https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/03/24/someone-wrote-trump-2016-on-emorys-campus-in-chalk-some-students-said-they-no-longer-feel-safe/
Because it's funny, compare the headlines:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/03/24/students-terrified-by-trump-2016-chalk-drawings.html
http://www.infowars.com/dozens-of-college-students-triggered-after-trump-2016-written-in-chalk/
http://www.newsweek.com/emory-trump-chalk-protests-440618
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/us/pro-trump-chalk-messages-cause-conflicts-on-college-campuses.html
Thanks for the links. I actually wasn’t sure who
was until the Fox article referenced him.
I’ve read all five in addition to the
Emory Wheel article. Having learned more about the situation I’m actually sort of… proud of those students. I completely agree with their categorization of the the person or group who wrote the messages as cowardly. The Trump supporter(s) got to work anonymously at night time. That’s the party who’s afraid of having their views challenged. The students in opposition had conversations with the school’s faculty and the press. Many of them were even willing to provide their full names. These were well intentioned protests that harmed absolutely one one. It garnered national attention as another battle in an imagined war on free speech.
The fact that they chose to protest in an environment that largely already agrees with them does soften the impact, but it’s still more courageous than the chalkings which to me seem like the political equivalent of a drive by forum post. No one described the phrase “Trump 2016” as hate speech. Emergency counseling was offered, but we have no idea if it was demanded or how many people used it. The only reaction I don’t understand is those
few who thought it might lead to a campus shooting. Emory has a college Republicans club (that sided with Cruz over Trump), which tells me that they do welcome conflicts in opinion as long you’re willing to have a mature discussion about the source of your disagreement. Scribbling on pavement is the furthest thing from enlightened discourse.
I sure hope everyone who protested went on to vote in November and intend to do the same this year.
Oh I'm with you. I'm like "You sow hate, you get hate." I get that. But, here's the thing. To say that people are ignorant that don't understand that. I mean I get that technically it's true, but at the same time just saying "They're ignorant" 
is counter productive. Just what in a conservative's privileged-rural-middle class-soccer mom life would give them the ability to know what that all meant? They're not getting it at home and from their community, the great white flight has made their communities homogenous, they're not getting it in school because the same issue, when they go to college they either go to conservative colleges or when they go to college they join young republicans and their probably only interaction with a liberal is someone shouting about something that makes no sense to the mind of a conservative. And they're certainly not getting it from liberals in their smug thrones in ivory towers talking about how everyone else is ignorant. It's somewhat akin to taking someone that's only been a farmer their whole life and laughing at them because they don't know how to declare variables in C++. This is exactly why if Trump doesn't get impeached he'll be a two term president and likely hold both houses. There is a cancer in American liberalism where we've become enthralled by the echo of our theory and have forgotten we need to not only put it in practice but also message things in a way that people can see it benefitted them. Reagan is so loved by Republicans because he could steal your wallet and make you feel glad he took it off your hands.
Since the days of Bush Jr. I've dealt with my very conservative friends and family and have gotten more than a few to stop voting republican and everytime it was by acknowledging how the world must look to them and then asking them that since I had taken time to understand their viewpoint, for them to consider something slightly different. Being like "LOL! Ignorant schlub!" Never got me anywhere. Republican leadership is much smarter than the democrats and much more devious. They have computer models to gerrymander districts as effectively as possible in their favor. Democrats wont win another major election by maintaining the districts they already hold. They're going to have to bring people from red districts too, and that can't be done with the way the party is now.
For the passed 8 years I've had my conservative family and friends shouting about everything about Liberals and Obama. "Obama wants to institute martial law!" "He's going to take our guns away!" "They're setting up concentration camps in Wal-Marts!" "The ACA is bound for disaster!" "Hillary is going to lose big!" It was exhausting because every issue was treated like the end of the world that I didn't pay attention to the last two things, which they were technically right about (of course the issue with the ACA was the insurance brokers reacting after people didn't do as they were told and sign up for insurance, but they were right and I ignored it because it was just another thing in a massive pile of stuff)
So you take issue with my use of the word “ignorance.” I do honestly mean ignorance in it’s most technical sense. Most people are ignorant about most things. My original comment wasn’t aimed only at people who identify as conservative. Liberals do it too. A lot of forward thinking people fall into the trap of forgetting that having progressive views takes effort. They can easily recognize prejudice in their parents’ generation, but as their own world view becomes NORMALIZED
they start wishing the following generation would prefer social inertia. I see it a lot on the Bore. I’m talking about sentiments like “I get how not everyone’s heterosexual, but those kids on tumblr are just making shit up.” To get more specific, take a look at the
Overwatch thread about the ass pose or the Bore’s reaction to the
Neogaf thread about Pokemon’s gender options. Neither was an example of oversensitivity (I can expand on this if you’d like. I don’t want to make this single post too long).
You’re keen on tying this all back to the election, so I’ll bite.
Just what in a conservative's privileged-rural-middle class-soccer mom life would give them the ability to know what that all meant?
They’re still adults. They’re responsible for informing themselves about the needs of their fellow citizens. Use the internet. Pick up a book. Don’t have either? Go to the library. Not only do they have the required intelligence, I also believe they have the capacity for empathy. It’s true that our communities are segregated, but you shouldn’t need to have a Muslim/Hispanic/Black/Gay friend to recognize why Trump upsets so many of them.
When I’m explicitly discussing politics, I’m careful not to underestimate the intelligence of my opponents. Nowhere in either of
those two sentences did I advocate for talking down to conservatives or telling them they’re ignorant. In my own experience I’ve also found those conversations much more productive when I treat them with respect, but I don’t begrudge others for not being patient with people who aren’t familiar with the most basic aspects of systemic oppression. People of color already got those lessons just by growing up in the US. Educating white Americans is yet another burden that I can’t fault them for not wanting to carry. I do commend you for going the extra mile, however..
I’ll remember this exchange the next time I make the mistake of posting anything with fewer than 3 sentences.
