I hate politics. JULIA ZORLUOGLU
To be aware is to be receptive to an external reality. As we observe America struggling to adjust itself to a Trump presidency, we begin to notice a severe lack in political awareness. For many the simple knowledge that an event like this has been written into our history is horrific, difficult to acknowledge, and thus is responded to with claims of “I hate politics,� in attempt to avoid the discomfort of handling the issue at hand. This voluntary ignorance, a neutral dissociation from that which is problematic plagues our society, persuading them that a lack of interest justifies a lack of action. It is a coping mechanism which suppresses trauma and is the mantra of the elite members of society, untouched by the consequences of the past election. Perhaps it is true, we hate politics, but it is no excuse for conformity to a clearly destructive, racist, sexist movement which is attempting to dominate our society. Let us use our positions to speak with
those who are ignored, and let us not claim to respect the opinions of the voice of intolerance in attempt to adapt to our current political climate. Rather, let us rise to our opponent and kneel for the wronged; engage political discourse, and take a position in arguments and debates. Disturb your adversary, for in doing so you are instilling in them an anxiety which forces them to reevaluate and confront the structural instability of their beliefs. Many of us need to realize that the ability to choose not to be politically active is a luxury that the majority of our country doesn’t have. There is still a great deal of injustice in our world and we cannot ignore it and indulge our minds in more pleasant matters. Instead we need to acknowledge that there is a problem in our societal structure and attempt to dismantle any intolerant perceptions which penetrates our government and echos throughout our communities.
FASCISM IS INHERENTLY VIOLENT CURTIS ROBINSON Violence is usually discussed in the physical sense. The images that come to mind when the word is spoken bring up assaults, abuse, or brutality. But violence is not always physical. For example, verbal, psychological, and economical violence are each separate and categorized forms of violence. In the wake of Charlottesville, I feel it important to state that minorities are subject to ongoing violence stemmed from the culture of hate that creates it. Words and speech play vital roles in people’s livelihoods. As a Black person, I do not have to look far into the past to see Black people construed as lesser beings during the “separate but equal” era. Whites would get the clean fountains, “coloreds” would be pointed to the dirty fountains. Whites would get the latest textbooks, “coloreds” would get the tatters. Black people were said to be too inept for authority, too irresponsible for loans, and too undesirable for housing– a process which still goes on today. And while such outward practices have been abolished in 1968, one can only point to the nearly 200 years of promoted racist behavior by
both government and society that continue them to the modern day. The systemic oppression of Black people is violence. Then as well, the act of promoting racism, the cause of oppression, is also violence. I am reminded of the recent discovery of police officers in Baltimore, a majority Black city, planting drugs on those they stop to lock them away. I am reminded of the next Black person being shot in the back while running or brutalized by a group of men on the ground. What words or beliefs taught them to think of Black people as inhuman? Looking back at Charlottesville, I think of the many people I’ve seen say Nazis, the altright, or White Supremacists can “non-violently” protest. Exactly how does one “non-violently” promote Black oppression, genocide, and ethnic cleansing? As we’ve seen in history before, the existence and promotion of these beliefs sustain both non-physical and physical violence. So, let’s erase any thought that someone like a White Supremacist can be just as peaceful as a person who fights against White Supremacy.
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