#24 / Vaccination

For the folks I hang around with, in real life and in the online life I also lead, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump is not thought of sympathetically. If you are reading this blog posting, you probably don't like the idea that Donald Trump might be our next President. I certainly hope you don't like that idea!

This Quarter, I am teaching a course in the Legal Studies Program at the University of California at Santa Cruz entitled "Privacy, Technology, And Freedom." A couple of weeks ago, I met with one of the students in the course, to discuss his Capstone Thesis. This student happens to be a Muslim, and somehow, and I don't think I opened up discussion on this topic, Donald Trump came into the conversation.

Considering that Donald Trump has made an attack on Muslims a key part of his campaign, I didn't expect to hear what this student told me about his views of Trump. I expected to hear something like what standup comic Dean Obeidallah has said. Obeidallah reports that Trump's comments on Muslims sent a "shudder down my spine." 

To the contrary, my student thought that Trump's campaign was going to have some positive benefits, in that his obvious outrageousness would help mobilize a reaction towards inclusion and the celebration of diversity, which are genuine American values. 

Trump's outrageous fulminations will act like a "vaccination" against hatred. That's essentially what my student said. 

Here was a young person with confidence that we will have an ever-better future, and that present turmoil and challenges are only going to help get us there sooner. 

It's a refreshing view! And very likely true.

I do hope that!

Image Credit:

http://www.businessinsider.com/nbc-donald-trump-2015-6