Can You Tell Why People Are Outraged Over This Photo Of Trump’s Family Separation Meeting?
On June 20, Donald Trump met with members of Congress to discuss the complete crisis that is the current separation of immigrant children from their families at the border. The photos that have surfaced the past few days have shown heartbreaking images of scared children and distraught parents, so one would think that it's good news Trump is sitting down with Congress to discuss future plans. Well, judging from this photo of Trump's border separation meeting, I'd have to say the president still isn't interested in hearing different opinions on the matter.
On June 20, CBS correspondent Mark Knoller shared a photo of Trump sitting at a table surrounded by a sea of pretty identical faces. In the tweet, Knoller shared a quote from Trump discussing the decision to sign the executive order that would end the separation of families and his plan to sign the order that day.
Yes, this executive order is great news (well, maybe). However, the fact that this decision is being made by not only all men, but all apparently white men, sends a message that the lives of individuals of color might be in the wrong hands.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time an image like this has surfaced across the internet. In March 2017, Mike Pence tweeted a photo of him meeting with the Freedom Caucus to discuss the Republican health care plan. Well, to little surprise, the table was filled with only white, middle-aged men.
Plus, on March 30, the White House released a group intern photo that strikes the same chord. In the photo, a room full of beaming faces stand close to Trump, but it's pretty apparent that a vast majority of the interns look white. I have to admit, looking at the border separation meeting photo next to this group intern photo is a bit of an unsettling sight. After the White House released the photo, Twitter immediately started comparing the Trump intern team to former president Barack Obama's, and it's pretty upsetting how different they are.
Images like these might be truly worthy of meme-status, let's not forget that this is a serious problem looming above Donald Trump's presidency. Diversity and inclusion is key in ensuring that an administration can accurately and fairly represent a nation, which includes involving women and people of color to make important decisions. Even though past meetings haven't been that diverse, we can only hope that changes will be made soon to make sure these decisions feature a wide range of different voices.
On June 20, Trump signed an executive order that he says would end the separation of immigrant children from their families at the border. At first this sounds like fantastic news, but upon closer inspection it's pretty unclear what exactly this order will do. During the signing, Trump spoke to reporters about the purpose behind the executive order, but I have to say that his explanation is a bit vague.
He said,
It's about keeping families together, while at the same time being sure that we have a very powerful very strong border, and border security will be equal if not greater than previously. So we're going to have strong very strong borders, but we're going to keep the families together. I didn't like the sight or the feeling of families being separated. It's a problem that's gone on for many years, as you know, through many administrations. And we're working very hard on immigration, it's just been left out in the cold. People haven't dealt with it, and we are dealing with it.
If this year has taught me anything, it's that no one really knows what the future holds for this administration. I can only hope that we'll see changes that involve diversity, inclusion, and fair treatment of all people. Perhaps this order is the first step.
