BY: JOSEPH DEBELL, OPINION EDITOR
Photo by Joseph DeBell
Protesters in the Greater Olean area joined demonstrators across the country Saturday in rallying to protest President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk — voicing opposition to government downsizing, economic policies, health care policies, perceived threats to human rights and various other issues.
Demonstrators gathered in Lincoln Park and along Route 417, holding signs condemning the administration’s efforts to close Social Security field offices, slash federal health funding, deport immigrants and various other perceived human rights violations.
Since Trump’s return to office, activists have organized several nationwide protests targeting either him or Musk. The protests, this Saturday, were part of a national movement called “Hands Off.”
More than 1,200 ‘Hands Off!’ demonstrations were done by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists.
Several local protesters mentioned Rep. Nick Langworthy’s role in congress — specifically — his affiliation with the president. He represents District 23, which includes the Greater Olean area.
Among the crowd was Jackie Flint Wilson, secretary of the Allegany County Democratic Committee, who held a sign that read, “Protect our youth,” with the trans flag behind the words.
In an interview with TAPinto Greater Olean, she spoke about what she believes is a disconnect between Langworthy and the people he represents.
“He is unaware of what his constituent base actually looks like,” Wilson said. “While we live in an area that’s predominantly Republican, many of us are independent or Democratic leaning. And with that, comes the duty of care for people who are less fortunate.”
She went on to describe how widespread economic hardship impacts her community, particularly regarding health care access.
“A good majority of people in Allegany County have been, or are currently on Medicaid… We do not live in a land of opportunity. So he can’t say, ‘Stop being poor.’ That doesn’t work. There are people on Medicaid that work multiple jobs,” Wilson said. “There are people who have two children who are on Medicaid — they’re not ‘welfare queens.’ He doesn’t understand that there are veterans here that feel that they’ve been hung out to dry.”
Wilson argued that Langworthy’s alignment with Trump hurts the people who elected him.
“He is not listening,” she said. “He stands behind anything that Trump says, even if it hurts the people who supposedly elected him.”
Wilson emphasized that Medicaid funding is a lifeline in rural Western New York.
“We have a very fragile health system,” she said. “And they depend on Medicaid dollars.”
Frustration over Langworthy’s lack of personal engagement with constituents was also a central theme in her remarks.
“He doesn’t have the balls to come out and actually face us,” Wilson said. “He hides in Corning. I have a group that is dedicated to showing up every Monday at two o’clock, and he is never there. His staff members take detailed notes, but he never makes an opportunity to meet these people and listen to their stories.”
According to Wilson, real trust can only be built through listening to lived experience.
“Trust is built through sharing stories, and he won’t listen to them,” Wilson said. “He will not listen to the heartache that the people are going through right now.”
She predicted that Langworthy will continue to follow the former president’s agenda.
“He is going to vote for whatever Trump says he’s going to do,” Wilson said. “He’s not going to turn back to his counties and look at all of us and give us an opportunity to talk to him and tell him what’s important. He is Trump and MAGA aligned.”
To Wilson, failing to show up for constituents is no different from failing at any other job.
“He is not doing his job,” Wilson said. “If your doctor decided he was not going to show up for a week — he’s not doing his job. It’s the same thing for politicians.”
Langworthy’s office did not immediately respond to TAPinto Greater Olean’s request for comment.
In response to the nationwide protests, the White House said, “President Trump’s position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors.”
Wilson shifted her attention to Elon Musk and criticized the billionaire’s influence and behavior.
“I think he thinks on his ketamine trips that he’s worked a lot more than he has,” Wilson said.
Despite the concern voiced by protesters, Wilson emphasized that their motivations came from a place of love.
“You can’t radicalize love and support,” Wilson said.
Gerry Daly, a protester who holds dual citizenship between the United States and Ireland, carried a sign with Musk’s name crossed out. In an interview with TAPinto Greater Olean, Daly raised concerns about the erosion of legal norms.
“There are about 10,000 things you could say about the Trump administration that you would have concerns about, but one of them is that the rules of law, to some extent, need to be followed,” Daly said. “And what we see happening with Musk is that the rules of law are being completely thrown out.”
He spoke about how political instability could threaten family life for people in his situation.
“Those of us who have dual citizenship have the opportunity of leaving if things became difficult for us to stay here and that creates its own challenges — because it has the ability to fray marriages and fray relationships,” Daly said.
Daly acknowledged the emotional toll that comes with watching the country change.
“I don’t want Trump to break marriages, and I certainly don’t want Trump to break my marriage… that makes me personally sad,” Daly said.
He said that, for him, the state of the country feels deeply personal and even traumatic.
“The way I see it, my life is in America,” Daly said. “My house is in America. And because of Trump — our house is on fire. So sometimes I feel it at a level of trauma of what’s coming down. And I’m not even talking about the implications of what he’s doing to USAID,” Daly said
USAID, or the United States Agency for International Development, is the US government’s primary agency for delivering foreign aid, promoting global development and advancing humanitarian assistance.
Daly argued that, as the district’s elected official, Langworthy owes it to constituents to be present and responsive.
“He’s (Langworthy) is our local representative. So if anybody is responsible to give us an answer, it’s him. So that’s why it’s legitimate for these people who are here,” Daly said.
Still, Daly said he recognized that the country is in a time of transition — though he worries about the toll it’s taking.
“Now we all recognize that these are times of change. But times of change don’t need to bring us into the ground again and again and again,” Daly said.
His concerns also extended to the environment, particularly government rollbacks of climate programs.
“One of my issues is climate change,” Daly said. “And when we defund various environmental parts of the government… we are more or less saying to the future generations — we don’t care what goes on in the future.”
Another demonstrator, Warner Page, shared a brief but emotional reason for showing up.
“With what’s happening in the country right now, we’re fearful for our children and grandchildren,” Page said.
Protester Rob Walk, a former journalist for The Bona Venture, said he viewed the gathering not as an act of defiance, but as a message of compassion.
“I don’t see it as a protest, although it’s definitely got that element to it,” Walk said. “But I see it as a rally. I see it as a positive that we’re here almost out of compassion for things that are being taken away from people, like our freedoms.”
St. Bonaventure University professor Paul Brawdy, who is part of the physical education department, attended the protest. Brawdy shared his concerns about the current political climate.
“One of the things that is really disturbing is the rate at which we’re seeing some of these executive orders being dispensed with,” Brawdy said. “They’re leading people to be essentially rendered out of the United States and sent to places like Honduras. The court system seems to not be responding. I can’t think of a more compelling reason to take to the streets with a concern.”
St. Bonaventure University professor Stephen Setman, who teaches philosophy, also attended the protest.
“There are the reasons I had in mind when I decided to go,” Setman said. “But I was also there for reasons that became apparent only after the fact. And both come down to a word: Solidarity.”
Setman admitted he’s skeptical that protests shift many political viewpoints — but noted that they serve another important purpose.
“I doubt that protests change many minds, but as someone who’s always lived in areas where I was in the political minority, I know how important it is to know you’re not alone,” Setman said.
Setman explained that he marched to stand with others who share his values and concerns.
“I went to be in solidarity with people who, like me, believe in checks and balances; who believe in the dignity of all people — including immigrants — who care about our loved ones and fellow citizens whose well-being depends on social security and Medicare; and who see the current administration’s actions—the way it is enabling the oligarchic capture of both democratic and republican institutions — in the political-philosophical meanings of these words — and its extrajudicial deportation of immigrants, including American citizens — as overriding and eroding these and many other shared commitments,” he said.
But the most powerful part of the day, he said, came after the rally ended — in a conversation with someone on the opposite side of the political spectrum.
“But, as it turned out, I was also there to build solidarity with people who are not ‘on my side,’” Setman said.
He recounted a long and meaningful dialogue with a counter-protester, which offered him unexpected hope.
“After the protest I spoke for a good hour and a half with a counter-protester, hoping to establish that we agree about some basic ideas: that America should never have a king or entertain the idea of having one, that our government is corrupted by elite moneyed interests, and that all these forever-wars are just lining the pockets of defense contractors,” Setman said. “As he put it, ‘we have the best politicians that money can buy.’ My hopes were fulfilled.”
Their discussion went beyond politics. Setman said the two connected over stories from their personal lives.
“But more importantly, we got to know one another: his ‘stubborn as hell’ battle with cancer — that he won — his collection and love of motorcycles, and his commitment to moral principles that, by his own lights, are not wholly honored by the present political order,” Setman said. “He wouldn’t shake my hand on the way in, but he did on the way out. I’m sure we’ll see one another again on opposite sides of State St., but in a different way.”
For Setman, this type of exchange — rooted in mutual respect and listening — represents a deeper form of civic engagement.
“Frankly — and I don’t expect this of everyone — what I want to participate in more than any protest are conversations like this — so that, someday, ordinary Americans might know a kind of solidarity that empowers them to resist their common oppressors together, until we have built a society in which it is even possible to meaningfully and productively turn our attention to the matters about which we do not agree,” Setman said. “Because this ain’t it.”
debelljb22@bonaventure.edu
