I’m a small blue dot living in a blood-red corner of a red state, so I’ve grown accustomed to hearing right wing talking points. I don’t like them, but they surface as regularly in my southwest Florida town as white egrets on the highway and dolphins in the Gulf. Talking points at the grocery store, the gas station, the movie theater, and my son’s school—they’re inescapable. “Scandinavians can’t own their own homes,” an elderly veteran told me at a local trampoline house last week. “Socialists have no dreams.”
As a literature professor, I tend to shy away from overtly political conversation. I can smell something fishy in what many of my neighbors say, but I can’t always explain myself. I know what it takes to be qualified to speak knowledgeably about domestic and foreign affairs. I was raised in a suburb of Washington, DC, by parents who wrote ten books about politics and read seven newspapers every day.
This election has pulled me into the game.
“I’ve been to Denmark twice, and you can own multiple homes there if you like. Danes have big dreams, from what I could tell,” I told the veteran. “They just don’t seem to come at anyone else’s expense.”
He didn’t seem to want to talk much after that, even though my son was soaring through the air with his granddaughter just ten feet away.
Today, I heard the same talking points from two different sources.
“Have you heard about the protests on college campuses?” a local friend asked me this morning. “What a bunch of crybabies! I wasn’t thrilled when Obama got elected—twice!—but you never saw me protest. Apparently, these kids are saying that they’re too upset to take their exams. These must be the same kids that got trophies their whole lives just for showing up. And the colleges are accommodating this nonsense!”
All of my northern, Yankee, city-slicker friends are shocked, depressed, and contemplating medication these days, so I had to adjust my mindset. I’ve been in comforting mode since the election, but this seemed to call for a different response.
I asked my local friend if she ever listened to NPR, one of my favorite news sources.
“Never.”
“You might feel different about those college students if you gave it a listen,” I said. I could tell from her facial expression that she probably won’t.
Four hours later, I heard the same exact wording from three middle-aged strangers in white robes. These weren’t Klan sheets, just ordinary waffle-weave at our local day spa. I was trying to relax in the “quiet room,” when the words “College students,” “crybabies,” and “trophies for showing up” pierced my struggle for some post-election Zen. The source? Someone’s church minister. I think it’s pretty clear where he’s getting his information, and it’s not NPR, either.
Here’s what I wish I had said to strangers and friends alike on this subject.
I’ve spent two decades with college students, and I care deeply about their lives, their concerns, and the world they are inheriting.
My courses’ themes have ranged from contemporary literature to film adaptation to memoir, but my ultimate goals never vary. I care most about helping my students develop their critical thinking skills and their empathy. Literature is great for both. No one can dismiss the damages caused by a vestigial caste system in India after living vicariously through the novel The White Tiger. In Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi—a book that’s come back to haunt my thoughts post-election—the dangers of trying to foist one’s monolithic dreams on a diverse nation emerge in gorgeous, terrifying detail.
Every work of literature is different, yet they all function to widen the perspective and deepen the soul in this way. Of all the chilling things that have been reported about President-elect Trump, the worst for me was his alleged indifference to books. Who needs to grow in empathy and critical thinking skills more than the person who enters the Oval Office?
So what do I see in large groups of college students reeling from this presidential election, and taking to the quad to voice their dismay? I don’t see entitlement; I see critical thinking skills and empathy aplenty. As a college professor, I see some cause for real rejoicing. Makes me wish I had some shiny trophies to distribute.
We just elected a man who was caught on video boasting about using his celebrity to sexually assault women. Who just settled a lawsuit for twenty-five million dollars involving the defrauding of college students and their families. Who evaded taxes for decades and had the audacity to brag about it during a presidential debate. Who avoided the Vietnam War draft for a foot injury but can’t remember which foot was injured. A man who has called all Mexicans rapists, and can’t differentiate between Muslims and radical Islamic terrorists. Who wants to repeal the Dream Act, and has been sanctioned for discriminating against minorities in his role as a landlord. A man who is populating his Cabinet with an assortment of people who have been publicly denounced for their racism and anti-Semitism, and scoff at the science behind climate change.
The Klan held a victory rally in Tennessee when Trump won the White House.
It’s not a sign of poor character for these college student protesters to be crying. On the contrary, it shows they have the critical thinking skills to differentiate between presidential timber and whatever orange stuff comprises President-elect Trump. I see a lot of white male Christian students in these protests who have nothing to lose personally under a Trump presidency, except that they value women and minorities and religious freedom and the environment. They’re demonstrating their capacity for empathy.
For me to survive and thrive in a county that voted for Trump at a rate of 61% (to Clinton’s 35%), I must empathize with my neighbors. I’m neither a veteran nor a Christian, but I have genuine respect for people who have put their lives on the line for our country, and I see great wisdom and moral truth in the New Testament. How veterans and Christians could champion President-elect Trump continues to baffle me. I’m not a businesswoman, but I can’t see how anyone could look at Trump’s business record and want his advice on anything more complex than a lemonade stand.
In short, I haven’t done a very good job of empathizing with my neighbors at all.
I blame the talking points.
In my darkest moments, I have wondered if Denmark might be a better choice for me. I believe in science. I think we shouldn’t deplete our natural resources. I like the idea of bike paths the same size as car lanes. I believe in respect, and empathy, and critical thinking skills. Those things seem to thrive in Scandinavia more than they do here at home in my red corner of a red state.
I will stay, mostly for my family and for my amazing, brave students. I’d like to explain to the parents of college-aged students that questioning authority is part of every worthwhile curriculum. Yes, this will ruin some holiday dinners, but your children will grow stronger and wiser. So will you, if you remain open. Your children may grow beyond you, and that’s cause for celebration, not ridicule.
If America’s college student protesters are going to get assaulted with hateful rhetoric—not to mention hate crimes—when they find the courage to stand up and say, “This smells fishy to us,” they’re going to need someone to stand with them.
Even literature professors who shy away from political conversations.
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8 responses
As a fellow professor, this author seems like a grade inflator of the type who is shocked that students cheat and believe them when they say their grandmother died the night before the big paper was due. Also, there is no such thing as a “hate crime.” Yes, Trump is part of the idiocracy, but please don’t contribute to it. Empathy is great. But letting people skip work because they “feel bad” is not teaching, it’s not education, it’s soft and easily duped.
College students need (and actually crave) discipline and rigor and accountability. They don’t want everyone to get an “A.” A student who shows up on time is glad when a professor holds late students accountable. A student who prepares and works hard and turns in her paper on time is happy that the student who comes in mid-class panting and out of breath with a paper still warm from the printer is told “No late papers accepted, you get an ‘F,’ give yourself more time on the next paper.” A lot of college students have never been told “no” ever, not once, not their entire lives. They may cry initially, and beg and moan, and try to weasel out of things or get that extension, but if you stick to your guns and don’t let then “do a rewrite,” you’re actually helping them.
And as for how a Christian and a veteran could support Trump, keep in mind that the Dow Jones just hit a record high. The far left needs to realize that if the economy is good, people simply aren’t going to care that much about identity politics or perceived “racism,” “sexism,” or whatever else is used as an excuse for failure this week. Do racism and sexism exist? Of course. Are they at an all-time low and infinitely better than they were just 30 years ago? Of course. Racism and sexism are pet causes for a certain segment of the population and they absolutely should be fought against at every turn. But wake up. The elections results just told you most people don’t see them lurking EVERYWHERE the way you do.
I am tough on my students for the same reasons the author sounds like she isn’t, because “I care deeply about their lives, their concerns, and the world they are inheriting.” And I 100% agree that “I care most about helping my students develop their critical thinking skills and their empathy. Literature is great for both.” We just disagree on how to do it. And that’s what democracy should allow for. Whining and crying and chanting and burning a plastic Trump head simply doesn’t DO anything. That’s why I find it pointless. Not as pointless as listening to NPR (it’s Fox News for people who drink chamomile tea and are bad at sports), but pretty pointless. 🙂
I get it, Mr. Pointer of Dissent. Christians and veterans support Trump for the money–is that right? Gosh, I never realized the Dow Jones was something the New Testament cared about all that much–or the veterans who gave their lives for ideals of freedom. But, clearly, the rest of us need to take your class to learn the principle of rigidity and learn not to question the professor who tells us the only kind of dissent that’s OK is the kind of which he approves. Karen Tolchin’s essay was excellent, and her students are a lucky bunch to have her for a teacher. But, god forbid that any child of mine ever takes one of your classes, Sir. I sense two different teaching styles here, it’s true. One is understanding, and the other is overbearing. Connect the dots.
This is invigorating. You are raising our students to a higher level through critical thinking. Ignore the junk of the crybaby people who critique with no knowledge of your student population. They are just hollering Me! Me! Me! for old wounds that they can no longer articulate. You are shaping a fair and thoughtful world, Karen. resist the cruel words of the injured.
I liked this essay for many reasons. The author doesn’t shame those with whom she disagrees. She stands up for the students she works with daily. She models courage, because every honest critic of the new regime will be judged and condemned. Hopefully others will speak up before our melting pot transforms into a toddler’s plate of foods that can’t touch each other. Thank you, Karen.
@pointerofdissent…even though you read like someone who starches and irons their underwear, uses a stop watch (set at 2 minutes) to time the brushing of their teeth every morning while standing at attention, I see your advise as enlightening. Yes, I agree with you, the militant wings of the old S.D.S and Black Panthers need to be revived. Yes, all the wanna be leftists need to get out of the way so that the teachings of Mao and Che and Fidel can be spread with renewed vigor. The right wingers need that old 1960’s-70’s in your face student radicalism haunting their dreams and making them shit in their pants when they are confronted directly by it. Yes, I agree with you 100%.
Thank you to the author for putting into words what so many of us have been struggling with, how to stand up for empathy and reasoning in days when the loud and angry voices threaten to drown us out. Thank you to the author for giving her students time and space –AND SKILLS — to process their own thoughts.
I find it interesting that A Point(er) of Dissent ends with “We just disagree on how to do it,” a semi-conciliatory gesture toward the author, after having berated her for the way she treats her students and looks at the people she lives around (from behind the safety of a pseudonym, naturally). And the smiley which indicates anyone who disagrees with him must just be touchy, one of those chamomile tea, non-sporty people. I also find it interesting how he gleans so much about the author’s teaching style (grade-inflator) from an article about the empathy she shows her students. But what I find most interesting about his comment is that it shows me a man who claims to be all about the importance of teaching critical thinking and engagement with text having trouble doing precisely that himself.
I’m a 63 year old man who graduated from a Florida university in 2008. I became quite closely involved with mentoring–and being mentored–by a number of memorable traditional age students, as editor of my school’s student newspaper for two years while matriculating. I don’t see the students protesting here as simply “crying,” either. They are exercising their fledgling political engagement skills. The same skills that will likely inspire them to stay engaged with their country’s and community’s welfare by staying informed and voting in more elections. I hope that is true for especially the students that may be dealing with the feelings of shock and regret that can happen if one delegates that civic responsibility to others. In this case ‘delegated’ to the voters that the polls predicted would carry Clinton into office easily over her laughable, morally bankrupt opponent–and produced the lowest voter turnout in 20 years! The author shows that she is doing wonderful work in helping those students to learn to politically and civically fly. Kudos, Karen Tolchin! Great essay!
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