I think it’s safe to say we are living in very divisive times, politically speaking. Today, it’s a problem that members of both sides of the political spectrum are absolutely revolted by the other, and nobody seems to be listening to the other side at all. Instead, we seek to take away a person’s right to express a different opinion by labelling them—whether it be as a social justice warrior, a “libtard,” or saying that someone is racist, sexist, or homophobic.
I was presented a good example of this the other day. As some may be aware, Toronto Pride recently voted to ban police from marching in and being involved with the organization of the annual Toronto Pride Parade. This was done as a result of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest during the 2016 event, denouncing Toronto Pride’s partnership with the police due to systemic discrimination directed at the Black community. As I checked my social media after that news broke, I saw one post on Facebook that said if I was a “white boy” who was unhappy with that decision, I was wrong and my “racism is showing.”
Now as a criminology major, I am acutely aware of the racially-motivated discrimination that Black communities are forced to deal with. I believe in police and justice reform to make it fair across the board. When a situation needs it, I will be there to say that Black lives matter.
But I was disappointed by Toronto Pride’s decision, because instead of working with the police to change the racist institution, they put up a wall between them and people they disagree with.
U.S. President Donald Trump is already historically unpopular with the American people. After his many divisive speeches, it was vindication to see how his inaugural audience compared to President Barack Obama’s, how empty the presidential parade was, and how many people showed up to protest him around North America.
This was a moment for the new administration to recognize that they have to work to bring the American people on board with them, and that their agenda is very unpopular with a not insignificant amount of people. Popular opinion is against them on almost every issue. But instead of extending the olive branch to the Americans who are not fond of them, Trump’s administration doubled down, fighting with the press over their coverage of the inauguration and the protests that followed.
The point I am getting at here is simple—why can’t we try and meet each other in the middle more often? Where is the compromise in our society anymore? It’s possible to have tremendous respect for police officers, and still desire to see them held to a higher standard. It’s possible to be critical of BLM as an organization, while still believing that police need to stop shooting unarmed black people. It’s possible to have a nuanced position on almost any issue, and in the age of social media and political polarization, we have lost sight of that.
We on the left—especially the campus left—need to understand that calling people who challenge our opinions racist, sexist, homophobic or xenophobic is not bringing people over to see our perspectives. Those on the right need to understand that simply labelling the left-wing as a bunch of over-sensitive social justice warriors is making political discourse much worse off. In 2017, I want to see people build some more bridges with people who disagree with them. If we can embrace nuance and civility in our political discourse, the world can be a better place.
