Congressman Flores,
We are a non-partisan group of citizens, all residents of the 17th Congressional District. We represent no particular political party, business, church, or organization. Our only point of connection is that the campaign rhetoric and recent appointments of President-elect Donald Trump have left us concerned for the safety and protection of the dignity of many of our neighbors.
Every election ends with a segment of the population feeling defeated and demoralized. After a season of battling over ideas, one side wins while the other side experiences anxiety about what the results may mean for their future. Both the exuberance of the “winners” and the anxiety of the “losers” usually subside as the process of governing dulls the more extreme and aggressive political speech of campaigning.
This is not that.
The rhetoric and policy proposals of Donald Trump during the presidential campaign went beyond typical election year talk. On top of this, many of the more fringe elements in our country that supported Mr. Trump engaged in inflammatory activities and speech that went unaddressed by the candidate, as well as by his supporters. Our concerns about this should not be dismissed as the rumblings of a few “sore losers,” as more than half of the voters in the country have been accused of being for the past few weeks.
Thank you for agreeing to meet with us on Thursday, December 15th at 1:30 pm. At this meeting we would like to discuss the following issues:
- Immigration Concerns Since the election we have heard numerous stories from educators in our community about the fear and anguish of some of their students at the possibility that their parents may be arrested and/or deported. Those dubbed “DREAMers” are unsure of their standing in the country they love. These fears and uncertainties are not unsubstantiated, but emanate from concrete examples of the president-elect making statements that would suggest that this is their future. Although Mr. Trump has softened his tone on this since the election, it was his first point of emphasis in the election, and will be pressed by many of his supporters to return to a more hardline stance in the coming months. We understand that as a Republican, your first priority in this area is to border security. With these as a given, we believe you owe those in your district a statement about what you believe should happen to immigrants currently in the country.
- Concerns of Women The Access Hollywood recording released in October, which revealed incredibly disturbing words from Mr. Trump, served as confirmation of what many already believed to be misogynistic tendencies of the candidate. Combined with previous interviews and sexual assault allegations, the video was the most alarming red flag for many that Trump represents the dangerous tendency in our culture of powerful men getting away with violence toward women. While many of his supporters labeled Trump’s language and history as “vile” and “disgusting,” and the product of a “filthy mouth,” claiming that it didn’t supersede some of the transgressions of his opponent, many women in our country were traumatized by what they heard as much more than “boys being boys” and “locker room talk.” What many of them heard was a step-by-step description of violence that had been done to them in the past. (Notable among those who recognized this as more than inappropriate language were prominent, conservative, evangelical women.) We believe you owe it to those in your district, particularly women, to share whether you believe the president-elect’s past behavior represents simply a “filthy mouth” or something much more dangerous.
- Racial and Religious Minority Concerns 2016 has revealed that there continue to be deep racial divisions in our country. These have most clearly manifested themselves in what many believe are institutional biases against minorities woven into the criminal justice system. Groups that have protested against this have been labeled “extreme” and “violent,” regardless of how peaceful their gatherings have been. Additionally, many religious minorities in the country fear for their safety as they continue to be unfairly associated with extreme, violent people who claim to practice the same faith. Donald Trump has intensified these divisions. He was slow to denounce white nationalist voices of support for him, and has appointed advisors who, at the very least, have allowed racist voices to have a place at the table of our public discourse. His rallies often included violence against black protestors. He has suggested that “stop and frisk,” a method of policing that unfairly targets minorities, is acceptable. At one point he expressed potential support for a database of all Muslims living in our country. We believe you owe those in your district a specific explanation of where you stand on each of these issues.
Though many of us are concerned with a number of other issues with the coming Trump presidency, these we have outlined are those which have been uniquely heightened during this election season, and which represent the broadest agreement among the more than half of all voters who voted against Donald Trump.
As far as we can tell, you were mostly silent on many of these issues during the recent campaign season. One could conclude that the relative safety of your seat in Congress has rendered it unnecessary for you to wade into these sensitive waters. If this is true, then it is also true that the relative safety of your seat in Congress renders you uniquely poised to make courageous statements and propose legislation that will protect the most vulnerable of our neighbors. It is our hope in meeting with you that the latter will inform your upcoming fourth term in Congress more than the former.
We are grateful for your service to our district, and for agreeing to meet with us during such a busy time of the year.
Thank You,
Caroline Adams, College Station
Cindy Albert, Waco
Nathan Alleman, Waco
Berkeley Anderson, Waco
Dave Anfenson, Waco
Linda Autrey, Somerville
Emily Bartz, College Station
Joel Bell-Scott , Waco
BeckyBell-Scott, Waco
Marissa Binkoski, Waco
Monica Burmickey, Waco
Ryan Busby, Waco
Bethany Busby, Waco
Christopher Cantrell, Waco
Shannon Carl, Waco
Ana Chatham, Waco
Jessica Christian, College Station
Sarah Christian, Bryan
Carolina Meza de Clark, Waco
Jerrod Clark, Waco
Caitlin Clossen, Waco
Carolyn Cole, Waco
Patrick Danley, Waco
Lizzie Davis, Waco
John DeVries, Waco
Meredith Dieterich, Aquilla
Chris Doe, Waco
Brad Dressler, College Station
Kay Dunlap, Waco
Joleen Eiklenborg, Robinson
Cheryl Foster, Waco
Hallie Gammon, Bryan
Ginny Garrison-Tate, Bryan
Nancy Gatlin, Waco
Joe Gatlin, Waco
Sylvia Gonzales, Lorena
Jamie Graham, Waco
Jessica Green, Waco
Brett Greenfield, Waco
Bethany Grones, Waco
Misty Guy, Waco
Kim Haines, Waco
Sylvia Harrington, Waco
Gigi Harrison, Waco
Tammie Hartgroves, McGregor
Samantha Haynes, College Station
Melissa Hefferin Berquist, College Station
Claire Helton, Waco
Megan Henderson, Waco
Mallory Herridge, Waco
Matt Hess, Lacy Lakeview
Kimberly Hickman, Waco
Andy Hogue, Waco
Tiffany Hogue, Waco
Jeff Holcomb, Waco
DeShauna Hollie, Waco
Michael Honza, Waco
Sherri Honza, Waco
Emily Hunter, Waco
Sasha Jackson, Waco
Tammy Jackson, College Station
Alaina Jalufka, College Station
Amber Jekot, Waco
Dennis Jesinsky, Hewitt
Susan Jesinsky, Hewitt
Linsey Jobe, Waco
Al Josephs, Waco
Susan Josephs, Waco
Jane Kittner, Woodway
Susan Kocian, Robinson
Katie Lairmore, Waco
Lucas Land, Waco
Deanna Leach, Waco
Kody Leland Bartley, Waco
Lilly Ettinger Leman, Waco
Bonnie Alexander Lesley, Waco
Gregory Lewis, Somerville
Sefra Lopez, Bryan
Jerri Love, Waco
Mary Mann, Mart
Nichole McNeese, College Station
Beth Milam, Bryan
Sarah Minnis, College Station
Marykate Moore, Woodway
Elyse Mowle, College Station
Hope Mustakim, Waco
Craig Nash, Waco
David Nelson, Bryan
Lai Ling Ngan, Hewitt
Jordan Ochel, Woodway
Catherine Osborne, Waco
Erin Payseur, Waco
Candice Prose, China Spring
Brittany Ramirez, Waco
Edith Ramirez, College Station
Jane Read Gherardi, Bryan
Charles Reed, Waco
Jacob Robinson, Waco
Dianne Ryan, Waco
Kim Ryser, Somerville
Carmen Saenz, Waco
Zach Sanger, Waco
Carolyn Schroeder, College Station
Jon Singletary, Waco
Jessika Smith, Waco
Tara Spence, Robinson
Tylor Standley, Waco
Faith Stringer, Bryan
Rhonda Struminger, College Station
Julie Svetlik, College Station
Stephen Swanson, Waco
Holly Tate, Waco
Adam Tilson, Waco
Eleanor Triplett, Waco
Beth Ullman, Waco
Marie Valentine Allen , Waco
Shannon Van Zandt, College Station
Meg Wallace, Woodway
Harrison Ward, Crawford
Becky Warren, Speegleville
Ann Whitaker, Woodway
Mike Whitenton, Woodway
Rachel Whitenton, Woodway
Julia Wiley, China Spring
Chris Williamson, Waco
Peter Witt, Bryan
Rae Wright, Waco
Jamey Yadon, Waco
Pat Yadon, Bryan
Mary Ziehe Moore, Waco
Andrea Zimmerman, Waco
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