Help with a political disagreement.

[redstatebluegirl]

I just left the University after having a rather contentious discussion with a young graduate student. She is brilliant, I love her to death, but she is one of those that have read every single thing on the internet about Bernie and Hillary and believe all of it.

She said she "doesn't think Hillary has a chance to win but Bernie did", she said that the party dismissed Bernie from the start because the "powers that be" wanted Hillary and they were going to "do anything to make that happen". She used the term "rigged" over and over again. When I asked her what she sees as the problem with the party she pointed to me.

At that point I admit to doing something I rarely do with students I lost my cool. I told her I resented being seen as less a progressive or Democrat because I chose Hillary over Bernie. I told her I would have voted for Bernie had he been the nominee, I still feel that way although the Bernie of late has been making me pause. She did not believe me.

I told her if her generation wants to change the system, they have to learn the system and they clearly don't understand it. They have to register under the current system, become involved and make it easier to register if that is what they want. They need to run for office, or help others who share their views run. It has to start bottom up not top down.

Anyway, i feel awful about losing my cool with her, she is a very nice young woman but wow are they totally brainwashed by social media.

[BootinUp]

1. yep. They have no idea how hard it really is. nt

[redstatebluegirl]

3. I told her I came out of college in the 70's wanting to change the world.

I have tried as hard as I can but I am growing tired myself. It is time to hand off to her generation, her response was that as soon as we die off the 2 party system will be dead too. Ok then...

[sarae]

11. I know you said she's a very nice young woman,

but her statement was incredibly rude. As soon as the older generation "dies off"?

[Maru Kitteh]

12. Does her new utopia just euthanize at 40 or what?

[wysi]

13. Some of us had similar thoughts when we were younger

Aging isn't great, but wisdom is.

[tonyt53]

2. You last few words really are a telling story.

[missingthebigdog]

4. You treated her like an adult.

She's a graduate student!

I think one factor we have is that we have extended childhood into the mid to late twenties. In some ways, this is great: young people can stay on their parent's health insurance, and parents and other adults seem more supportive of giving them time to develop into who they want to be. But when it extends to protecting them from the realities of the world, or hesitating to confront them when they are wrong about something, we do them a HUGE disservice.

Too many people believe that if their assertions go unchallenged that makes them true.

[redstatebluegirl]

8. I have seen this in my work with students.

They are really high school students in terms of maturity. We aren't making them grow up. She got very angry when I took her on, even though I kept my tone pretty normal.

[DURHAM D]

5. This seems familiar.

Let me think.

Oh, I remember now...from my youth - "Don't trust anyone over 30".

Everything old is new again. Welcome back to the 60s - 70s.

[underthematrix]

6. One of the tragedies of Bernie's revolution is that it focused on stirring up

anger and resentment as a way to garner support for his message. While emotions can reinforce a person's passion for an issue it's not enough. At some point, reason has to kick in because there will be lots of people who will take the same set of facts and come to a different conclusion. I think Bernie forgot about the critical thinking part. All his supporters have left is their rage, their outrage, and their distrust of the very system they need to make the changes they want to see happen. President Obama always gave his supporters an out without demonizing the system. Hillary Clinton gave her supporters an out. She reminded them of the larger goal which was to move a diverse country forward based on shared values and policies that promote wellbeing for all Americans. But Bernie has locked his supporters into a very negative space that they may not be able to climb out of. What I'm concerned about is loss of healthcare, loss of LGTB equal protection under the law, the Consumer Protection agency, the further watering down of Dodd-Frank, the loss of the dollar as the global currency and poor people's children being conscripted into corporate wars around the world. This is some of what is at stake with a GOP controlled Congress AND Satan's idiot child in the WH.

[redstatebluegirl]

7. Totally agree, I think they are so angry they don't see the big picture or

the important stuff like the things you mention. I tried to tell her this morning what it was like for a woman when I got out of school, or even worse when my Mom did. She still thinks their lot is the worst and we are just dead weight. I really tried.

[BootinUp]

10. I wouldn't assume that the discussion will have zero effect. nt

[wysi]

14. Indeed...

He's good at picking targets for them to blame for their feelings that the future is not bright (and not as bright as that of previous generations), and stokes up their resentment and desire for retribution, but there is nothing positive there, no plan for how to achieve progress in a realistic manner. I can see why young people are attracted to it, but it's utter nonsense.

[DemonGoddess]

9. Some of them have their ears perpetually blocked to

listening to anything that is opposed to their viewpoint.

[drray23]

15. not sure what your field is

but if I had one of my grad students displaying a complete lack of critical thinking i would seriously question their adequacy to function in academia. I had a few bright students who were on the right side of the political spectrum. They had reached a different conclusion but it was well reasoned, not just whatever was trending on reddit.

Its one thing to differ , its quite another to be intellectually so lazy as to not research the issues and form an opinion based on concrete facts instead of social network buzz.

[redstatebluegirl]

19. She is a biology graduate student.

I am not a professor, I am a professor's wife so I interface with the grad students quite often.

[Corporate666]

16. Let's get one thing clear! There is NOTHING AT ALL wrong with...

.. preferring Hillary to Bernie.

I often see people talking about Bernie's inability to get his agenda passed, or his hard-line stubbornness being an impediment to progress (i.e. it's better to get some of what you wanted than to get none of what you wanted).

That's a bunch of, excuse my language, bullshit.

I prefer HRC. It's not because I don't think Bernie can get his agenda passed, it's because I think his agenda is vastly inferior to HRC's.

I don't think we should "break up the banks". I think "free college for everyone" is a pipe dream that will irreperably harm our world-leading higher education system. I think a financial transaction tax would be harmful just like it was when it was tried in Sweden. I think ditching Obamacare will leave us worse off. I think his plan to increase corporate taxes and add reams of new laws and red tape for businesses will hurt America. I think his plan to make the USA isolationist and be some kind of "robin hood" that goes after the wealthy for social justice is bad politics and bad governance.

There is nothing wrong with thinking that Bernie's ideas and plans are WRONG. I say they are provably wrong. I say he has done nothing but pander to the masses. He tells them they are being screwed over by X, Y and Z and then sells himself as a solution to that problem.

HRC isn't the backup candidate that we are accepting because BS just doesn't have the name recognition, or the support of the party or the media. HRC is the superior candidate. She wants to be a leader for ALL of America, not just the left-most of the left. She doesn't want to wage war on business or classes in America, she wants to work for positive change to move the country forward - together.

[skylucy]

17. Hey Redstatebluegirl---Please don't beat yourself up about losing your cool. The fact that she was

coming from a place that made her feel it was ok to point to you as "the problem" is an indication of her attitude and basic immaturity. For her sake, I hope that as she experiences life, she will learn important attributes such as empathy, humility and respect for others with different viewpoints. If she really is a "very nice young woman", she may also be thinking about what SHE said and how she acted towards you and feeling bad about it. Hopefully she will examine her attitude and do little soul searching. If she does not, she has a rough life ahead of her...both in her personal life and in her chosen career. And here is a hug for you redstatebluegirl!

[redstatebluegirl]

18. Thank you! I'm hoping she is thinking about this.