Column: Campaigns flood us with reductive racial rhetoric. How can we push back?
In the face of President Trump’s continued attacks on the media, how can we push back?
With election season now in full swing, I have been thinking a lot about the campaigns we are running and the need to avoid the reductive racial rhetoric that has become all too common in our country. While the election is in the rear-view mirror, the media and its candidates continue to pile on what is fast becoming the “elephant in the room.”
I am of course not speaking only of the candidates themselves. The media itself continues to pile on, both online and through ads and editorials. The most recent example, the “bombshell” story that ran in the New York Times on Tuesday, just before the presidential election.
A bombshell story in the New York Times about President Trump’s behavior caught the media by surprise. If you have spent even four minutes reading the piece, you will find yourself scratching your head and trying to make sense of all the alleged actions of President Trump and his administration.
Take a moment to read the entire New York Times story. I have also included a link to the entire article. It is not going to be easy to digest the story, but once you do, I hope you will be inspired by the story to push back and say, “we need to avoid” the racial reductive rhetoric that is used in our campaigns.
(This piece contains language that some readers may find offensive, but it is intended to be humorous and satirical.)
There is only one way to make sure we avoid the reductive racial rhetoric we are seeing on the campaign trail. In the same way that we have taken the steps to avoid “elephant in the room,” we need to take other steps to challenge the negative messaging that is used in our nation’s political campaigns.
We must counter these attacks on minorities and women by simply saying “no thank you” to the negative stereotypes that we are continually being fed.
“No thank you” is much more than simple words. It is a strong, powerful action that demands that we take a stand against the reductive, stereotypical and often bigoted language we are being fed.
And just last week, we saw a stunning example of the
