By Nerdicus Maximus
Since its founding four years ago, The College Progressives club has radicalized well beyond the American left. They have developed many anarchist and socialist policies which have already posed serious threats to our university community. Many of the progressives also can’t recognize their own privilege: privilege granted by the American system they despise. This article will discuss a few of these policies, and the consequences they have posed in history and in our campus today.
Opportunity to Speak Determined By Gender/Race/Sexual Orientation Etc.
One rule of the progressives is that the depth of a person’s minority status determines the order members are called on (African American Woman>Woman>Man etc.). This ensures that less privileged people can express their unique experiences, and the policy does work for this. The problem is that the solutions suggested by privileged people are given the same treatment. Historically, social change has occurred when groups in privilege empathize with those who are less fortunate, and help create solutions. For example, the Quakers of Philadelphia and other white abolitionists helped free thousands of slaves because their religious and social ideas aligned with the slave’s right to freedom; not because of their race. Similarly, when people of color were attacked by police in Birmingham, Alabama, whites throughout the north joined Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers towards extensive civil rights legislation. These northerners felt that people of color deserved rights as human beings and that those in authority should not abuse their power as they did in those attacks. This leads to our next question: Why is police violence towards blacks today not treated the same way?
“Necessary Violence” and Disregard for Personal Property
One of the shocking viewpoints the Progressives club holds is that of necessary violence. During one of their presentations, they considered white violence a product of hateful ideologies and racist police which is, in some cases, true. However, they claim that some form of violence is necessary to atone for injustice. Their rule is that violence destroying property is acceptable because it fights those with power in our capitalist system, while violence against a person is always wrong. I agree that unnecessary violence against individuals is wrong, however, the progressives’ violence, in practice, is extremely harmful. For example, when officer Darren Wilson was acquitted in the Michael Brown case, a number of protesters destroyed and looted businesses across Ferguson, however, the progressives might agree with this action. On the other hand, the police’s using pepper spray and tear gas might be considered the violation despite the destruction of 25 businesses. The value of the destroyed property is not the most damaging part of this situation. Unlike the police attacking people of color in Birmingham, Alabama, in Ferguson people were destroying their own city and property, forcing the police to take action. Instead of gaining support from people across America, those in Ferguson made the police look like the victims of a horrible riot. Thus, movements like Blue Lives Matter were started, showing support for the police instead of the black community.
The Progressives Ignore their Own Privilege
The biggest problem with the Progressives is that they do not check their own privilege. They have a right to protest as a result of the U.S. constitution, they had the resources to go to college, and they can issue demands to the administration, which usually go their way go their way. They also don’t recognize the harm they cause to their fellow students. For example, the Progressives held up signs covered in fake blood and hurtful messages, attempting to disrupt a Lockheed Martin information session. This action jeopardized employment opportunities of hundreds of engineering students while claiming the company was degrading engineers by hiring them “for murder.” Their reasoning: Lockheed Martin makes weapons for the military and they are somehow to blame for the military’s use of these weapons. For all of the logical flaws and oversights in the progressive’s ideology, their intentions are good. They seek justice for historically oppressed groups, have a wealth of knowledge, and are strong in their convictions. However, one must also understand the consequences of the progressives’ policies and choose to act in the best interest of the university.