Connor McLean’s recent article “We are drunken toddlers” was inexplicably included in the Humor section of this respectable publication. The rationale for this escaped me until I realized the paper has no “Hypocrisy” section. I find it ironic that McLean condemns intolerance by intolerantly labeling a sizeable portion of the population as racist children. Does he honestly believe the majority of Donald Trump supporters support Trump because they are racist and sexist, because they are easily duped? Is there no room to admit that Hillary Clinton is a deeply, and perhaps dangerously, flawed candidate? Has the nature of political discourse in this country been so irrevocably damaged that this sort of hateful, divisive rhetoric passes as funny?
Let me say that I am no Trump supporter, but I am a veteran of the War on Terror, and in that war I worked as an Intelligence Analyst. I am familiar with the storing and passing of classified information, and I know the mistakes that will get people fired or arrested. I know what happens when sensitive information accidentally finds its way into the hands of the bad guys. People like me, who wear my uniform, often die because of these mistakes, and the people at fault are relieved of command, even if their error was truly unintentional. This is the nature of responsibility. If we hold our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen to these standards, how much more should we apply these very same standards to a presidential candidate? Is it possible people distrust Clinton and support Trump not because they are bigots but because, to quote Mike Pence, “They’re paying attention?” Is it possible her detractors are holding her to high standards and finding her lacking?
As the husband of a legal immigrant from Germany, I also take issue with McLean’s accusations of fascism. No matter how bad Trump may be, he is no fascist. My wife’s older family members saw what fascism did, up close and personal. The results were death of loved ones, sexual assault of loved ones, destruction of a lifetime’s worth of property and post-traumatic stress that lasts into the present. One of my wife’s relatives, a survivor of the Battle of Berlin, still cowers when a plane flies overhead. To compare Trump, or any American politician, to the fascists of Italy and Germany is moral equivalency at its worst. These comparisons trivialize the horrors of the Holocaust and the extermination camps in a way that is inexcusable. The Nazis were in a league of their own, a level of depravity which bears no comparison to the Trump campaign. To argue otherwise is to demonstrate the failures of the American education system, as well as the suggestibility of millennials. McLean was right on that point — millennial minds are incredibly malleable.
Another key point is the accusation that Trump is a racist. McLean’s “humor” went so far as to link the College Republicans with intolerance, writing that, in the event Trump loses the election, “the College Republicans and bigots will still hold these prejudiced and backward beliefs.” He rhetorically links his fellow students to “acts of hatred perpetrated on and around Grounds,” but he offers no proof. McLean’s bias leads him to take this cognitive leap, whereas a more deliberate assessment of the situation might reasonably indicate other perpetrators. After all, who allegedly caused violence at Trump rallies? Was it Trump supporters, or was it protesters funded by the Clinton team? I don’t know, and neither does McLean, and that’s the point.
Ultimately, McLean’s statements reflect a Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert culture of “humor,” a world in which political opponents must be demonized. The idea of a reasonable political disagreement no longer exists. Now the view is such that we must all agree, or we are damaged somehow. If we disagree with an African-American president, we must be racist. If we disagree with a female politician, we must be sexist. To be fair, opponents of military operations are often called unpatriotic — both sides suffer from this hyperbolic language. Might I submit one final consideration: perhaps this style of discourse is counter-productive. Perhaps the intolerant, accusatory nature of American politics helps explain Trump’s appeal. Perhaps when McLean looks for the drunken toddlers who created this monster, he should first look in the mirror.
Grant Pinkston is a first-year in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Read More
ONIBUDO AND SAWAYA: Police, not students, were agents of chaos
By Naima Sawaya and Nathan Onibudo | YesterdaySaturday, the state, not students nor protesters, brought violence to this campus.
IYER: Sports stadiums should sport more benefit to Virginia residents
By Arjun Iyer | 4 days agoPast stadiums in other states show that Virginia has the potential to succeed at such a construction project, provided that proper measures are undertaken.
KURTZWEIL: True financial aid must be transparent
By Paul Kurtzweil | April 29, 2024The implications and revelations of the lawsuit should inspire greater transparency at the University in order to ensure that financial aid is properly and equitably distributed.
