amySwhitelaw

So here’s the thing.  I don’t identify with a party.  To quote Ferris Bueller, “not that I condone…any -ism for that matter.  -Isms in my opinion are not good.  A person should not believe in an -ism  He should believe in himself.”I have my causes.  I’ll argue them to the death.  Pro-choice, pro-gun, support our troops.  Those are things I believe in.  I believe a woman has a right to her body and her choices aren’t anybody else’s business, save for the doctor’s and to a certain extent, the father’s.  You could call me a gun nut, I believe a person has the right to defend himself or herself.  Hell, I have targets in my bedroom from when my dad took me shooting.  And I have some very good friends in the military.  And so whether or not I agree with the war, I will support the soldiers to the end.  Those are my views.  I believe in them, my voting reflects that, and if asked, I will support them.  But you won’t see me on Capitol Hill protesting.  You won’t hear me on the Quad yelling.  I am not an activist.

I am not a member of Student Government though I try to support the initiatives that coincide with my ideals.  I am not part of Women’s Initiative though I know they do great work. In fact, two of the executives, Leah Gates and Carmen Rios, are some of the most passioned and interesting people I have met at AU and I’m sure that carries over to the rest of the WI leadership.  (Carmen is always excited about her causes and ready to leap into action - something I envy - and I was fortunate enough to have Leah as an RA as a freshman and could not have been luckier).

But I stick to my activities.  It isn’t the causes on campus, it’s Mock Trial, Pep Band, that’s what gets me amped up.  And yet, ever since Alex Knepper posted his latest article, I’ve wanted to do something.

Knepper’s horrific rant on a subject he knows nothing about - namely being a girl at a frat party and the possibility of being sexually assaulted (because if I want to go out with my girl friends in an outfit that makes me feel confident and good about the way I look I MUST be asking to be assaulted and Alex Knepper is the one person so intune with females that he already knows that) - has made me realize that ignorant, hate-filled imbeciles have just as much of a voice as I do.  And if trolls like Knepper are allowed to use that voice, why shouldn’t I?

So I guess I should thank Alex Knepper for spewing such utter ridiculousness that it makes me, somebody who’s often content to watch others make a change, want to stand up and scream.  No, he shouldn’t be censored, I’m all for First Amendment Rights.  But if he can use The Eagle to spread his misogynistic tirades, why shouldn’t I use my voice and get out there and do something?  And if my voice (plus the voices of other bright young people, specifically the ones who have raised their voices against Knepper) are able to keep hate and misguided polemics out of the conversation, maybe we’ll all be a little better off.

Maybe next time, when I get that facebook invite about a WI meeting, I won’t just respond “Maybe Attending.”  I’ll attend.