Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Thursday, September 6, 2018
Emma Chang
Ben Charlson
Joel Danilewitz
Samantha Goldstein
Emily Huhman
Tara Jayaram
Jeremy Kaplan
Lucas Maiman
Magdalena Mihaylova
Ellery Rosenzweig
Jason Rowland
Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Alex Satola
Ali Safawi
Ashley Zhang
Sam Weinberger
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ADITHYA SANJAY | COLUMN
McCain showed why compromise matters
O
n
Aug.
25,
Arizona
Sen.
John
McCain
passed away due to
complications from brain cancer.
After McCain was diagnosed
with glioblastoma last July, his
health
steadily
deteriorated
until he made the decision to
discontinue his treatment a few
days before his death.
The late senator was a naval
hero, having spent multiple years
as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
He retired from the Navy in 1981
and entered politics, blazing his
own legacy as both a champion
of conservatism and an ardent
believer in compromise. See,
McCain was a self-described
maverick: a politician willing
to cross political party lines
to
protect
his
values.
He
represented a brand of politician
that is largely absent from the
American political scene today.
I was shocked to see much
of the response to the senator’s
passing was critical. Instead of
celebrating McCain’s legacy, the
media largely used his death to
attack President Donald Trump
and even express dissatisfaction
over McCain’s ideology. In fact,
The New Yorker released an
article that focused on Trump’s
petty
response
to
McCain’s
death, calling Trump a “liar”
and “crook” instead of focusing
on McCain’s sizable legacy.
Why
couldn’t
people
put their ideologies aside to
celebrate McCain’s great career
and sacrifices for the country?
In
America’s
current
politically polarized state, it has
become increasingly important
to bring people from both sides
together.
While
reflecting
on McCain and his work in
the Senate, it’s imperative to
highlight and remember his
efforts to put politics above
party lines.
The
U.S.
government
is
extremely inefficient. It’s how
it was constructed. Efficiency
was compromised in favor of
checks and balances. With a
Congress that can switch parties
every two years and a president
that can switch every four, it
is very difficult to produce
lasting
legislation
without
bipartisan support. Otherwise,
legislation would just be rolled
back every time the party in
control switches.
Trump’s
rise
to
the
presidency
has
seemingly
damaged the social fabric of
the U.S., widening the rift
between
conservatives
and
liberals,
thereby
making
it
difficult
to
have
discussion
across party lines. Though much
of Trump’s policy aligns with
the moderate right, his rhetoric
and alternative facts have been
used to brand conservatives
as a racist, uneducated and
misogynistic group.
But it’s not just the right
that is hurt by this. On the other
side, the rise of Democratic
socialists has contributed to the
polarization. Political leaders
like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
and New York congressional
candidate Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez have developed the left as
socialist and at times intolerant.
This
marque
of
radicalism has become quite
counterproductive to achieving
true political progress in the
United States. The number of
violent groups on either side
has been increasing recently,
and as a result has created a
nasty facade to politics. People
actively
avoid
showcasing
their party allegiance publicly
and stay away from politics
entirely for fear of being
judged and attacked. In fact,
when I was canvassing for a
local candidate this summer
many individuals refused to
put up yard signs or even talk
to me for that reason alone.
Even
worse
than
this
is
the
rise
of
intolerance
for
even
hearing
out
opposing
arguments.
Many
top
conservative
thought
leaders and polemicists have
been actively shut out by
students
and
even
college
administrators
from
even
being able to simply share their
ideas on campus. The University
of California, Berkeley riots
in opposition to people like
conservative writer Ben Shapiro
were one of the many examples
of active infringements on free
speech rights.
At
the
University
of
Michigan, where a substantial
number
of
students
are
Democrats, it is important to
make sure the other side is
heard out and respected. We
must branch out of our own
echo chambers and try to at
the very least acknowledge the
validity of the other side.
The other day I had a
conversation with a couple of
friends who were of opposite
political ideologies. As politics
go, the discussion got heated at
times, but in the end we were
able to compromise on certain
issues.
Political
discourse
needs to be open and factual
discourse. No ad hominem. No
racism or sexism. Just free and
proper debate.
So
instead
of
creating
conspiracy out of McCain’s
passing or blaming the current
presidential
administration,
respect the senator’s legacy
by making an extra effort to
hear out both political sides.
Practice politics in the spirit of
the maverick. And who knows?
Maybe it’ll change your mind.
It sure did change mine.
Deplatforming political celebrities
HANK MINOR | COLUMN
M
ilo Yiannopoulos, the
“alt-right” firebrand
and
provocateur,
fell from grace far earlier
than many of the political
entertainers raised high by
President
Donald
Trump’s
election. He was permanently
banned from Twitter in 2016,
resigned from Breitbart as a
senior editor in 2017 and lost his
spot at the Politicon convention
in 2018. His college speaking
engagements,
once
a
major
engine for his career, have
largely dried up. Now, in front of
his much-diminished audience,
he’s melting down.
“I have been betrayed and
abandoned by everyone who
ever
called
themselves
my
friend, with a small handful of
notable exceptions … I almost
single handedly ignited the
current
debate
about
free
speech on campus and NO ONE
has ever matched my ability to
draw attention to these issues … I
have lost everything standing up
for the truth in America, spent
all my savings, destroyed all my
friendships and ruined my whole
life,” Yiannopoulos wrote in a
(lengthy) Facebook post.
I’ve never been entirely
convinced that protest with
the goal of “de-platforming”
ideologues is very effective.
Organization
against
highly
public
stunts,
like
college
speaking
tours,
seem
to
primarily
serve
as
fodder
for the Fox News outrage
machine.
“De-platforming”
has to have support from a
higher level — news companies,
tech companies and financial
interests — to truly work. That
said, Yiannopoulos’ accelerating
public decline has made me
reconsider, somewhat. Without
sustained
pressure
from
a
general mass of progressives,
would entities like Twitter and
Politicon have taken action
against Yiannopoulo’s in the
first place?
Political
celebrities
provide a circuitous method of
advertising. Radical websites
can’t pay for ads in The New York
Times, but their figureheads
serve a nearly indistinguishable
purpose
simply
by
being
covered.
“De-platforming”
Yiannopoulos,
however
it
happens, robs his fans of a
valuable resource: access to the
mainstream press. Furthermore,
feeling marginalized suppresses
meaningful political activity;
by reducing the clout of a
movement’s leaders, you reduce
its efficacy overall.
This isn’t a groundbreaking
observation,
admittedly;
there’s a reason people like
Trump, former State Secretary
Hillary
Clinton
and
New
York congressional candidate
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez draw
so much sustained criticism
and attention. The difference
between
a
politician
like
Clinton and a media figure
like Yiannopoulos, though, is
institutional power — influential
politicians
can
raise
their
defenses in situations where a
more isolated private citizen
cannot.
Yiannopoulos
didn’t
have the institutional power
necessary to preserve his status.
Was it protest, though, that
collapsed Yiannopoulo’s career?
Initially, his importance came
from his ability to provoke
direct action from supposedly
deranged college liberals — in
other words, protests. Now,
ceteris
paribus,
deranged
college liberals are responsible
for Yiannopoulo’s decline? His
departure from Breitbart and
expulsion from Twitter both
occurred after media scandals;
if
protests
had
continued,
sustaining his reputation, I
find it hard to believe that
either Breitbart or the Mercer
family would have reacted.
Protests
signal
some
segment of the country — and
therefore
some
segment
of
consumers — find someone’s
brand so repulsive that they’re
willing to show up in person
and spend their time repeating
their outrage. They don’t, for a
provocateur like Yiannopoulos,
scare
away
funding
that’s
already signed up for public
stunts and drama. Some might
argue violent protest, as carried
out by segments of antifa, is the
key; if Yiannopoulos cannot
speak
because
of
security
concerns, he’s clearly being
“de-platformed” (at least in
one area). There remain dozens
of
other
platforms,
though
(television, social media, etc.),
where
threats
of
violence
are
ineffective.
Physically
preventing
someone
from
speaking on one campus or
another does not prevent them
from speaking to millions of
fans online, or millions of live
TV viewers.
I believe protests are an
important
demonstration
of solidarity and a way of
demonstrating the strength of
one’s conviction. I’m also not
shedding any tears for wildly
popular,
well-compensated
celebrities being denied the
chance to make money and
headlines on college campuses,
either. I am still unconvinced,
however, that direct action with
the goal of “de-platforming”
people like Yiannopoulos is
enough. Preventing someone
from speaking on campus may
be
an
independently
good
thing, but it doesn’t appear
effective toward the larger
cause of removing someone
from the public stage. The
journalist who publicized that
clip of Yiannopoulos appearing
to defend pedophilia did more
damage to his career than all
of the people involved in the
subsequent protests, for all of
their righteous intentions.
It seems likely we’ll have at
least one campus controversy
this academic year over a
speaker on campus, and there
will — and should — be protests.
Organizing them with the goal
of “de-platforming,” though,
is to misunderstand the way
political
celebrities
wield
and grow influence. Denying
someone space to speak is
clearly effective, but only when
that denial is far reaching and
total — “de-platforming” one
head of the hydra does not
prevent it from growing back
two more elsewhere.
More than just a teen romance
AMANDA ZHANG | COLUMN
T
he
summer
of
2018
marks the revival of the
romantic
comedy,
or
rom-com — a genre once often
overlooked as artistically lazy
and trite. With major box office
hits like “Mamma Mia! Here
We Go Again” and “Crazy Rich
Asians,” it seems as though
Americans have finally admitted
to themselves an architect racing
against time to stop his one true
love from boarding a plane is
both exhilarating and satisfying.
As a lifelong fan of the classically
cheesy tropes native to the rom-
com, I was not particularly
shocked by the genre’s return
to the spotlight, but I was
pleasantly surprised to see the
influx of Asian representation,
especially
in
the
Netflix
original film “To All the Boys
I’ve Loved Before.”
Adapted from fiction author
Jenny Han’s young adult novel
and
starring
Vietnamese-
American actress Lana Condor,
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved
Before” follows Lara Jean Covey,
an endearingly awkward half-
Korean,
half-white
teenage
girl, after five of her privately
written
love
letters
are
unexpectedly mailed out. To
avoid confronting a recipient
of one of the letters, Covey
begins a fake relationship with
recently single Peter Kavinsky,
and teenage romance ensues.
On its surface, the film is light
and lovable
— the ideal late-night
Netflix indulgence. But as an
Asian-American girl who grew
up watching countless rom-coms
in which none of the female
protagonists had skin, hair or
eyes like mine, “To All the Boys
I’ve Loved Before” is much more
than a jovial tale of young love —
it is a stark reminder that until
very recently, Asian-Americans
have had virtually no leading
roles in Hollywood.
As much as I value what
actors like Jackie Chan and Ken
Jeong have done for the Asian
community, I would prefer the
representation
of
my
entire
race on the big screen were not
limited to kung-fu masters and
Mr. Chow from “The Hangover.”
Enter Covey, a relatable 16-year-
old girl who just happens to be
half Korean. That’s it. Covey does
not embody any classic Asian
stereotypes. She is not timid like
that freakishly quiet beatboxer
Lily from “Pitch Perfect” or
saddled
by
an
overbearing
tiger parent like Lane from
“Gilmore Girls.” Instead, Covey
is articulate and actually funny.
Her primary concern in life
is a fake relationship with a
cute boy and, before leaving
for her school’s annual ski
trip, she endured a painfully
uncomfortable sex talk with
her father.
Covey is the classic female
rom-com protagonist. Yes, she is
half Korean, but it is the subtlety
with which her ethnicity is
incorporated that makes “To
All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”
such an important work. This
film represents an extraordinary
moment
for
Asians
in
Hollywood,
not
because
it
blatantly censures deeply rooted
racism in the film industry, but
simply because the lead is Asian
and her ethnicity is neither a
statement nor a punchline.
Despite the fact that Covey’s
Korean heritage is never a central
plot point in the film, it does not
go
completely
unrecognized.
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved
Before” includes a number of
refreshingly subtle scenes that
introduce aspects of Korean
culture. In one of my favorite
moments, Kavinsky is picking
up Covey and her little sister on
the way to school and asks what
her sister is drinking. She is
drinking a Korean yogurt called
Yakuroto commonly found in
Asian grocery markets. The
charming love interest gives the
yogurt a try and playfully strikes
a deal with the sister, promising
to take her to school every day
in exchange for a bottle. The
scene is an endearing moment in
which Kavinsky begins to win
over Covey’s precocious little
sister, but it is also a delightful
example of open-mindedness
and cultural exchange.
Growing up as a child of
Chinese
immigrants,
I
was
always slightly hesitant to reveal
aspects of my culture. Out of fear
of appearing unconventional, I
used forks instead of chopsticks
around my white friends and
always suggested going to other
people’s houses to hang out.
While I have since overcome this
anxiety, Kavinsky’s immediately
positive reaction to the yogurt
and the casual manner with
which they discuss it are a
gentle reminder that exposure
to different lifestyles is the key
to promoting a more integrative
and
inclusive
society.
The
film’s subtle nod to a common
Asian household item offers
a
powerful
message
that
Hollywood thus far has largely
neglected
—
our
different
backgrounds are not meant to
be tucked away at home, but
instead shared with others.
Though Asians have seen a
rise in Hollywood representation
this summer, there are still
massive strides to be made as
the film and television industry
is still replete with archaic
standards of beauty and worth.
When she was first approaching
production
companies
to
convert her novel into a film,
Han reportedly turned down
multiple offers after producers
pressured her to whitewash
Covey. This is not particularly
surprising, considering it took
a quarter-century for a major
motion picture to anchor a
predominantly Asian cast with
this summer’s box office hit,
“Crazy Rich Asians.”
Needless to say, these films
featuring Asian leads were not
produced without their fair share
of adversity. “To All the Boys I’ve
Loved Before” is a momentous
film for the Asian community,
but it is not enough for the
little girls like me who grow up
believing only white women
deserve to be fantastically swept
off their feet. Hollywood needs
to do better.
Political discourse
needs to be
open and factual
discourse.
Though Asians
have seen a rise
in Hollywood
representation
this summer,
there are still
massive strides to
be made.
Amanda Zhang can be reached at
amanzhang@umich.edu.
Adithya Sanjay can be reached at
asanjay@umich.edu.
HANNAH MEYERS | CONTACT HANNAH AT HSMYERS@UMICH.EDU
Hank Minor can be reached at
hminor@umich.edu.