No one likes to have political conversations, that’s just a given.
Unfortunately, we now live in a political climate where these conversations keep getting more difficult, as well as more crucial, as America becomes more polarized. This is an issue that I have seen affect my familial relationships, my friendships, and obviously, the livelihood of various minorities whose rights are and have been at risk.
There are two sides of the coin. On one hand, we are in a time where access to information has never been more available. With this in mind, it can be hard to have conversations with those who don’t agree with us, because their ignorance starts to feel like an active choice — which it is.
On the other hand, continuing to have these tough conversations about political and social justice with those who don’t agree is something that can facilitate potential collective action. Now, I am about to say something that some of you will not like.
Most of the time, the conservative actor in a discussion is going to be a straight, white cis person. With that in mind, it has gotten to a point where left-leaning white people now have the moral responsibility to be engaging in these conversations with white conservatives. But that is not to say that the words and actions of white people carry more weight than that of people of color, because that would be a blatant lie.
For as long as history can show, people of color — more specifically, queer people of color — have been at the forefront of most social movements and humanitarian revolutions. We can most prominently see this throughout the Civil Rights Movement.
Because of the undeniable efforts and struggles that people of color have endured, it should come as no surprise that white people have a moral responsibility to speak up in environments that still are not safe for people of color.
But, this does not mean you should willingly surround yourself and (happily) engage with right-wing conservatives for the sake of “unity” — we all know they don’t actually care about unity. But when you are in an environment that isn’t exactly a “choice,” it is your duty as a white person to speak up — especially when you know that it wouldn’t have been particularly unsafe for a person of color to speak up.
For example, I have extreme right-wing conservatives in my family, as I am unfortunately sure most white people do. Despite their constant efforts to just “not talk about politics,” I have found that bringing up those “uncomfortable” conversations does make progress when done in a calm manner.
Donald Trump has solidified an “us vs. them” mindset into all of his supporters. They no longer prioritize actual policy or the repercussions of those policies as long as the President keeps telling them that everyone besides himself is out to get them.
When put into an environment where the conversations inevitably arise, it’s important to have decorum, no matter how hard it is. I’d like to argue that this means of progression is not relevant for our actual Democrat public officials (please stop protesting with signs and pink blazers, and actually do something), but I digress.
With the influx of executive orders and destructive policies that Trump has carried out, I have found myself ambushing my conservative family members with articles, statistics, and any credible sources under the sun to try and demonstrate the damage that is being done. Though I also find myself struggling to not accompany those messages with an additional text suggesting that they have worms for brains, I realized that decorum is unfortunately the only way that conservatives will even consider listening.
So, for any left-leaning white person who is stuck in a conservative environment, speak up! Make those people uncomfortable but do it with civility. Listen to the queer people of color around you, do work within your own ideologies, and then extend those experiences to white conservatives.
Right-leaning Americans claim to be the party of “respect,” so out-respect them in a way that proves them wrong.