This past week in Marano Campus Center, the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) were tabling in the concourse. Their sign included information on why building the border wall that Trump proposed is a good idea, and those at the table said they were open to discussion and debate.
Following the tabling, a picture of the YAF members circulated on social media. People, Oswego State students and others, responded to their signs with disagreements and other comments. Some people on social media, however, made threats of violence against the tablers, including saying they wanted to shoot them. President Deborah Stanley and Student Association President Omar van Reenen both sent emails that essentially captured the same message: the students should be able to say what they want and threatening people who disagree is not very nice.
This, on the surface, is the truth. People should not threaten other people, and violence is almost never the answer. The people who made the threats online are not currently enrolled at Oswego State, and YAF has decided not to press charges against those who made the threats. Not to undermine the seriousness of threatening to shoot someone, especially in a climate where gun violence is a serious issue, but these threats seemed relatively thinly veiled. Does the fact that they did not plan a shooting take away from the threat? No, probably not, but people on social media often take things too far. Usually, they do not understand the things they say are being directed toward actual people and not just a computer screen. Threats made on the internet are usually disconnected from the fact that these are real people.
Another thing van Reenen and Stanley pointed out in their emails is that this campus is a place for diversity and understanding each other. This is rather ironic, seeing as though those who were tabling were supporting a policy that is often aligned with racism and xenophobia. Of course, having differing political beliefs is part of what makes us Americans. When someone is making a stance that often leads to discrimination against people of color, naturally those who disagree have a tendency to get heated. The need to “build a wall” and keep out groups from certain countries is, in itself, not accepting of diversity. Therefore, your political beliefs will be respected only if you respect others.
Having an open dialogue with people of disagreeing values is difficult lately, as so many people believe that there is not any room for disagreement, meaning someone is right and someone is wrong. As long as beliefs are based in actual facts and those who hold the beliefs are being respectful of basic human rights, then they deserve to be treated with respect. Part of the problem we as a nation are facing is that some politicians, often our president included, are straight up lying to our faces. In order to have an open and healthy dialogue, we need to learn to differentiate between what is true and what is false.
Photo from @YAF_Oswego via Twitter
