a sad day for any political party. Worse was when congressmen began chanting, “USA … USA” and Little Louie stood up and walked out.
After watching this shameful display, I hope many of the constituents that those folks whom they were elected to represent show their displeasure by replacing them in Congress. We need people there whose primary goal is about this country and not just party affiliations.
