“I’m getting tired of your shit. You don’t never buy me nothing,” Erykah Badu free-styled on her prophetic track “Tyrone” in 1997. The song captures a protagonist whose unbalanced emotional, financial and romantic labor led her to rhythmically collect her dude, a dude who could have also been collected by the homeboys he was so pressed to impress. The song is like an open mic Negro spiritual.

As of about 12 PM EST on Monday, January 22, 2018, Tyrone could also capture American frustration as the federal government remains shut down, largely due to male lawmakers.

Let the record reflect that President Donald Trump is the first American president who had a government shutdown despite his party’s control of Washington. The slick-talking businessman, whose performative wealth was slated to fix the American economy, according to his supporters, just couldn’t find the words to prevent the work week from beginning without seamless governmental services. Lawmakers are expected to vote by lunchtime today, which could re-fund government.

During the weekend, lawmakers duked it out as protesters participated, for the second year in a row, in women’s marches nationwide and internationally. Democrats wanted their Republican colleagues to develop empathy-based policies for immigrant populations affected by Trump’s executive actions reversing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals support. Republicans wanted Democrats to fund the government.

The contrast between governmental in-fighting and the protesting everyday people—who are supposed to be served by an official system of checks and balances—is darn-near metaphoric.

As NPR reported, “essential services” should continue through the shut-down. However, many workers will perform without pay. The military should not experience hiccups, despite President Trump’s proclamation that the government shutdown would negatively affect American service people. Veterans affairs and social security should continue as usual. In 2013, the last government shut down occurred during President Barack Obama’s presidency.