Defense of Donald Trump supporters
November 3, 2016
At Whitman, we often like to believe that everything we do is more aware, more conscious, more reflective and more “right” than the average citizen. We go to college and take classes on a diverse variety of subjects, attempting to “learn to think” in a way that doesn’t any underprivileged members of society. Yet at the same time, our understanding of the world is no more far-reaching than someone who wasn’t able to attend college, and it is no more objectively correct.
It is not a coincidence that a good chunk of our students hail from private schools in Seattle, Portland and California. We have 40 flavors of students, all vanilla. Yes, I know that I am both generalizing and exaggerating, but the problem remains that, for all we claim to care about with regard to diversity, many of our backgrounds are more or less the same. And arguably because we are so similar in upbringing and ideology, it often times makes us incapable of understanding people with different experiences. After having heard casual conversations throughout this political cycle, and what has been said about Trump supporters, I don’t think this problem has ever been worse.
Casually scroll through Facebook and you’ll see it. “Trump supporters are deplorable, racist and sexist,” or, “If you plan on voting for Trump, please unfriend me right this second.” Many have said that Donald Trump represents a fundamental rift in American society, and that might be true, but what I’ve noticed at Whitman is the knee-jerk, dogmatic rejection of Trump, or anything related to Trump.
Of course it’s very understandable. I also believe that Trump is racist, homophobic and sexist. But the lack of willingness to engage with Trump supporters, to absolutely, unflinchingly and unhesitatingly equate them with the icon who they support seems to a drastic oversight on any of our attempts to be understanding of different backgrounds. We are unthinking in our hatred in much the same way that Trump supporters may be unthinking in theirs.
While waiting in line at Seattle airport, I overheard a Mexican woman explaining her rationale of why she was voting for Trump. I know even telling this story incites an instinctual reaction of, “Oh well she must not know what she’s talking about,” or, “Oh she’s crazy,” but to think that is to fundamentally miss the point because we don’t know why she’s voting for Trump. Just last weekend, I saw a man wearing a Trump for president T-shirt outside Maple Counter. If you were to drive for 20 minutes in any direction, you’ll see the large TRUMP PENCE signs. A lot of students might say, “Well it’s because Walla Wallans are uneducated and racist,” which may be true for some people, but we don’t know that it’s true for everyone. There are those who will say, “There is no good reason to vote for Trump,” but they have just revealed their inability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. Because what’s actually worth considering is that every person has a different upbringing, and different circumstances that have led them to be the person they are today.
Perhaps the native Walla Wallan votes for Trump because he’s a veteran who just wants his benefits and knows Hillary doesn’t place as much emphasis on the military. Or maybe, there is a recently unemployed factory worker who just wants to feed his family, and thinks that Trump is the better option for what will be best for him. What we shouldn’t ignore is that the majority of Trump’s voting demographic is poor and uneducated, and they arguably are part of the “underprivileged” members of society. Yet, what can we as (largely) privileged college students do? We care for the plight of the underprivileged, but it seems we fundamentally do not understand them on a human-to-human level. There are reasons to vote for Trump, but it seems from our perspective, we simply cannot understand them. We are limited by our experience, and in much the same way that Bernie Sanders’ and Clinton’s campaigns rest on the support of the millennials like ourselves, the Trump campaign rests largely on poor, white, men. Yes, you may not agree with Donald Trump’s Politics, and yes, he may be awful, but I feel that it is our duty as people to at least try and understand where others might be coming from, regardless of race, class and gender.
Gregory P. Crow • Nov 14, 2016 at 2:45 pm
The hardest two classes I ever took at Whitman College were American Politics: The Policy-Making Processes and American Politics: The Participatory Processes. The book used in common for these two semesters was “The Democratic Community” by our instructor himself, Dr. Robert Younger Fluno. It is now available on the 3rd floor of the Penrose Library, call number JC423 .F67.
Every four years, when it is time for a presidential election, I pull this book out and read Chapter 4 entitled “Voting: The Fundamental Ritual.” Dr. Fluno used to remind us how Democracy is more than just majority rule. it is about also about popular participation in governmental decision-making, and that the tradition of liberalism helped maximize individual liberty. Blended with the progressivism of equality ( and concern about the public welfare) is the demand of our leaders in a Democracy that they be open and transparent, that their dealings and decisions be done with our full knowledge. The public doesn’t just want to give permission to govern. We want to know the truth more than we need to agree with the decisions.
Many of you would be surprised to know that many people with college degrees voted for Trump, and it was not for any single issue. When I was at Whitman, many of us disliked Nixon, but he won two elections. Those of us who carried draft cards could never figure it out. In the end it was his lack of honesty and openness that drove us to threaten impeachment over Watergate, not for escalating the war. He finally resigned. I think many people fear a powerful leader who has too many secrets, a double life, but they can tolerate other faults. I think it is demanded of the populace in a Democracy that our leaders be transparent, so that we know who and what we are giving our popular consent to…
Dr. Fluno encouraged us to not give up, but to participate in politics by more than just voting, and to consider seeking governmental work after we left college. He ended his book with these words: “Experience may help to convince him that Democracy is workable, but there are times when empirical evidence is insufficient. It is crucial, at such vital moments, that the democrat also be a man of faith.”
Susan Reynolds Workman '82 • Nov 12, 2016 at 11:38 am
I checked the Whitman Wire on-line for the first time to see the reaction to Mr. Trump’s election. I was pleased to see an opinion piece entitled Defense of Donald Trump Supporters. I am so glad Whitman students are looking outside the “bubble” that is Whitman College and trying to understand those who do not think as they do “regardless of race class or gender,” as the author states. I was disappointed at the end of this editorial when the author described Donald Trump’s supporters as “poor white men.” If we truly want to understand this election, we must look at the data. I urge you to look at Micheal Moore’s interview on Morning Joe, MSNBC, how many college educated women voted for Mr. Trump, and how many counties that voted for President Obama voted for Mr. Trump. If we are truly gong to understand this election and the ramifications going forward, we need to take an honest look at the data and an objective look what Mr. Trump actually does going forward.