I'm sorry, but I simply CANNOT agree with the idea that your political views are a core part of who you are. If anything, they're a result of the circumstances you grew up in. I'd go as far as saying that they don't mean anything to who you really are inside.

Your last paragraph is strangely Buddhist. O.o

Regarding the article as a whole: since people are highly reactionary, you only need to wait a few years before an election goes the way you want it to. Really, though, I think this is rubbish - vote for a person, not a party or a set of ideas.

— Gabriel Riccio '11 | Unregistered, Swarthmore

I appreciate what you said. Although I am part of the group of people who cheered every time a state went blue, I agree that some of the attacks on character and intelligence of the Republican candidates are completely unnecessary. I hope people stop making such remarks now that the election is over.

— |

I thought it was a bit silly to have a bipartisan election night party--who wants to be around a bunch of people cheering in your moment of disappointment? I'm also sorry you've heard the phrase "she doesn't have value as a human being."

On the other hand, when I go home over winter break to the place that is supposed to be the haven of equality and love, same-sex couples will no longer be allowed to marry there. So at least you can take some comfort in that.

— Cole | Unregistered, Swarthmore

Gabriel. i don't at all buy the distinction you draw between "core part of who you are" and "result of the circumstances you grew up in." I think pretty much all of the core parts of my identity are functions of the circumstance in which I was raised. My opinions reflect my environment, my identity reflects my culture.

— Seth | Unregistered, Non-Swarthmore

The status quo for people in my place, even with the election of a black man committed to running a raceless campaign and who may care more for gay rights than his opponent, still sucks. It's infuriating to see that some people still feel safe ensconced in their views when others don't feel safe speaking for fear of physical harm.

— Dan | Unregistered, Swarthmore

Rather nice column, this. I voted for the fellow who won, but it hasn't stopped me from fairly dreading the next week or so at Swarthmore, where everyone would either be jubilant or bitter. 7 days of misplaced revival meetings or a week-long series of ten-minute hates? It's hard to really favor either one.

At any rate, the Senate doesn't look like it will be filibuster-proof, president-elect Obama will hopefully surround himself with good people (Dick Lugar for Secretary of State), and Senator McCain gave a lovely concession speech. Things can't go all that badly.

— Dustin | Unregistered, Swarthmore

Misplaced? Obama is a pretty moderate guy, Dustin, relax a little and join in the people's outdoor meeting. I think we've been pretty tame overall after the last eight years of disappointment.

Chris, I shouldn't have assumed you were anti-gay marriage, but since you said people like me would be bitter at "most of what you hold most dear," I made the logical step.

— Cole | Unregistered, Swarthmore

I am a firm supporter of the right of republicans to exist, and I would much rather be around people who can challenge the way I think and make me feel uneasy than be surrounded by other progressives 24/7. In spite of this, I feel difficulty sympathizing with McCain supporters when we have elected a president who has, if the BBC is anything to go on, already improved the world's opinion of the United States. Obama may not be the messiah, but he is far more likely than McCain to lead this country into...you know..."the golden age".

Plus, if Obama were to die, Palin would not inherit control of the country.

So Chris, I respect you as a human being, and you're welcome to engage me in dialogue any time you wish, but I won't share my handkerchief with you.

Not that you would want to share a handkerchief with me. That's unhygienic.

— Argos | Unregistered, Swarthmore

Hey Henry -

Several Republicans who endorsed Obama mentioned the fact that though Obama may be a political liberal, he conducts himself in a conservative manner; with grace and moderation, and without the sudden outbursts or abrupt changes of strategy that have characterized McCain. McCain's campaign has seemed a string of shiny gimmicks (I'm going back to Washington to fix the crisis, Joe the Plumber, Sarah Palin in some sense) without a coherent strategy, while Obama has maintained a steady hand with a straight shot through the election.

Thoughts? The main lesson I've gotten from your column is that conservatism can be a way of life rather than a political philosophy, and I would have expected that your thought process would be more along the lines of "Well, I recognize that the country is going down the tubes, and we need a conservative person to guide us out of it." Perhaps I'm assuming you agree that the current economy (etc.) is bad and overestimating your appetite of change. In any event, I'm surprised that you prize the conservative of the modern Republican party before conservatism and moderation in the manner of leadership.

— Will | Unregistered, Swarthmore

Oh, Senator Obama I like a great deal, and if he's really the sort of pragmatist with a gift for rhetoric that he seems like, that may be what we need when only about 10% of Americans think we're on the right track.

But his supporters? I just can't get into messianic politics. Maybe that's just my temperament - I'm not really the enthusiastic sort, often, and possibly that's my loss - but I can't bear the kind of self-congratulatory triumphalism we get into around here. But then, again, I'm probably just too much of a self-loathing intellectual.

— Dustin Trabert | Unregistered, Swarthmore

When you speak out against smears and insults to political candidates and their supporters, do you speak out for everyone? Or just the people you support?

What are you trying to show us with this particular column? It seems like, in general, your purpose is to show us that there are people here who have experiences different from those of the average Swattie. Okay, there are Republicans at Swarthmore. But to imply that after the past 8 years, we (liberals) don't know what it's like to stand by and lose an election, or to see anger and bitterness directed at much that we hold dear is absurd. We understand how hard it is to lose, Chris. We even understand how hard it is to lose surrounded by people who are happy that we lost.

As for your "silly" view that "oh, it seems like my friends hate a core part of who I am": assuming that you're referring to your political conservatism, have you ever considered that those parts are, in fact, hateful? That policies that deny others their civil rights or their bodily autonomy are hateful? That waging war on a nation that did nothing to offend us is hateful? "Hate the sin but love the sinner", right?

— Ariel | Unregistered, Swarthmore

I have to admit Chris that I am saddened that it is with a sinking heart that you bear the news that the United States seems to be headed down a path that does a lot of people a lot of good, not necessarily within this country. It's hard to come up with an argument here without supporting your claim that I, among others, am one of those who participated in that campus of jubilation, and somewhat therefore incapable of reaching out to how you think and 'what you hold dear'. And hatred is a pure and simple misconception on your part - disagreement is the fodder by which we grow and learn, and I hope that if anything this experience will encourage you and make your realize that there is space for dialog and conversation.

If so many people are happy, surely there must be some reason to be?

— Rio | Unregistered, Swarthmore

Rio, if McCain had won and conservative campuses across the country were celebrating, would you still believe your own assertion (presented in the form of a question) that merely because some people are happy, there must be some legitimate reason for all people to be happy?

— L | Unregistered, Non-Swarthmore

You do not give your friends and classmates much credit. This has been true in past columns as well. Are you trying to demonstrate that your background is beyond our comprehension? Do you honestly believe that no part of your classmates can create connections, however tenuous? If so, I beg you reconsider.

Have you ever considered opening your mind to the possibility of respectfully acknowledging of others' ideals and vise versa? Defensive and offensive maneuvers belong outside the field of human interaction. A good friend of mine reminded me of a favorite anecdote I once related to him: you do not have to prove anything to anyone. You do not need to vindicate your unique background by shelving yourself in the "incomprehensible" category. Your unique background, as with everyone here at Swarthmore (yes! we are all different!) will come through by your actions and if genuine, will be understood and respected by those who know you.

— The Lonely Falcon | Unregistered, Swarthmore

Chris, I don't know whether you are aware of it or not, but not everyone can say "the status quo is not too bad" because, as Dan points out, it is too bad for a whole lot of people. While you should consider yourself lucky (even privileged) to not be someone for whom the status quo really doesn't work, I do think it's important to recognize that those people exist and deserve to be taken seriously. Seriously enough to work to change the status quo even when you're privileged enough to not even have to think about it.

Also, <3 Cole.

— Q | Unregistered, Swarthmore

L -
I stand by my assertion - when 7.5 million people vote for one candidate over another, I believe that there is reason to listen to them and the reasons behind the choices they made.

Rio

— Rio | Unregistered, Swarthmore

The tally for Senator Obama that I've heard, Rio, is about 63.9 million, with about 56.4 million for Senator McCain. Surely you can't write off that large a segment of the population as wrong? No - there's reason to listen to both groups of voters and the reasons they have for choosing either candidate. That's the responsibility that comes with making public political claims.

There's all sorts of status quos, and while the significant presence of inequality in this country (and, I suppose, abroad, but see to the mote in your own eye, and all that) is foremost among these, it is true that for Swarthmore College, the status quo is a liberal one. We owe it to ourselves and our country to even think about the other side being one with merits. The great mass of people aren't idiots, and they aren't insincere.

— Dustin Trabert | Unregistered, Swarthmore

Dustin--I think you're making huge assumptions about Obama supporters, which is ironic given that you are one yourself. I screamed and hugged a great deal when Obama won, but not because I believe he's the messiah or even because I agree with him on everything or think he's going to save the world. I do think that he will be very good for this country, and I didn't believe his victory was possible because the last eight years have made me very cynical about American elections.

"-- | ", and Chris as well, I'm not going to start on the "fairness" of attacks on candidates or people in this election, but I will say that *the* *only* character criticism I have made or would make of either John McCain or Sarah Palin is how low they have gone in terms of attacking the Democrats, who they have been willing to hurt, what bridges they have been willing to burn, what hatred they have been willing to inspire, in order to win. I would never suggest that they did not have value as human beings but I maintain my right to call people out on hateful and harmful rhetoric.

Q-- Thanks for the love and for the comment.

Chris, I look forward to discussing this stuff with you since I am curious which of your values you think "lost" in this election. Until then, I won't make any assumptions about your values, and although I encourage you to take Ariel, Will, Q, and the Lonely Falcon's comments to heart, I thank you for what was a pretty fair column on why being a political minority at this school can hurt.

— Cole | Unregistered, Swarthmore

Cole, on some level our respective views of the general tenor of Obama supporters probably comes down to one of opinion. Of course, the losing side in this campaign has often behaved in a pretty similar way, treating the possibility of an Obama victory as a harbinger of the apocalypse. I just fear that people are overreacting.

But, like I said, this may be more a matter of temperament than anything else - I'm not the enthusiastic sort.

Lauren, you've clearly got a strong point. I guess the one thing I would say, though, is that even when you're talking to people whose opinions we would hold in as low esteem or even contempt as those held by many who voted for Proposition 8 and for similar policies, there is still a pragmatic question of how to prevent similar outcomes, and I'd posit that that involves trying to see what motivates people to such positions. There is that percentage that can never be convinced, to be sure. In politics, you need to hit people where they live, and if we take the time to acknowledge that people are not simply bigots (I don't see you taking that position, either here or insofar as I know you otherwise), then do we have the ability to reach them. If you can respond to a fear that I suspect is often there, that the world is somehow unmoored from its hinges and that we, as mere mortals, are faced with the difficulty of navigating a landscape vastly different than our ancestors, then I suspect that there are inroads to be made. If it can be framed as a discussion, not just about legal rights, but about the true value of marriage, then maybe something can be down, but rights talk, apparently, doesn't go that far.

— Dustin Trabert | Unregistered, Swarthmore

I came back to specify that Dustin's comment that I was responding to was not the last one, but the one after my Ives reference (there's a riddle for you). And here I come back to find less than a minute later we're embarking on the great argument of absolute right and absolute wrong. Sorry guys, I'm way too emotionally exhausted to join in the crusade at the moment.

— Cole | Unregistered, Swarthmore

Chris, it's pretty clear that this column (at the very least this article in particular) is from your point of view. In the instances where you are trying to encompass a variety of views or make light of a situation with guinea pig jokes, it seems okay, if a bit bizarre, to use Henry as a narrator. But with this article, signing off with Henry's name just looks like a way to deflect attacks, be they on your opinion or writing style. I know you're not hiding behind a pen name, since you have taken credit as the author, but this is an opinion piece, not a satire or whatever you might call "Oh Henry"'s genre. I would have more respect for you as a writer if you actually took ownership of your column.

As for BYU, I do know a Obama supporter who is a student there. She seemed to be doing just fine - she did a lot of campaigning and was vocal about how proud she was to be a democrat. There is definitely a College Democrats group at BYU, as there is a College Republicans group at Swarthmore, and I'm sure that you had the opportunity to be involved in that group (and you probably were, based on the strong opinions you have on the election). I think if you strongly supported your candidate and did a lot of legwork for their campaign, you have every reason to be upset, but you should also be proud of the effort you personally gave towards bringing your beliefs to the world. I think that if Obama had lost, that's how my friend would feel.

I doubt that your friends truly hate a core part of who you are. The only reason I could think of for that is if, for example, you thought your friends shouldn't be allowed to marry. Then I could see some personal offense coming into play. As for most other things, hey, it's politics. I am a far left democrat, and I can say that I harbored no animosity toward my republican friends this election cycle, and I hope they felt the same way about me. If there's one thing for sure, it's that I don't hate any part of them for their political values - after all, they're my friends, and that would be ridiculous. I can disagree with my republican friends on political issues and still get along fine with them. My life would be pretty boring if I had the same opinions as everyone I knew.

— Sarah | Unregistered, Swarthmore

It takes a lot of courage to stand up to a normative majority, Chris, and I think you're doing it in a really constructive way. I look forward to more columns.

— Seth | Unregistered, Non-Swarthmore