I write this article in response to an article posted on Buzzfeed earlier today. The article covered an incident at my college which is a Historically Black College and University(HBCU) when a couple of girls stopped by my campus for lunch wearing Trump paraphernalia(shirts, hats, etc.).
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the incident, two girls came into Howard’s annex café for lunch clad in MAGA hats. And almost immediately, the café was sent abuzz. Many students voiced their displeasure directly while others discussed it quietly amongst themselves. One of the girls eventually had her hat stolen(and eventually recovered) and both were subject to a slurry of “fuck you’s” and accusations of racism. Eventually, the two left claiming that they’re not ashamed at all of their ignorance/insensitivity.
#noshame #MAGA pic.twitter.com/h14x9pAo9x
— al (@allie_vandee) August 19, 2017
Now the article in question treats these girls like innocent children with no understanding of the rhetoric between the lines of their “Make America Great Again” hats and tees. Almost the entire text is spent apologizing for their actions, reiterating that nobody on the trip, student nor chaperone, knew that Howard is an HBCU and that the trip to Howard was unplanned.
One of the girls can be quoted as saying
“It shouldn’t matter if it was a black school or not…I should be able to wear it freely and not feel like I’m gonna be harassed or attacked verbally.”
The article also talks about how there were black students who traveled with them and didn’t say anything and how blame may rest with the chaperones.
Miss me with that. These girls are old enough to have their own political views, to stay up-to-date with the latest political news and understand that their views might not be well-received anywhere there might be colored people(like any metropolitan area). And small sidebar: black silence is not black approval.
And this does not surprise me one bit.
Despite Buzzfeed’s “diversity” they’ve still had a history of publishing distasteful race-based media (a la “Dear Black People”).
And here they are, back at it again. Trump outs himself as a neo-nazi sympathizer. A few days later, a set of girls voice their support for him in an almost entirely black space. And within two days, they’re gracing Buzzfeed as a pair of teens who dared to make a political stance in the belly of the beast.
I’m not about to sit by and watch Buzzfeed, the pinnacle of poor journalism, try to turn these girls into “a few people with opposing political views.” Let this come as a message to both them and to the world.
You will NOT walk into MY HBCU wearing apparel that advocates for my extermination.
So no. I will not ask you politely to remove your hat.
