Are Mr. Niemerg and Mr. Wilhour ok? This letter suggests that maybe they need to step away from Fox News for a moment and touch some grass. Are they so removed from what is going on in this country? Is it so hard to fathom that 8 million people gave up their Saturday to tell Trump, his administration and the world that they have had enough? Just in the last month, the public has watched Trump initiate an illegal war, oversee the event that massacred innocent schoolgirls, start a dispute with His Holiness and depict himself as Jesus in a blasphemous social media post. Do they not think this sort of behavior warrants a reaction? If not, we would like to know when the appropriate time is to take to the streets.
We, concerned citizens of Effingham, organized this event. We were thrilled to see approximately 300 people attend and exercise their 1st amendment rights. We were equally thrilled when we met a couple from Ohio who were passing through, saw our protest and decided to join us. They have also had enough of the corruption and lawlessness.
There was a young man working at a nearby establishment who saw the protest and came over on his break to stand with us. We heard that several Effingham residents wanted to join but traveled to Charleston to protest because they feared being recognized by their neighbors or co-workers.
It is insulting to us and everyone at the protest to insinuate that financial compensation is what brought people out with their flags and homemade signs. We love our country and our community. That’s it.
Instead of making baseless claims and attacking the integrity of their constituents, we would like to encourage Mr. Niemerg and Mr. Wilhour to get some fresh air and take a moment to understand what prompted millions of people around the world to send a clear message – Trump is not a king.
Editor’s Note: This a response to the column “Niemerg and Wilhour: No Kings movement built on lies on hypocrisy”