Excuse me if this diary seems rushed and brief, I have a chemistry exam later today. But I have been steaming ever since I began to read the statements that Donald Trump has been putting out about the President, and how he was able to get into such prestigious Universities.
He graduated Magna Cum Laude, you Dipshit!! How is graduating at the top of one's class equated to being a "terrible student"? I don't understand how this guy is even being THOUGHT of as candidate material for the presidential race. He disgusts me. Now, I'm not here to argue about affirmative action and whether it is helpful or not because I have some rather strong opinions and I'm sure yall do as well. But let me propose a question to everyone.
Why is it that when a black student gets into a good University everyone fucking assumes it's because of affirmative action? Could it just be that the student worked hard to maintain good grades and deserves a spot like any other person?
I've experienced this myself. I attended a well known public University in Texas. Anyway, I believe that I deserved a spot at that University just like any other student. My skin color would lead some to believe that I was unfairly given a spot because my grades were not up to par of other students. Um no, that is not the case. Education was stressed in my house, C's, D's, and F's were not acceptable, and my brother and I HAD to do well. Hell, getting a 'B' was a big deal as well. We could not watch television during the week until 7oclock, I would spend hours at the library just reading. There was no other choice, my parents allowed me to satisfy my curiousity and thirst for knowledge. My younger brother would play with his magnifying glass and his microscope to inspect bugs and try to examine them. He is now seventeen years old; as well as a gifted varsity basketball player with an academic record to rival any other honor student and he plans of becoming an entomologist. I am proud of him. Failure was not even in our vocabulary. I understand why my parents stressed education so much and I am grateful that they did. I would not be attending college now if it wasn't for them. I say all of this, not to brag, but to try to paint a picture of the environment I was raised in. And I am not alone. Alot of black people and others grew up exactly the same way.
What makes me angry about the affirmative action accusations is not actually affirmative action itself, but the biases it produces in others. It discounts all of the hard work and ass-busting that people like myself put into getting good grades. This pisses me off.
Yes, this is a bit of a rant, but It's just sickening to see the actions that the far right are taking in this birther issue. I'm young, fairly new to politics so maybe I need to develop a thicker skin surrounding these issues, but I really get fired up. I've been reading this site since I became interested in politics once President Obama announced he was running. I see the disgust that some folks have for the way he's conducted his administration. Personally, I feel that he has done well, considering the despair this country has been through the past several years, but that's for another diary. I just can't believe that politics has sunk to this level. Truthfully, it makes me apathetic. I will still vote, don't get me wrong and support liberal policies. But I am not that enthused 18 year old I was during the 2008 campaign. The political game is not a game that I am willing to play.
Coincidentally, I just watched 'V for Vendetta' and V's words stood out to me. I leave them for you all to ponder: 'There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission...'