6 TRINITONIAN.COM • FEBRUARY 22, 2019 • OPINION Deplatforming is a losing political strategy Americans identify as independents, We should follow The Economist’s BENJAMIN COLLINGER according to Gallup. lead. Its editor, Zanny Minton GUEST COLUMNIST Taking advantage of millions Beddoes, defended her decision [email protected] of swing voters and the young to host a discussion with Bannon people who are defecting from despite the fact that he “stands for the Republican Party requires a worldview that is antithetical to In the Feb. 15 edition of this reasoned debate and persuasion on the liberal values The Economist paper, Benjamin Gonzalez argued the merits of our arguments, not has always espoused. We asked him for the “right to deplatform hate deplatforming. If liberal Democrats to take part because his populist speech” in order to deny “racists wish to win elections and not nationalism is of grave consequence and xenophobes from using our alienate voters, we should recognize in today’s politics.” university as a megaphone for their the opportunity that a controversial Third, the idea that D’Souza’s harmful ideologies.” The majority speaker presents to promote our voice denies Gonzalez’s speech or of college students agree. According policy ideas and listen in good faith. that of undocumented immigrants is to a Jan. 30, 2019 report from the First, it is not clear that D’Souza’s misguided. If it were true, he would Foundation for Individual Rights remarks constituted hate speech not have a regular column in this in Education (FIRE), 60 percent — words that attack individuals paper, and the growing coalition of believe in prioritizing an inclusive or groups because of their race, activists and political support for environment over protection of ethnic background, religion, gender DACA students would not exist. students’ rights to free speech. or sexual orientation — because The D’Souza and Yiannopoulos Gonzalez rightly critiques his argument centered upon legal visits were, despite their clownish Dinesh D’Souza, hitting similar status. Nor did D’Souza advocate absurdity, still net-positive because notes as an article I co-authored violence or threaten individuals, a of the discussions they catalyzed. in 2017 immediately after the condition that the Supreme Court Unfettered corporate election speech. We dissected D’Souza’s determined in Virginia v. Black spending, large technology and ahistorical view of Nazi Germany, necessary to define something as media conglomerates as well as his dehumanizing discourse on hate speech. I do not think his the almost certain demise of net “illegal aliens” and a variety of comments about immigrants are neutrality mitigate the free exchange illustration by GENEVIEVE HUMPHREYS logical fallacies. acceptable, but legal minutia cannot of ideas. However, our campus can However, Gonzalez neglects resolve a fundamentally political serve as a “marketplace of ideas” senior editor for National Review and to our country and is a bad political important political dynamics dispute. in ways that other parts of society works in the American Enterprise strategy if we intend to expand the and sets an arbitrary standard Second, Gonzalez discounts cannot. We have a small student Institute, both key establishments Democratic coalition. Instead, let’s for limiting speech. The article the political valence of D’Souza population, a largely supportive in conservative thought. Moreover, hone our political messages and policy conflates comfort and safety, and other deplatformed speakers. faculty and are capable of organizing his latest book “Suicide of the West” ideas through debate. while justifying a dubious model Regardless of whether we agree on behalf of others if we choose. deals with many timeless issues — for activism. with disinvited speakers like Ben Finally, Gonzalez implies that such as tribalism and the role of Benjamin Collinger is a senior history and Although deplatforming may be Shapiro, Steve Bannon or even the SGA decision to fund Jonah government — that are worthy of international studies double major. popular among college students, John Brennan, they often represent Goldberg’s visit to Trinity neglects public debate. Scan to read it represents a bad political a sizable share of public opinion the “common interest of our peers” If we refer to such speakers Ben Gonzalez’s strategy given the country’s that should be understood and by promoting “crackpot conservative and their ideas with contempt, we column, “Your ‘free ideological makeup. Conservatives debated. Inviting a backlash by theories.” This is another instance of commit an act of bad faith and lose speech’ is denying outnumber liberals by nine deplatforming will not persuade Gonzalez discounting someone’s the chance to have respectful debates. mine” from the percent and a rising plurality of conservatives to defect. prominence and ideas. Goldberg is Deplatforming will seem unreasonable Feb. 15 issue here. Drowning out the white noise to make our own illustration by ANDREA NEBHUT People at Trinity are also KAYLA PADILLA very quick to participate GUEST COLUMNIST in our fun, cultural events, [email protected] packaged and wrapped neatly for white entertainment or for Greek organizations to meet requirements. However, never has NATASHA SAHU a single student been interested in GUEST COLUMNIST our experiences, personally. [email protected] We’ve had people in cars playing music we don’t know, everyone singing along but us. We’ve been Since our time at Trinity, forced to watch movies with an we’ve both encountered countless all-white cast, going through instances where we didn’t know privileged experiences that we how to pronounce a word, didn’t neither enjoy nor relate to. We know the name of a band or didn’t talk about our culture, what we recognize the latest $90 sandals. miss, what we grew up with, but Neither of us knows what a never has anyone asked us about Brockhampton is, nor are we trying the music we grew up listening anymore to keep up with American to or the movies we’ve watched. culture or “common knowledge.” However, they are very quick to Growing up in non-American tell you when they are craving environments, learning about Mexican/Indian food! pop culture — and worse, anti- we’re ready to give up. After all, which CH sound is in orchard “Republic” have the entitlement Students at Trinity need to re- culture in America — has been an what do we care about American versus in orchid, and it is more and privilege to speak up and say evaluate their American-centric extremely difficult journey. patriotism anyway? We don’t of a struggle when you are put the most mediocre things, but it ideals, and if you ever catch We’ve inflated many white need to assimilate. And this isn’t a on the spot. We learned English is accepted because this is what yourself about to condescendingly egos after telling our Trinity peers column about how we’re too cool by constantly reading as child; they grew up doing. It always feels say “WHAT! How could you we don’t know the song or film to know mainstream artists. We’re however, all those big words that that articulating our thoughts in NOT know what _____ is?” they’re referring to. But the truth just not American enough to care. shaped our vocabulary were never a language we learned second — maybe take a step back and think is, making people of color feel Then there’s the problem with said out loud. even third — is challenging; it is about the other person for once, badly about not knowing your words and pronunciation — we Coming from a place where even more so in an environment and save both us and yourself indie band doesn’t make you any both struggle immensely with violence and poverty were the that is predominantly white. the embarrassment. more interesting. We don’t listen pronouncing words deemed as norm, we didn’t have the luxury The struggles of growing up are to music in English — so your common sense. of learning about all these great multiplied by the challenges Kayla Padilla is a sophomore English cool, nonchalant song isn’t the It wasn’t until we were laughed thinkers and innovators. Not offered by peers, colleagues, and anthropology double major. only one we haven’t heard. at in class that we learned how to only did we not have access to teachers and professors who pick She is also an opinion columnist for We thought knowing all of pronounce certain English words these ideas and works, but also on you to speak when your mind the Trinitonian. these things was part of being or even learned that apparently they were something we had is still struggling to learn and Natasha Sahu is a junior psychology an American, and after years of most people in our classes already never heard of, which led to process the concepts that have major with a minor in linguistics. attempting to assimilate into knew about the concepts we were issues in our classrooms. Students been familiar to everyone else in a culture that won’t let us in, presenting. We still don’t know who are enamored with Plato’s the room. This column was unpaid.