Why Ending the Shutdown Made Democrats Look Weak, But Also Made Them Look Human

The seven Democrats and lone Independent who broke away from the Democratic Party to end the government shutdown are being castigated as naive weaklings who have advanced the narrative that the Dems are once again Charlie Brown to the Republican Party’s Lucy.

It’s an understandable analysis and, in strict political terms, it probably isn’t a bad one. Time and again, Democrats have earnestly sought to negotiate and govern— to kick the ball, as it were— only to have Republicans seemingly flip the script, pull the ball away and watch as their opponents fall flat.

So, the rage at those who joined with Republicans to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history with no guarantee that health care premiums won’t soar (the whole point of the shutdown in the first place) isn’t hard to grasp.

But, there’s a 10-year-old Black boy in rural South Carolina who does not comprehend that point of view— and shouldn’t even have to. All he knows is the food assistance his mother receives keeps him fed.

It is true— the largest group of people who receive food assistance in this country are white, according to The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) annual report. It is also true that Black Americans disproportionately rely upon that assistance. A higher percentage of our families need food assistance to feed our children.

That same 10-year-old Black boy was never the face of this shutdown. Instead, the focus was on air traffic controllers and other government employees forced to work without pay. The focus was on air travelers stuck in long lines because the Trump administration, claiming it was looking out for public safety, cut routes, according to Reuters. And the focus was on the who-blinks-first game of political chicken playing out between Democrats and Republicans in Congress right before our eyes.

Meanwhile, that little boy had already gone to the local food pantry with his mother because the family’s already-reduced food assistance wasn’t enough to feed him, his mother and siblings. That pantry was handing out the last of its food with no guarantee that community generosity would replenish its shelves. Somewhere far above his level of understanding, something was making the boy’s mother worry and cry.

Discussions of food assistance almost always come with aspersions casually thrown at the poor. The speculations are easy to bring to mind: “The poor are poor because they make bad decisions. They are lazy. They take government handouts and buy potato chips and soda.”

In some instances, these accusations are accurate. In most, they are not. And in all instances, they should not keep that 10-year-old boy from having food in the house when he comes home from school. After all, he made no choices. He simply needs to eat so he can grow up and have his chance to make a positive mark on the world.

Maybe he’ll be an accountant. Maybe a doctor or a teacher. Maybe he’ll be a journalist.

I thought a lot about that 10-year-old boy during this shutdown. Even with my hair gone gray now, I see him every time I look in the mirror.

Wayne Washington is a journalist in Florida. He grew up in South Carolina.