So I know a lot of people have just unfriended people who love Trump. For the most part I don't engage them. I mean really what is the point you can't change their mind. You approach them but they are on the defensive because they know you don't agree with them.
I've seen people post things to the effect of, "Wrong is wrong so don't bother." Honestly I've seen it from all sides and I just can't give up hope that maybe we can talk to each instead of yell.
With that in mind, I engaged a friend from my MEd days. She is from a very rural area of Virginia. She is super sweet and loving. She posted about birthright citizenship. Some meme that she had found about how it was decided 120 year ago or something like that. So I engaged her. I asked her why she found me so offensive and why she would want me to leave the country?
Her response was typical - Not you, just the bad people. The ones that just want to live off the system.
Instead of attacking, I decided to leave at, "I just want you to remember that the policies you advocate and support would hurt my family."
I just wanted to put a human face to her policy. Remind her that there are real people who are going to be affected by her advocacy of trying to redefine birthright citizenship. Did it do any good? She didn't respond again. I hope she thought about what she was advocating. It is easy to toss out numbers and objectify people. In fact I would argue objectifying people is essential when you want to strip a person's rights.
I am not a number. I am not a statistic. In fact, for me to be where I am today makes me a unicorn and statistical anomaly. With my start in life I should be at home barefoot and pregnant. I'm not. You don't get to use me as a number as a stat. If you want to strip me of my rights, you have to look me in the face and tell me why.
I've seen people post things to the effect of, "Wrong is wrong so don't bother." Honestly I've seen it from all sides and I just can't give up hope that maybe we can talk to each instead of yell.
With that in mind, I engaged a friend from my MEd days. She is from a very rural area of Virginia. She is super sweet and loving. She posted about birthright citizenship. Some meme that she had found about how it was decided 120 year ago or something like that. So I engaged her. I asked her why she found me so offensive and why she would want me to leave the country?
Her response was typical - Not you, just the bad people. The ones that just want to live off the system.
Instead of attacking, I decided to leave at, "I just want you to remember that the policies you advocate and support would hurt my family."
I just wanted to put a human face to her policy. Remind her that there are real people who are going to be affected by her advocacy of trying to redefine birthright citizenship. Did it do any good? She didn't respond again. I hope she thought about what she was advocating. It is easy to toss out numbers and objectify people. In fact I would argue objectifying people is essential when you want to strip a person's rights.
I am not a number. I am not a statistic. In fact, for me to be where I am today makes me a unicorn and statistical anomaly. With my start in life I should be at home barefoot and pregnant. I'm not. You don't get to use me as a number as a stat. If you want to strip me of my rights, you have to look me in the face and tell me why.
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