Hey everyone, I have been seeing some discourse about the political axis on the board. I wanted to present a clear distinction between what it feels like to be uncomfortable versus victimized. The reason I present this information is because these two feelings are very important to distinguish when speaking politically.
I saw some people present the idea that conservative people may feel uncomfortable in academic spaces expressing their ideas. I do not necessarily think this is a bad thing. Being uncomfortable may be unpleasant, but it is not akin to political persecution. Being in an uncomfortable state is beneficial to growing and actually allows you to deepen your knowledge of your own ideology better. When I am placed in an uncomfortable state I am questioned, but not victimized. I may feel uncomfortable explaining my ideas and being questioned, but I am not persecuted for them. The moment my personhood is questioned, is when I become victimized. I do not believe conservatives are being victimized in this way, and even accentuating discomfort into victimization lends them more credence than some conservatives deserve. Conservative ideology deserves to be put under the microscope and questioned just like any other ideology.
To me, many prominent conservative politicians are very quick to jump and say they are victimized when they are not. This is a political ploy, and it works. If you pretend you are in an ideological war the only way to win is to present yourself as the victim. Conservatives are very cognisant of this, this is why many popular conservative conspiracy theories rely on victimization. One clear example of this Donald Trump currently claiming he is a victim of a political conspiracy theory to plant classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Conservatives also use this ploy to equate their discomfort with the actual victimization of their political victims to silence them. One example of this is migration. Rather than actually allowing people who seek asylum into the country (in the US), conservative politicians unilaterally opt to send these people to detention centers and criminalize their legal behaviour. Then, in the same breath, they claim that the border is under siege.
We do not live in a "leftist" dominated world, I have to say it because it is true. Believing otherwise is not accurate.
I think this is a very good point about how uncomfort is not the same as victimization. I think that equating these issues belittles the claims of people who are getting victimized. I think some level of uncomfort is expected in most situations where people in a minority are sharing their ideas to a majority since getting disagreed with is not always comfortable. This is clearly different from victimization which should not be accepted as normal.
Hey Maia! I really appreciate what you have to say here. I connect a lot with what you said about uncomfortability. Being uncomfortable is a good thing and it allows you to grow, just as you say. Regardless from where you stand politically, you learn from it.
I also see what you mean about victimization. For me personally, it's something I feel uncomfortable talking about. But maybe it's something I should think about more, precisely because it makes me uncomfortable.
Talking about political issues is often divisive and difficult. It may be naive, but my hope is that our politics can become less divisive. And in my opinion, the best way to do that is through listening. Are we really that different? I'm not the best at this, but I want to do better!