Christian A. Ray, Intern - thefranklinpressnews@gmail.com
On Thursday, May 1, a “May Day” rally was held with people lining the streets to protest federal job cuts and to support small businesses affected by tariffs; some were upset about their dwindling 401ks and others were concerned about possible cuts to social security.
A flyer that was handed out at the rally along East Main Street said, “We the people, Matter! Macon County at a glance: 3,000 veterans, 4,250 public school students, 6,000 Medicaid patients, 12,000 Medicare recipients, 14,000 Social Security recipients, and 152,358 acres of national forests. Cutting $2 trillion in federal funding to pay for billionaire tax cuts will crush our community.”
Karen Edfeldt is a committee member of Forward Franklin, which organized the rally. She had estimated a turnout of less than 50 people, but there were at least 150 according to her and others who counted the people.
“The emphasis of this is to protest, the thousands of jobs cut across the country, not only across the federal government but what’s being done to a lot of U.S. small businesses that are being affected by this escalating trade war with China, to immigrants as they are being deported. Jobs are being cut, how that’s going to affect our economy?” Edfeldt said.
She continued, “I am very worried about what’s happening right now with the Trump administration and what we are already seeing being taken away. Certainly, health care for women; rights are being taken away that I fought for in the ’70s, we are now seeing that being taken away. I moved here from the Marietta, Georgia area, about 15 years ago, and I thought living here was just lonely, but due to the rally we had on April 5, realized that there are a lot more people that are like-minded.”
The turnout was a shock to Edfeldt. “Oh, my gosh, we had 31 people respond to an online invitation, and we have over 150 people here now. I was hoping to get between, you know, 40 and 50.”
Lisa Walker of Franklin said, “I’m here because I care about democracy. I’m a very patriotic person and I care about the rule of law, and I’m really concerned about what’s happening with our country.”
Walker and her husband are retired, and they are concerned about possible cuts to Social Security. “With the $880 billion in cuts, Social Security and Medicaid will be impacted. There’s no way they can cut that money without cutting those programs. Prices are going up, inflation is going up, the cost of eggs are going up,” she said. “Our 401k is taking a 15% hit. That’s our retirement. We worked our entire lives to live off of that, and now with the prices going up and Social Security and Medicare being threatened, we’re very concerned.”
May first is also known as Law Day. Adam Tebrugge said he was celebrating his 40th anniversary as an attorney. “Due process is very important to me. Due process is the essence of our legal system,” he said. “It’s noticed in the ability to be heard. Without due process, we’re not the United States of America. That is the big reason why I’m here, but I also wanted to support all of my friends here in Macon County. When I ran for office last year, I had tremendous support here in Macon County, so when there is a rally like this, I want to be there for them because they were here for me.”
Pam Haley of Highlands was in attendance, playing a snare drum and keeping the beat during the rally. Haley said, “I am here because I think it’s outrageous what the Trump administration is doing. I mean, they’re taking away our rights, women’s rights, trans rights, veterans rights. If I could sit down and make a list, I’d probably have a hundred different rights that they’re taking away. I think it’s incumbent for every citizen to get out here, get in the streets, and make some noise, because this is our country. It’s going to affect all of us. Wait till those tariffs kick in? Then we’re all going to have to pay more at the grocery store. Forget if you’re going to build a house. That’s not going to happen. Rents are going to go up. Inflation is going to be wild. So, if you know what’s good for you, get out here, get in the streets, start voicing your dissent.”
Joanna Barr, who is originally from Florida, but has lived in Franklin for six years, was in attendance at Thursday’s rally. Barr said, “I am out here because our country is supposed to be a republic and not an autocracy and Trump is just plowing over all of that, and we need him out of office. I am mostly concerned about two things: the way immigrants or even possible immigrants, really how everyone, is being treated with no due process. It is terrifying and awful. The second thing I am livid about is that Congress is not impeaching him or keeping him in check. That is the quickest thing we could do, I know that we have tried it twice before, but it just needs to happen.”
Barr continued, “He doesn’t respect the law. He doesn’t respect the people, and we need to remove that power and give that power back to the people who care about the country.
Dan Kowal, who moved here from Texas 18 years ago said, “I’m here for workers. I’m a worker. If you work for a living, you’re a worker, and we need to make sure people are not losing their jobs over trivial garbage. DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) is doing a terrible job. Well, it’s doing a great job of destroying our government, honestly. And, you know, a lot of people hate bureaucracy. I get it, bureaucracies are a pain to deal with, but the point of a democracy is to make sure that private interests can’t corrupt it and get their little schemes done. So, democracy is there to protect us and be there when we need it, like FEMA and the USA. People around the world are going to be starving and our farmers now have nowhere to sell their goods. We need to stick together. The billionaires are dividing us, and that shouldn’t be the case. We’ve got FOX News, doing their whole thing, trying to get people on board with this fascist garbage. And there’s no need for it, if you’re for the billionaires, you’re not for the people.”