Quinn Meyer,
Dubuque, IA
Growing up a white, conservative male in a suburban Midwestern town automatically attaches labels to me. We all live with labels. Some are self-assigned, and some are assigned by society. More labels I’ll add to my resume include Catholic, private-school educated, intact family unit with married parents and two brothers, healthy, and politically active to name a few of my labels. You probably already have an image of who you think I am. That is how society works. We assign labels, and then we assume they are true. Aren’t you sick and tired of labels? I am!
Never has there been a time in my life that I have felt the negative impact of labels than I have throughout this past election cycle. Labels and division between people were rampant and downright ugly. As a conservative thinker, I found myself in a minority position on my college campus. People accused me of being unsympathetic towards Blacks and minorities because of my political ideology. Political views are complex. My political views are more fiscally conservative- based and socially/morally conservative. I really don’t believe I have any racism in my thoughts. I have friends of many races and colors. I am sick of people labeling me and assuming I’m racist because I’m white and conservative. People have got to stop making assumptions!
