NASHVILLE, Tennessee–The protestors who showed up to picket President Donald Trump’s visit to Nashville Tuesday didn’t seem to have a problem with him as much as they had a problem with capitalism.
Take Nashville resident Nicholas McKenzie, 19 (pictured, right).
He said little about Trump and fixated more on what he called “the oppressive nature of capitalism.”
McKenzie, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), told The Tennessee Star that his political party is growing in Tennessee, having started out with six members and is now up to 15.
“I had to drop out of school to work to live. I worked several jobs. I worked jobs that were technically illegal for me to have when I was underage. I’ve experienced some of the worst aspects of capitalism,” he said.
“I know capitalism is oppressive. I may be young, but I’ve lived it and I’ve studied it.”
McKenzie, who said his job is to “agitate and educate,” said his organization plans to get platforms in public schools and make sure schools have PSL extra-curricular programs to promote the cause.
“There are several chapters of PSL who have PSL clubs at schools. There’s members of high schools and other schools to talk about anti-capitalism and socialism at other schools,” McKenzie said.
“I know they have some out in California and out in Florida. Those are two places I know.”
McKenzie didn’t say if there are plans to have PSL programs in any Tennessee public schools.
Nashville resident Cooper Sudbrink, who also came downtown to protest, said he thinks capitalism isn’t completely wrong.
Sudbrink said he just think it’s unfair that successful people get ahead more.
“I just think it supports what the market finds successful or profitable and it doesn’t think about what people find successful or profitable,” Sudbrink said.
“The value of people is not taken into account — just the value for shareholders.”
Far fewer people seemed to come out to protest Tuesday versus the number of people who showed up for Trump’s visit to Nashville in early 2017.
Protestor Kristina Counts, from Franklin, Tenn., blamed Tuesday’s rain and Nashville traffic for the lighter turnout.
The Tennessee Star asked McKenzie if he had any last words to pronounce before he took back to protesting.
“Sure,” he said, as he wore comfortable clothes and shoes and held a banner sign, all produced under a capitalist system.
“Capitalism sucks.”
