Tuesday, November 06, 2007

'Mom, Dad, I'm...'

Gawker has an interesting take on "coming out" as a conservative in a liberal academic setting.

5 comments:

Nick said...

This whole "coming out as conservative" shtick is starting to bother me.

When's the last time a conservative was denied a civil right, beaten up, or committed suicide because of his political leanings?

I get that it's not always easy, but maybe it would be easier if conservatives were nicer to non-white, non-male, non-straight, non-evangelicals.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy said...

It's not a perfect comparison, but it isn't entirely useless either. And while no one's killing himself for being a conservative, that's not to say that it isn't dangerous in other ways for society if dissenting viewpoints cannot be heard.

Anonymous said...

Conservatives in liberal settings always complain - but when you press them on the complaint it's always something that would seem like such a joke to poor people and minorities. You know - like losing a column or being pass over for tenure etc

It's worth noting that many liberals in the military feel silenced - cliques form around conservative religious factions.

But these things are all wrong, but are nothing compared to what poor people and minorities deal with.

Just in case - keep your copy of National Review tucked inside a copy of The Nation. j/k

Phoebe Maltz Bovy said...

What Nick and Anon both seem to miss is that to be considered on the right in certain settings does not require, say, being against gay marriage, being against immigration, etc. One can be called a right-wing nut-job for having centrist or libertarian politics, if the average in one's surroundings is far-left. I'm thinking here not of academia but of my social circle in high school.

I'm not sure why Anon. speaks of "poor people" and "conservatives" as though they are mutually exclusive.

Anonymous said...

Fair point - Anon didn't mean to suggest that poor people cannot be conservative - Indeed, conservatives can be poor and many poor are conservative - Anon was speaking intentionally imprecise shorthand. Anon has been relatively conservative compared to fellow students and colleagues - Then had the reverse experience of being relatively liberal in more conservative settings. You may have this shifting experience as time goes by.