Comments on: Talking about Trump

By: Becky Goodman

Becky Goodman — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 18:35:43 +0000

I don’t think agreeing or disagreeing is an option in a situation like this. Racism and all other forms of oppression and hatred are complicated and nuanced issues. I think that the agree/disagree format leads to the ‘good guy/bad guy’ concepts of racism, which leads to polarizing our friends. I really believe that Trump is coasting on fear. Americans are really afraid of terrorism and the BLM movement and the economy and everything that to simply disagree is to invalidate the fears that are allowing Trump to be successful. I think it’s important to remember that Trump supporters are not bad people. Just like not everyone in the Jim Crow era were bad people. Maybe converting to an “understanding” scale would be a better way to discuss these issues?

By: Krysta Marie

Krysta Marie — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:45:08 +0000

I have found myself grappling with a lot of the same issues with regards to politics and how they are intertwined in casual conversations around campus. To be honest, I forgot that not everyone is liberal like me until hearing about circumstances where students have been debating Donald Trump and getting into heated arguments about the varying degrees to which he is a problematic individual, but also, like you said, a symbol of racism and sexism in the United States. I agree that “agreeing to disagree” in this circumstance feels so problematic because it feels like it is condoning the situation and the racism that exists. Although our relationships with people who have differing opinions are important, how important are they and how invested are we willing to let ourself be in trying to change someone’s mind or having a thought that maybe, because they support this man and what he stands for, they are supporting the oppression of varying populations of color in our country? I don’t have the answer to your questions either, but I find myself questioning this everyday because it has become such a relevant topic around campus and avoiding it all together, ALSO feels problematic.

By: Steven Feldman

Steven Feldman — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 23:42:58 +0000

The question you pose is incredibly interesting and to be honest, I’m not sure I have an answer to it. Something that I do think it really interesting is how White people can get away with talking about race like that. If a White person brings race up (even in political conversations), then people can say “let’s just agree to disagree”. But if a Black person brings it up, people say “why do you have to make it all about being Black?” or they might not even have the option of raising their opinions on the matter because their voice may just be silenced. I’m curious if the fact that White people even have the opportunity to agree to disagree is in and of itself, a privilege. Sorry that didn’t answer the question at all but I just thought I’d piggy-back off of that with another idea to think about.