I am a proud conservative. I voted for Donald Trump. I love this country and its laws. I love guns. I am proud of my heritage. I do not support DACA. I do not support further restrictive gun legislation. I do not support apologizing for my race.
I attend a school that proclaims and supposedly relishes in diversity yet cannot conceive nor respect the fact that there are many students who have different political views than those in leadership. And I’m not just talking about students here. Some of the professors reading this are to blame as well with their quips and “coincidental examples” on the Trump presidency, guns, DACA, and racial tension.
Having talked to many other conservatives on campus, we feel our opinions and values are not held to the same standard as those of our peers because we are the minority and many of us are not willing to cause commotion to get ourselves heard. I am exhausted of it being assumed that I support everything preached and taught at this school just because it is popular or the “right” thing to do.
For example, just because I am a Christian and have compassion for my fellow man does not mean I deem “justice” as being in favor of DACA as it is preached in chapel; just because I mourn for those lost and affected by school shootings does not mean I am going to forfeit my lawful right to own firearms; just because I detest socioeconomic and racial discrimination does not mean I am sorry for being a middle-class, caucasian male.
But do I say anything? Rarely, because I’m not the sort to openly lament and complain until I am catered to. It just isn’t worth my time. No, I am not going to disrespect my professor and disrupt the education of my peers by walking out of a classroom in the middle of their lecture to make a “non-political” political statement out of the deaths of those seventeen students and faculty killed that fateful day in Parkland, Florida. I also don’t need to be told that what I believe in is wrong when I did not ask for an unwelcome opinion in the first place.
I do understand that we are living in a very politically-charged time, where middle ground can be found few and far between. However, I am not asking you to think the way I think nor am I asking you to back down from what you believe in; I am simply asking for a little consideration next time you decide to voice your “anti-Trump” or similar opinion in class or try to criticize my way of life and thinking. I am calling on all of us, not just those who disagree with me, to act out of courtesy and thoughtfulness, not just on this campus, but in our communities back home and adventures abroad. Everyone deserves to have their voice heard and opinion respected.
Contact Grant Langely at [email protected]
Xavier villa • Mar 25, 2018 at 11:42 pm
I am a Chicano Student with a Mexican father and a white Portuguese mother. My father was born in Mexico and came to the USA at age 6. I grew up in a low-income family and found that I had a hard time assimilating with my neigbors who were mostly mexican, lower-socioeconomic neighbors. I was seen as an outsider by many, and often bullied and even beat up for being white. At age 16, I got my first job and worked my way out of poverty until i was 18 living with my girlfriend in our own apartment. Now I attend a University that speaks about my "White privilege". Politically I associate myself as being moderate. No Professors should be preaching messages like ‘all white students have white privelege’. They are muting the stories of students like myself who have struggled with their identity from a young age. Emotionally, that just isnt right to those who dont fit the criteria. I aggree with you Grant. Oppinions are important. But its an issue when professors and other leaders preach one over the other as ‘correct’. It’s also just plain rude. People need to be compassionate towards other peoples opinions and realize there is no right or wrong.
Xavier villa • Mar 25, 2018 at 11:25 pm
Great read. I support your message.
Breana Seaman • Mar 22, 2018 at 7:01 pm
"Everyone deserves to have their voice heard and opinion respected" but calls another opinion unwelcome in the paragraph above… huh.
Breana Seaman • Mar 22, 2018 at 6:59 pm
What Whitworth do you go to where being a white Christian conservative is the minority? I’m interested in transferring there.
ali forbush • Mar 22, 2018 at 7:14 pm
Clearly we go to two different Whitworths, I am a conservative on this campus and I think that conservatives are definitely the minority and the liberal voice strongly overpowers the conservative voice. We are fighting opinion with opinion, but I believe it is quite evident on this campus that liberals do not welcome the voice of conservatives on a daily basis.
Steve Brown • Mar 22, 2018 at 5:38 pm
Thanks for sharing, Grant. Be prepared for even more hostility and ignorant rants about oppression, white privilege, etc., by those simply incapable of seeing beyond their own hyper-political bias. As a longtime Whitworth area resident and booster, I’ve watched the school grow into a mainstream college over the years and while some things about going "mainstream" are positive (mostly financial) the severe radical leftist tilt isn’t. The irony is, many of your leftist classmates ridicule and insult conservative values (or what they derisively claim them to be) while attending a school founded on fundamental Christian principles. For them, leftist radical politics "is" the new religion and they happily go about persecuting those who disagree, with easily as much vigor as ancient Rome did the Christians fed to the lions. But hang in there and although they employ gang tactics to intimidate free speech, don’t give in/up…there are millions out here who support you.
ali forbush • Mar 22, 2018 at 7:15 pm
Thank you for posting this, I agree with everything you are saying, and I am a current student here.
Dave R • Mar 22, 2018 at 8:22 pm
100% agree.
Ashlie Loring • Mar 22, 2018 at 7:58 am
Grant,
I am a proud middle ground political science major. I did not vote for Donald Trump but I respect you for utilizing your civic right to vote. I also love this country but I understand that this land is full of hurt marginalized oppressed people who’s voices are not being listened to despite their efforts to be heard. I understand that you do not feel comfortable at Whitworth as a white male conservative, however the feeling that you are experiencing now is SLIGHTLY reminiscent of the hostile attitudes racial minorities have experienced for centuries. As a fellow white person, I am also proud of where I come from. I do not apologize for my whiteness, and I am not asking you do so either. However, I am also very aware of my white privilege. This means that instead of feeling attacked by those who do not share the same political view, I use my privilege to uplift those whom the system does not cater to. THAT is what people are asking white people to do. Some of these people are (but are not limited to): DREAMers, other racial minorities, women, members the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities.
Given that we both go to the same school, I can relate to some of what you said. This school does have faculty and leadership that possess strong views regarding their politics and, “supposedly relishes in diversity”. You are entitled to your opinion and no one is denying you that. However, if you do choose to voice your opinion in class, people also have the right to disagree. Furthermore, if you choose to be silent in class and complain under your breath about people who disagree with you that is also your choice. America created a polarized world for itself, and the sooner people understand that the only way to get rid of that is by dismantling the biased system our country was founded on so every one is truly equal, the better.
Moving onward, I am glad that you feel like you have experienced what it feels like to be a minority. Given this, I hope that you can relate to those who are actual minorities not only within the pinecone curtain, but across the country. Trump won. The administration YOU supported is in power. Also, the US congress currently has a Republican majority. Although I personally perceive Whitworth to be rather conservative institutionally, given them cutting ties with Planned Parenthood, and refusal to make Whitworth a sanctuary campus, the conservatives have the most voice in the larger scheme of things.
Grant, I understand that justice is defined differently by everyone, and as I said before….you are entitled to your opinion. However, as a fellow Christian I believe that when Jesus said in , Matthew 22:37-39, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?[37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.[38] This is the first and great commandment.[39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ..” I believe he was talking about those less privileged, such as DACA recipients who are just as American as you and I are, and unarmed high school students who would rather pursue their education without fear that anyone could easily buy a firearm and shoot them. Justice for these people, is what I believe our faith supports.
In conclusion, our country was made free by protesting, the colonies separating from the British was an act of protest. Activists like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton used nonviolent protests, like walk outs to elevate their voice. You do not have to agree with what they stand for, but please respect it. Just as they should respect you for using your voice in class, that is if you choose to do so. I know you do not have to listen to me. As you mentioned above, you are well able to stay within your bubble of conservative friends until you graduate. However, as one student to another, if you choose to actively engage in conversations with people who do not share the same view as you, that is one step closer to coexisting in a politically polarized nation.
Dave R • Mar 22, 2018 at 8:27 pm
Ashlie, I agree with you on this. Your points are strong. However, I feel like lately people from both political sides are only reading to respond to the article and Grant’s points. This is most visible in the Facebook comments on this article, where people don’t "love thy neighbour as thyself."
Eldridge Lile Cole III • Mar 22, 2018 at 6:31 am
Lol Disstrack coming soon Grant
Eldridge Lile Cole III • Mar 22, 2018 at 8:03 am
Jk grant, but I do have a response coming via email. 🙂
Dave R • Mar 22, 2018 at 4:13 am
Thank you, Grant, for speaking up for these students who don’t want to say anything! As a current student at Whitworth who actually identifies as a Libertarian, many students at Whitworth feel they cannot voice conservative opinions, especially with the personally biased ASWU President and EVP.
Matthew Mark • Mar 22, 2018 at 1:33 am
Yeah, why would a Christian school be hostile to Trump, such a paragon of virtue, humility and truth telling? "Courtesy and thoughtfulness" indeed!
Annette Farrell • Mar 22, 2018 at 12:49 am
Yo, trump WON. You are part of the dominant culture who voted Trump into office. And you’re…mad?… about hearing opinions that go against your privileged perspective of the world?
It hurts your feelings when people explain how the current leadership actively undermines their safety and prosperity?
You would rather walk out than try to hear what your fellow students and your professors are trying to communicate about their life experience?
Can you fathom the many ways that minorities have ALWAYS had to ‘shut up and listen’ while members of the dominant culture extolled the virtues of the very society that has its boot on the necks of minorities across the globe?
You’re going to have to get comfortable with hearing about the ways that the dominant culture of the USA is disenfranchising and endangering the lives of people all over the globe. Those voices aren’t going to get any quieter…unless fascism.