Student speaks out about racist comments on Penn State Women for Trump video
‘If you’re voting for Trump, at least be honest with yourself about the behavior you are excusing’
Amber Holder, a Senior majoring in Music and Musicology, drafted a Facebook post on Saturday evening about the comments made towards a black woman who protested the “wall” that Students for Trump built around the flag pole on the Old Main lawn.
Students for Hillary protested this event (naturally) and that’s when Penn State Women for Trump captured the video of one young woman destroying Trump signs. However, it was the comments that followed in the video’s thread that are truly horrendous, for a number of reasons, but particularly because of how blatantly racist they are.
Here are only a few of the atrocious comments:
After reading the comments about the woman in the video, Holder decided to speak out in her post, saying, “This election isn’t just about politics. This election isn’t private. This election is about HUMANITY.”
Holder’s full post:
The Tab reached out to Holder on why she decided to make this post and she had a well-voiced opinion on what led her to speak out. Her post now has over 119 shares and 161 other reactions.
Why did you decide to make the post?
As we’re getting closer to the election, and because of the emotional stakes and divisiveness, people – somewhat understandably – wanted to back away from the idea that Trump is an abnormally divisive candidate. I saw people trying to not really condemn Trump himself or the fact that people support him. When I saw the comments, I thought it was necessary to show that the racism, sexism and general bigotry claims that people have been making are not imaginary. I saw that video and clicked on the comments and I had to be confronted with the reality that Trump has indeed created a space where people think it’s okay to say things like what’s in those screenshots. I think at this point, we have all heard impassioned reasons why people are voting for Donald Trump, but I don’t think people have been fully honest about what accompanies voting for Trump… an association with a voter base that exhibits a flagrant disregard for the dignity and civil rights of many groups including: immigrants, the Latinx community, women of all races and creeds, black people, Muslims, the LGBTQIA community, people with disabilities and veterans.
Did you think that it would get this much attention?
To be completely honest, I still don’t have the full picture of what kind of attention the post is getting. I can only see the shares from my friends or people who shared it as a public post. I was apprehensive about making the post public, but I didn’t want it to sit in an echo chamber. Even if I think some of my friends were misguided in asking for respect for Trump voters, especially from people like me, they’re not who I’m directing the post towards. It was also not meant to be an indictment of the Penn State Women for Trump, who can’t possibly control what people comment on a public Facebook page. It was an honest attempt to reach the people who support Trump but at the same time have genuinely wanted to believe the world is better than this, that people don’t really stoop to this level. The people who don’t (or haven’t wanted to) realize how problematic a space he creates, and what a strong voice he gives to bigotry. It was meant to reach people who think that the left is simply trying to create a narrative to discredit Trump. I understand where that cognitive dissonance comes from. If only it were a false narrative, then we wouldn’t have to deal with the disconcerting idea that people actually think, feel, and say these things.
Holder says in her post, “I respect that everyone must make their choices. But when it comes to human rights, I think I have every right to qualify those choices and to evaluate character based on them… If you’re voting for Trump, at least be honest with yourself about the behavior you’re excusing.” This is the first election when a vote for a candidate arguably reflects more than just a vote for a political party, it reflects the voter’s character.
The fate of America’s character will be determined later today. Hopefully, Holder’s message resonates with more than just Penn State students as November 8, 2016 makes history.