General Editorials

Alrighty, welcome back anyone who liked part one of “The Perception of Privilege". Last time we were here we ended with the question of “What are your personal experiences with white supremacy?” with a discussion regarding White Fragility. Now, we will continue forward with analyzing these responses and all that they entail.  

“What are your opinions on our government's actions, strictly in the past: 1776 - 2000?” 

I asked this in order to shift the interview back to our country's dilemma, the struggle with race; but also to see if there are alternative views, which is exactly the result. Aniya stated that “Jim Crow laws were destructive, horrible, disgusting, and are still affecting us today. The government wants to sugarcoat slavery anyway they can. That influences a lot of people to [censor slavery and segregation]” (Hughes). Between 1890 and 1910, southern legislatures enacted racially discriminatory statutes and ordinances known as Jim Crow laws (Equal Justice Initiative). This American system of racial apartheid restricted the economic and civil rights of Black people (Equal Justice Initiative). That social construct, that Black people are a "plague", affected almost every aspect of daily life: mandating segregation of schools, parks, libraries, cemeteries, restrooms, transportation, restaurants and other private and public institutions (Equal Justice Initiative). Those southern and border states instituted poll taxes, literacy tests, and other policies to disenfranchise the vast majority of Black people (Equal Justice Initiative). Tactics of intimidation, violence, and lynchings terrorized the “so-called” freedom of Black Americans during this time (Equal Justice Initiative). These horrific events are being explicitly forgotten, “The Trump administration has ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks. . . including a historic photograph of a formerly enslaved man showing scars on his back” (Spring and Natanson). The order Trump implemented is interpreted broadly; anything addressing slavery, racism, sexism, LGBTQIA+ rights, or Indigenous persecution is now “fair game” for erasure (Spring and Natanson). But this isn’t new, since Trump has taken office he has consistently advocated for policies that minimize or outright erase the experiences of marginalized communities (Spring and Natanson). “From painting over a Black Lives Matter mural to temporarily scrubbing stories of Navajo Code Talkers from federal websites, his administration has treated Black and Indigenous history as disposable. . . Let’s call this what it is: whitewashing” (Spring and Natanson). “[L]earn and recognize the past, in order to move on. White men can't do that” (1 Anonymous). Speaking in general terms, Americans do not do well in learning and processing history in order to prevent the repetition of historical events; however, it is not just “White men” it is America as a whole. “History is not bunk. The Founders of the United States, men like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, believed that history was the most important subject for all citizens of a free republic to study” (Fears). “The Founders of the United States believed that the purpose of studying history was to make us better, better as individuals, better as citizens of a free republic” (Fears). American society, it does not think historically (Fears). “We do not use the lessons of the past to make decisions in the present and to plan for the future” (Fears). If our leaders thought historically, then America wouldn't have bombed Venezuela, or have a president who doesn't care for congressional approval. “The Trump administration. . . notified oil companies that it was preparing to nab Venezuela’s leader. . . But congressional leaders were kept in the dark about the early morning Saturday raid” (Wolf). 

My favorite response was from my father, “Our government was founded on the establishment and perpetuation of white supremacy and the subjugation of my people, all under the premise of the oppression of my people” (Wilmington-Richée). “[W]hite supremacy’ is the unnamed basic political system that has made the modern world what it is today’ and ‘that has shaped the world for the past several hundred years.’ It is the foundational element of government. Government is not the product of the consent of all men, who are inherently equal. Embedded in the social contract theory is a tacit agreement that government is the product of the consent of white men because personhood, and therefore, manhood, and therefore equality, is defined by whiteness” (Dodds). Now, shifting the perspective, all of these responses have previously resulted in a negative view of our government. What they all had in common was that they were Black Americans, I think that has something to say about the treatment Americans give to Black people. The other responses were similar but acknowledged the positive outcomes, “I think in the past they've tried to fix [the bad: abolished] Jim Crow laws, fought for slavery to be over, and I think we tried to fix our wrongs and teach them” (2 Anonymous). “[T]here was good stuff and I think that the fact that things have happened in the past shows that we've fixed it, and at some point someone tried to” (Cundiff). Who has tried to fix it? “It” being oppression, discrimination, forms of injusticeness. There are leaders today who are trying to “fix” the system and there are people in the past who have tried to “fix” the system. There has been progress with leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, John Lewis, Malcolm X, A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, James Farmer, Thurgood Marshall and many, many others. These activists paved the way to further movements that established more freedoms for minorities in America.“[W]e got the good and bad” (Wilmington-Richée). “We get to know and embrace other people that are different and similar to us. Racism isn't the shark in the water, it's the water itself, so how do we change the water?” (Kaufmann). All of these responses established that our government has not done only inherently bad things, but this switch in perspective is important to mention as often minorities only look at the oppression the system causes rather than the attempts at revolution. I state that as though oppression is not solved, for it isn't. Something that Lila pointed out. “In my mind, the [oppression that has] happened – aren't in the past but present today” (Cundiff). 

“What are your opinions on our government's current actions?”

Considering that our government is, to many people, being oppressive, I wanted to see others' opinions on this. “I think our president is trying to just point fingers at everybody and hating other people is not really leadership” (Anonymous 2). Ultimately, “[b]oiling down the country’s complex problems into simple tales of good and evil is not a tactic invented by Trump. All of history’s most successful political leaders, from the left or the right, have reached for clear narratives about heroes and villains to motivate their supporters” (Bidgood). However, Trump has been consistently willing to use moments of tragedy for his own political aims; in the opening weeks of Trump's presidency, he has gone further than his predecessors in laying blame on vulnerable communities (Bidgood). Moving forward, a couple of the responses were laughable in the sense that we must find joy in trying times, “He thinks he's God's gift to the earth, no one's better than the other” (Anonymous 2).“It's also this culture of worship of our current president that allows him to get away with anything” (Anonymous 3). One of the most striking themes of Trump's election campaign, that he had been chosen by God; yet even before the attempt on his life in 2024, millions of Americans already felt guided by their faith to support Trump (Maqbool). Still, today, it really is seeming more and more dystopian, “It feels like Animal Farm, a lil bit. Just waiting for the 6th chapter” (Hughes). Animal Farm, a dystopian novel by George Orwell. “The book is an allegory for the Soviet Union, and it critiques the Stalinist regime. Orwell believed that Stalinism was a form of authoritarianism, where those in power abused their authority and oppressed the people. Though described as a ‘fairy story’, Animal Farm derives nearly all of its events and characters from real historical events or groups of people.” It’s a highly recommended read (Davidson). In the 6th chapter it tells of rights being stripped and an authoritarian regime being formed (Hughes). While you could say, “Yeah, it could be worse” (Anonymous 1). We still shouldn't settle for an oppressive society nor a government system, “it's still terrible, they're trying to erase anything other than white” (Anonymous 1). “[T]his administration currently has the most racist and blatant bigotry I've seen in my life (15). They pretend it's good but it's not” (Cundiff). “As President Donald Trump has made clear in the first month of his second term, one of the major goals of his administration is to reinscribe the hierarchies of race and gender. The result would be to, once again, privilege for those who are white and male in a country that has spent decades moving, if haphazardly, toward integration and equity” (Miller). “I’ve known for a long time that our democracy won't work unless we work for it” (Kaufmann). Corrupt leaders exploit inequality and deepen polarization by encouraging a sense of grievance among the public; the mechanisms used are well-documented (Williams). “High inequality fosters political corruption, erodes trust in institutions, and enables wealthy elites to exert control over policymaking while reducing public oversight. As economic disparities grow, the idea of the common good declines, making room for zero-sum thinking and authoritarian appeals” (Williams).

“Do you believe White privilege is a good or bad thing?” 

I mainly asked this question since I see both the positives and negatives of White privilege, I was both relieved and surprised that others agreed with me. White privilege is not inherently a bad thing, afterall, one is unable to choose whether you inherit it or not but you should “talk about the [oppressive system] and be aware[, using] it for good” (Hughes).“What the [heck] Nariah, white privilege is blatantly, morally wrong, but I do think that it exists, you can't just get rid of it. It can be used to benefit minorities, white people honestly have the obligation to use their privilege to have their voices heard by the people who refuse to listen” (Cundiff). White people can use their privilege to support minorities, in turn suppressing the system's oppressive ways. Being willing to move out of their comfort zones, risk having their assumptions challenged, lives disrupted, and a way of viewing the world transformed is only the beginning (Morrison). Yet, I don’t know if White people have an obligation either. White people did not ask to be White in the same sense Black people did not ask to be Black; so while supporting those who do not have the same rights is the right thing to do, I understand why so many others don’t. Still, in an ideal world, I would prefer if others did educate themselves on their privilege and used it for good. Afterall “[t]o be white in America is not to have to think about it” (Morrison). Which is why when White people do recognize their privilege, it brings hope. “I’ve inherited that white male privilege, I didn't create that but I know and believe I’m to use it for good” (Kaufmann). 

“Do you believe white supremacy is a good or bad thing?” 

I knew that the respondents weren't going to answer that it was a good thing, but I still wanted to know for a fact. “[W]e had to be oppressed for so long; we still are and it's ridiculous that people are being praised for leading movements even though [others were never seen for doing far more in making] the world a better place” (Hughes). “Bad, it has no possible explanation or specifications that isn't purely racist, there's no justification for white supremacy with any remote or credible reasoning, only with blatant racism” (Cundiff). White supremacy is most definitely seen today. As the Make America Great Again movement has come to define the Republican party’s identity, the line separating the far right from mainstream conservatism has grown increasingly difficult to draw (Roston and Urquhart). The movement saw a huge upswing in demonstrations and protests in the early days of Trump's presidency; the activity being seen in the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally in 2017 (Spencer et al.). The rally was held in Virginia where violence erupted in the college town of Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017 (Katz). After hundreds of white nationalists and their supporters rallied over plans to remove a Confederate statue were met by counter-protesters, leading Virginia’s governor to declare a state of emergency (Katz). In the aftermath of the rally, many leaned into their belief that no “political solution” would solve the problem of multiracial democracy, only political violence (Spencer et al.). While White power activists and other far-right extremists continue to engage in acts of violence, they also feel empowered to once again return to the streets (Spencer et al.). Such groups as Active Clubs and Patriot Front have, for example, protested LGBTQIA+ inclusive events and drag shows, and held unannounced “flash” demonstrations aimed at intimidating communities (Spencer et al.). But ultimately White supremacy is just “a deliberate excuse to be cruel” (Anonymous 2).

“What party are you? (Democrat, Republican, Leaning left, Libertarian, Independent, Leaning right, non party voter, right in the middle, you don’t care for politics)”. 

The world is not just Black and White, we have brown and even an orange guy (though I don’t like him all that much) and because of this, people are going to have different opinions to others; I wanted to note these differences.  “I am leaning more left, because some things that [the democrats say,] I don’t understand [and it can be a bit questionable] (Hughes). Both the Democratic and Republican party consist of capitalist ideals that ultimately benefit the wealthy; the difference is that the Democrats are better at hiding it by providing enticing gifts like equality. “Democrats favor higher taxes and bigger government to solve the nation’s domestic problems, including help for the poor and boosting economic mobility. . . [t]hese underlying tendencies of the electorate regarding support for higher taxes and greater government responsibility would seem to give Democrats an inherent advantage with the poor and marginalized and with voters who are concerned about poverty and opportunity” (Haskins). However, polls have shown that Republicans are less committed to using the federal government to help the poor or to reduce the income gap between the rich and the rest of Americans (Haskins). I am a proud Democrat, one part of it is because I noticed that most Republicans are against everything but white people; even if it's a Black republican it seems like they're against themselves” (Anonymous 1). Being Republican and Black is contradicting with the Republican party's current main candidate, Trump. While, as stated previously, the world consists of grey areas where there are people who fall out of line, me being an example. I am not a part of either group, I am center; not in favor of a mascot, whether an elephant or a donkey. Meaning if a Republican candidate came along with beliefs and morals I align with then I would vote for them. Something Lila had also stated, “aligning yourself with just one party over others isn't representing it well. So I vote for values but more of them with the current democrats” (Cundiff). Now, as it seems important to highlight, not all republicans are MAGA and therefore not all Republicans support Trump. Before the party switch, beginning in the 1930’s, the Republican Party stood against the extension of slavery to the country’s new territories and, ultimately, for slavery’s complete abolition (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). However, after the party switch, the party came to be associated with laissez-faire capitalism, low taxes, and conservative social policies (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). The Republican party was founded by many but a notable mention is Thomas Jefferson, who later made the Democratic-Republican party, now known as the Democrats (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). To reiterate, the Republican party was first closer aligned to the 21st century Democratic party, hence the name, “party switch” (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). Though in order to subjugate the line between the wealthy and the middle class, we’ll need substantial support for American freedom to offset slides into short-term security; in Americans rallying for support of deep reductions in the role of money in politics, and that applies to both parties (Croce).

The world is often grey and so, other parties are often made, like the Green party; but different ideals of government is always an option. My father had stated that he was an anarchist (Willmington-Richée). An anarchist is one who desires no government; a person who rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power (Merriam-Webster). Sounds nice if I’m going to be honest. However, anarchy is closely aligned with violence (Merriam-Webster). My dad describes it differently, “[t]he basic idea was a return to the original state of mankind when there were no governments. . . When I say, ‘original state,’ I mean so from my theological point of view. (. . . I’m a Christian!) My understanding of creation and the fall of mankind is that there was a time, before sin, when there were people and no government. That can only work of course if people stopped being the way we are” (Substack).

Has our government harmed you and, if so, how?

I know for a fact that the government has harmed me and others around me. Is it as common as I think? “specifically as a young black woman, they don't expect me to go very far, thinking we’re hoodlums but we’re not” (1 Anonymous). 

The war on drugs, officially inaugurated by Nixon in June 1971, used drug laws to selectively target specific communities (Dholakia). “Black and brown people are disproportionately impacted by drug enforcement and sentencing practices. Rates of drug use and sales are similar across racial and ethnic lines, but Black and Latinx people are far more likely than white people to be stopped, searched, arrested, convicted, harshly sentenced, and saddled with a lifelong criminal record” (Dholakia). Aggressive criminalization of certain drugs, targeted heavily against certain communities; it’s a method of oppressing, disrupting, and disempowering marginalized communities (NACDL). “[B]y getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and the blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news” (NACDL). “Yes [the government has harmed me], I’m a Black man, there is insufficient space to document all the ways how” (Wilmington-Richée). Others had stated they don’t see how our leaders have wronged their citizens, yet not denying that there is something at play, “At this moment in time, our government has done things to harm me, but has not majorly affected me yet. But have set things into effect with the opportunity to harm me” (Cundiff). “Trump’s actions, including his broad slashing of international aid, both cause direct harm and encourage other world leaders to walk away from women’s rights” (Barr). “For years, most mainstream politicians saw advancing the rights of ‘women and girls’ as a priority, even if the reality did not always match the rhetoric. Doing so often seemed uncontroversial and bipartisan. . . Yet today, we are struggling to slow the loss of rights’ protections. Trump’s attack on women’s rights within the US has already gravely damaged respect for reproductive rights and is having a much broader impact on the health and economic rights of women and girls inside the United States” (Barr). The Trump administration’s assault on efforts to redress inequities based on historical and current forms of racism and other forms of discrimination (DEI) is having a chilling impact (Barr) Even the word gender is an anathema to the US government, with the US mission to the UN seeking to remove this word from every UN resolution (Barr). Absolutely idiotic, decades of hard work went into providing women the rights we currently had and Trump is setting the system to where only wealthy White men will have a time of day.

“They. . . affected my funds by going to jail, which wasn't the best. My students were being treated differently. “On May 31, I was with my fiancé (Stephanie Kornexl) and a former student (Ariana Tulay) in downtown Louisville marching and chanting, ‘No Justice! No Peace’ (Kaufmann)! “We ended up being trapped after curfew with the rest of the peaceful protesters. I livestreamed what I could, but it was difficult because the police were attacking us with tear gas, flash bangs and various projectiles. The group of protesters were forced to splinter in several smaller factions. . . everywhere we turned, police were blocking off streets and shooting us with tear gas” (Kaufmann). He was arrested that same night, the police treated him more courteously than the many Black men and women who were there that day (Kaufmann). Honestly we talk of reconstruction not being a part of education, that hurts everyone when we're denied the truth (Kaufmann). Reconstruction (1865-1877) was the turbulent era following the Civil War; it was the effort to “reintegrate southern states from the Confederacy and 4 million newly freed people into the United States. Under the administration of President Andrew Johnson in 1865 and 1866, new southern state legislatures passed restrictive ‘Black Codes’ to control the labor and behavior of former enslaved people and other Black Americans” (Editors). “Americans are appallingly ignorant of the history of racism in the United States. Yet it’s not a singular void. Americans are appallingly ignorant of U.S. history, period. Our lack of knowledge regarding the nation’s racist past in particular is a symptom of our lack of historical knowledge in general” (Snyder).

“Any other opinions?” 

During each of these interviews we had conversations that didn’t make it in as they were side conversations or just private conversations, but there were a couple responses that were funny and some that were sad; still, ultimately, they gave the mindset of the ones I interviewed. My mother, as I had stated in part one, was an example of white fragility, “I don’t like the questions. (she was very angry) “You made me feel like a bad guy and that White people are bad” (Wilmington-Richée). In our interview she was hurt and felt targeted by my questions, my dad felt the same, “I feel that these questions are not good for white people, and are attempting to do too much with improper phrasing” (Wilmington-Richée). I was not attempting to target either race with my questions, I simply wanted to see how aware the people around me are, regarding these topics. Through my mother’s response, I was reminded that race really does have a role in how people and society as a whole thinks. Black people have to be aware in their day to day lives of these privileges that others are allowed, if not, they are at risk of being targeted. White people simply do not have to think about race and their safety. Something that gave me hope was that Matt thinks “kids are the future. They are inheriting this country and we have the duty to think of the generations ahead, when we are thinking and planning. Adults need to do better. We don’t think enough of that. We need people who take the long view, 7 generations ahead as Indigenous people taught” (Kaufmann) I was glad that someone acknowledges the need to help the future and heal the past. 

Alright, this article is done. A consensus of many others' thoughts and opinions being validated or disproven but still stated as humanity needs to understand one another. But I want to end it with thought, the study of history has a moral purpose (Fears). We believe that we are immune to the lessons – the laws – of history (Fears). We believe that our modern science and technology has lifted us above the lessons of history (Fears). To Americans specifically, our founders understood the lessons of history are to endure as human nature never truly changes (Fears). “All the human emotions are the same today as in Egypt of the pharaohs or China in the time of Confucius: Love, hate, ambition, the lust for power, kindness, generosity, and inhumanity. The good and bad of human nature is simply poured into new vehicles created by science and technology” (Fears). “Racism isn't the shark in the water, it's the water itself,so how do you change the water?” (Kaufmann).

Resources

Barr, Heather. “Trump Spurs Global Rollback on the Rights of Women and Girls.” Human Rights Watch, 7 May 2025, www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/07/trump-spurs-global-rollback-rights-women-and-girls.

Bidgood, Jess. “Why Scapegoating Works for Trump.” The New York Times, 4 Feb. 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/us/politics/trump-blame-politics.html.

Croce, Paul J. “Deeper than the ‘Deep State’: Follow the Money | Origins.” Origins, 10 July 2025, origins.osu.edu/read/deeper-deep-state-follow-money.

Daniels, Nicole. “What Students Are Saying about Race and Racism in America.” The New York Times, 18 Feb. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-race-and-racism-in-america.html.

Davidson, Lucy. “Animal Farm by George Orwell – Summary and Themes.” History Hit, 1 Jan. 2022, www.historyhit.com/culture/animal-farm-summary-and-themes/.

Dholakia, Nazish. “Fifty Years Ago Today, President Nixon Declared the War on Drugs.” Vera Institute of Justice, 17 June 2021, www.vera.org/news/fifty-years-ago-today-president-nixon-declared-the-war-on-drugs.

Dodds, Ciji. “The Constitution as a Racial Contract.” Scholarship Law, University of Pennsylvania, 2024, scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1298&context=jlasc#:~:text=42%20Mills’%20premise%20is%20that,supremacy%20is%20the%20unnamed%20basic&text=subjugate%20Black%20people’s%20lives%20to,The%20punishments%2C%20such%20as%2C%20whipping%2C.

Editors, History. com. “Reconstruction - Civil War End, Changes & Act of 1867 | HISTORY.” HISTORY, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/articles/reconstruction.

Equal Justice Initiative. “Jim Crow Laws.” Equal Justice Initiative, 1 May 2014, eji.org/news/history-racial-injustice-jim-crow-laws/.

Fears, J. Rufus. “Why We Refuse to Learn from History.” Big Think, 5 Sept. 2011, bigthink.com/guest-thinkers/why-we-refuse-to-learn-from-history/.

Haskins, Ron. “What Are the Presidential Candidates Saying about Poverty and Opportunity?” Brookings, 29 Feb. 2016, www.brookings.edu/articles/what-are-the-presidential-candidates-saying-about-poverty-and-opportunity/.

Katz, Andrew. “Scenes from the Deadly Unrest in Charlottesville.” TIME, 2017, time.com/charlottesville-white-nationalist-rally-clashes/.

Kaufmann, Matthew. “Protester: We Were Hunted down and Arrested. Then I Saw How Police Act behind Closed Doors.” The Courier-Journal, Louisville Courier Journal, 11 June 2020, www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2020/06/11/breonna-taylor-protests-police-hunted-arrested-and-mistreated-us/5328440002/.

Maqbool, Aleem. “The Christians Who See Trump as Their Saviour.” BBC, 16 Nov. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20g1zvgj4do.

Merriam-Webster. “Definition of ANARCHIST.” Merriam-Webster.com, 2019, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anarchist.

Miller, Cassie. “Bigoted Beliefs, Racist Ties Found among Some of President Trump’s Appointees.” Southern Poverty Law Center, 6 Mar. 2025, www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/bigoted-beliefs-racist-ties-found-among-president-trumps-appointees/.

Morrison, Melanie. “Becoming Trustworthy White Allies | Reflections.” Yale.edu, 2000, reflections.yale.edu/article/future-race/becoming-trustworthy-white-allies.

NACDL. “Race and the War on Drugs.” National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 29 Nov. 2022, www.nacdl.org/Content/Race-and-the-War-on-Drugs.

Roston, Aram, and Jim Urquhart. “American Nazis: The Aryan Freedom Network Is Riding High in Trump Era.” Reuters, 8 Aug. 2025, www.reuters.com/investigations/american-nazis-aryan-freedom-network-is-riding-high-trump-era-2025-08-08/.

Snyder, Jeffrey Aaron. “Why Americans Don’t Know Enough about Black History.” Washington Monthly, 10 Dec. 2021, washingtonmonthly.com/2021/12/10/why-americans-dont-know-enough-about-black-history/.

Spencer, Richard Bertrand, et al. “White Nationalist.” Southern Poverty Law Center, 10 Jan. 2025, www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/white-nationalist/.

Spring, Jake, and Hannah Natanson. “Our National Parks in Crisis: Trump’s Administration Continues Its Effort to Censor History | ANPR.” Anpr.org, 2025, www.anpr.org/release/2025/0923.

Substack. “Kamarr Richée.” Substack.com, 2025, substack.com/@knazehrite/p-184058382.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Republican Party.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Jan. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Republican-Party.

Williams, Ray. “How Rising Inequality Threatens American Democracy.” Medium, 13 July 2025, docs.google.com/document/d/1mw1WrYZ3xwkRUXYd1hgc0cz9jNEHOcl6vg1fZTwsgZs/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.e4m2dig3h365.

Wolf, Zachary B. “Congressional Republicans Are Running out of Powers to Give Trump.” CNN, 6 Jan. 2026, www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/politics/congress-trump-war-powers-act-analysis.

Alrighty, welcome back anyone who liked part one of “The Perception of Privilege". Last time we were here we ended with the question of “What are your personal experiences with white supremacy?” with a discussion regarding White Fragility. Now, we will continue forward with analyzing these responses and all that they entail.  

“What are your opinions on our government's actions, strictly in the past: 1776 - 2000?” 

I asked this in order to shift the interview back to our country's dilemma, the struggle with race; but also to see if there are alternative views, which is exactly the result. Aniya stated that “Jim Crow laws were destructive, horrible, disgusting, and are still affecting us today. The government wants to sugarcoat slavery anyway they can. That influences a lot of people to [censor slavery and segregation]” (Hughes). Between 1890 and 1910, southern legislatures enacted racially discriminatory statutes and ordinances known as Jim Crow laws (Equal Justice Initiative). This American system of racial apartheid restricted the economic and civil rights of Black people (Equal Justice Initiative). That social construct, that Black people are a "plague", affected almost every aspect of daily life: mandating segregation of schools, parks, libraries, cemeteries, restrooms, transportation, restaurants and other private and public institutions (Equal Justice Initiative). Those southern and border states instituted poll taxes, literacy tests, and other policies to disenfranchise the vast majority of Black people (Equal Justice Initiative). Tactics of intimidation, violence, and lynchings terrorized the “so-called” freedom of Black Americans during this time (Equal Justice Initiative). These horrific events are being explicitly forgotten, “The Trump administration has ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks. . . including a historic photograph of a formerly enslaved man showing scars on his back” (Spring and Natanson). The order Trump implemented is interpreted broadly; anything addressing slavery, racism, sexism, LGBTQIA+ rights, or Indigenous persecution is now “fair game” for erasure (Spring and Natanson). But this isn’t new, since Trump has taken office he has consistently advocated for policies that minimize or outright erase the experiences of marginalized communities (Spring and Natanson). “From painting over a Black Lives Matter mural to temporarily scrubbing stories of Navajo Code Talkers from federal websites, his administration has treated Black and Indigenous history as disposable. . . Let’s call this what it is: whitewashing” (Spring and Natanson). “[L]earn and recognize the past, in order to move on. White men can't do that” (1 Anonymous). Speaking in general terms, Americans do not do well in learning and processing history in order to prevent the repetition of historical events; however, it is not just “White men” it is America as a whole. “History is not bunk. The Founders of the United States, men like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, believed that history was the most important subject for all citizens of a free republic to study” (Fears). “The Founders of the United States believed that the purpose of studying history was to make us better, better as individuals, better as citizens of a free republic” (Fears). American society, it does not think historically (Fears). “We do not use the lessons of the past to make decisions in the present and to plan for the future” (Fears). If our leaders thought historically, then America wouldn't have bombed Venezuela, or have a president who doesn't care for congressional approval. “The Trump administration. . . notified oil companies that it was preparing to nab Venezuela’s leader. . . But congressional leaders were kept in the dark about the early morning Saturday raid” (Wolf). 

My favorite response was from my father, “Our government was founded on the establishment and perpetuation of white supremacy and the subjugation of my people, all under the premise of the oppression of my people” (Wilmington-Richée). “[W]hite supremacy’ is the unnamed basic political system that has made the modern world what it is today’ and ‘that has shaped the world for the past several hundred years.’ It is the foundational element of government. Government is not the product of the consent of all men, who are inherently equal. Embedded in the social contract theory is a tacit agreement that government is the product of the consent of white men because personhood, and therefore, manhood, and therefore equality, is defined by whiteness” (Dodds). Now, shifting the perspective, all of these responses have previously resulted in a negative view of our government. What they all had in common was that they were Black Americans, I think that has something to say about the treatment Americans give to Black people. The other responses were similar but acknowledged the positive outcomes, “I think in the past they've tried to fix [the bad: abolished] Jim Crow laws, fought for slavery to be over, and I think we tried to fix our wrongs and teach them” (2 Anonymous). “[T]here was good stuff and I think that the fact that things have happened in the past shows that we've fixed it, and at some point someone tried to” (Cundiff). Who has tried to fix it? “It” being oppression, discrimination, forms of injusticeness. There are leaders today who are trying to “fix” the system and there are people in the past who have tried to “fix” the system. There has been progress with leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, John Lewis, Malcolm X, A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, James Farmer, Thurgood Marshall and many, many others. These activists paved the way to further movements that established more freedoms for minorities in America.“[W]e got the good and bad” (Wilmington-Richée). “We get to know and embrace other people that are different and similar to us. Racism isn't the shark in the water, it's the water itself, so how do we change the water?” (Kaufmann). All of these responses established that our government has not done only inherently bad things, but this switch in perspective is important to mention as often minorities only look at the oppression the system causes rather than the attempts at revolution. I state that as though oppression is not solved, for it isn't. Something that Lila pointed out. “In my mind, the [oppression that has] happened – aren't in the past but present today” (Cundiff). 

“What are your opinions on our government's current actions?”

Considering that our government is, to many people, being oppressive, I wanted to see others' opinions on this. “I think our president is trying to just point fingers at everybody and hating other people is not really leadership” (Anonymous 2). Ultimately, “[b]oiling down the country’s complex problems into simple tales of good and evil is not a tactic invented by Trump. All of history’s most successful political leaders, from the left or the right, have reached for clear narratives about heroes and villains to motivate their supporters” (Bidgood). However, Trump has been consistently willing to use moments of tragedy for his own political aims; in the opening weeks of Trump's presidency, he has gone further than his predecessors in laying blame on vulnerable communities (Bidgood). Moving forward, a couple of the responses were laughable in the sense that we must find joy in trying times, “He thinks he's God's gift to the earth, no one's better than the other” (Anonymous 2).“It's also this culture of worship of our current president that allows him to get away with anything” (Anonymous 3). One of the most striking themes of Trump's election campaign, that he had been chosen by God; yet even before the attempt on his life in 2024, millions of Americans already felt guided by their faith to support Trump (Maqbool). Still, today, it really is seeming more and more dystopian, “It feels like Animal Farm, a lil bit. Just waiting for the 6th chapter” (Hughes). Animal Farm, a dystopian novel by George Orwell. “The book is an allegory for the Soviet Union, and it critiques the Stalinist regime. Orwell believed that Stalinism was a form of authoritarianism, where those in power abused their authority and oppressed the people. Though described as a ‘fairy story’, Animal Farm derives nearly all of its events and characters from real historical events or groups of people.” It’s a highly recommended read (Davidson). In the 6th chapter it tells of rights being stripped and an authoritarian regime being formed (Hughes). While you could say, “Yeah, it could be worse” (Anonymous 1). We still shouldn't settle for an oppressive society nor a government system, “it's still terrible, they're trying to erase anything other than white” (Anonymous 1). “[T]his administration currently has the most racist and blatant bigotry I've seen in my life (15). They pretend it's good but it's not” (Cundiff). “As President Donald Trump has made clear in the first month of his second term, one of the major goals of his administration is to reinscribe the hierarchies of race and gender. The result would be to, once again, privilege for those who are white and male in a country that has spent decades moving, if haphazardly, toward integration and equity” (Miller). “I’ve known for a long time that our democracy won't work unless we work for it” (Kaufmann). Corrupt leaders exploit inequality and deepen polarization by encouraging a sense of grievance among the public; the mechanisms used are well-documented (Williams). “High inequality fosters political corruption, erodes trust in institutions, and enables wealthy elites to exert control over policymaking while reducing public oversight. As economic disparities grow, the idea of the common good declines, making room for zero-sum thinking and authoritarian appeals” (Williams).

“Do you believe White privilege is a good or bad thing?” 

I mainly asked this question since I see both the positives and negatives of White privilege, I was both relieved and surprised that others agreed with me. White privilege is not inherently a bad thing, afterall, one is unable to choose whether you inherit it or not but you should “talk about the [oppressive system] and be aware[, using] it for good” (Hughes).“What the [heck] Nariah, white privilege is blatantly, morally wrong, but I do think that it exists, you can't just get rid of it. It can be used to benefit minorities, white people honestly have the obligation to use their privilege to have their voices heard by the people who refuse to listen” (Cundiff). White people can use their privilege to support minorities, in turn suppressing the system's oppressive ways. Being willing to move out of their comfort zones, risk having their assumptions challenged, lives disrupted, and a way of viewing the world transformed is only the beginning (Morrison). Yet, I don’t know if White people have an obligation either. White people did not ask to be White in the same sense Black people did not ask to be Black; so while supporting those who do not have the same rights is the right thing to do, I understand why so many others don’t. Still, in an ideal world, I would prefer if others did educate themselves on their privilege and used it for good. Afterall “[t]o be white in America is not to have to think about it” (Morrison). Which is why when White people do recognize their privilege, it brings hope. “I’ve inherited that white male privilege, I didn't create that but I know and believe I’m to use it for good” (Kaufmann). 

“Do you believe white supremacy is a good or bad thing?” 

I knew that the respondents weren't going to answer that it was a good thing, but I still wanted to know for a fact. “[W]e had to be oppressed for so long; we still are and it's ridiculous that people are being praised for leading movements even though [others were never seen for doing far more in making] the world a better place” (Hughes). “Bad, it has no possible explanation or specifications that isn't purely racist, there's no justification for white supremacy with any remote or credible reasoning, only with blatant racism” (Cundiff). White supremacy is most definitely seen today. As the Make America Great Again movement has come to define the Republican party’s identity, the line separating the far right from mainstream conservatism has grown increasingly difficult to draw (Roston and Urquhart). The movement saw a huge upswing in demonstrations and protests in the early days of Trump's presidency; the activity being seen in the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally in 2017 (Spencer et al.). The rally was held in Virginia where violence erupted in the college town of Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017 (Katz). After hundreds of white nationalists and their supporters rallied over plans to remove a Confederate statue were met by counter-protesters, leading Virginia’s governor to declare a state of emergency (Katz). In the aftermath of the rally, many leaned into their belief that no “political solution” would solve the problem of multiracial democracy, only political violence (Spencer et al.). While White power activists and other far-right extremists continue to engage in acts of violence, they also feel empowered to once again return to the streets (Spencer et al.). Such groups as Active Clubs and Patriot Front have, for example, protested LGBTQIA+ inclusive events and drag shows, and held unannounced “flash” demonstrations aimed at intimidating communities (Spencer et al.). But ultimately White supremacy is just “a deliberate excuse to be cruel” (Anonymous 2).

“What party are you? (Democrat, Republican, Leaning left, Libertarian, Independent, Leaning right, non party voter, right in the middle, you don’t care for politics)”. 

The world is not just Black and White, we have brown and even an orange guy (though I don’t like him all that much) and because of this, people are going to have different opinions to others; I wanted to note these differences.  “I am leaning more left, because some things that [the democrats say,] I don’t understand [and it can be a bit questionable] (Hughes). Both the Democratic and Republican party consist of capitalist ideals that ultimately benefit the wealthy; the difference is that the Democrats are better at hiding it by providing enticing gifts like equality. “Democrats favor higher taxes and bigger government to solve the nation’s domestic problems, including help for the poor and boosting economic mobility. . . [t]hese underlying tendencies of the electorate regarding support for higher taxes and greater government responsibility would seem to give Democrats an inherent advantage with the poor and marginalized and with voters who are concerned about poverty and opportunity” (Haskins). However, polls have shown that Republicans are less committed to using the federal government to help the poor or to reduce the income gap between the rich and the rest of Americans (Haskins). I am a proud Democrat, one part of it is because I noticed that most Republicans are against everything but white people; even if it's a Black republican it seems like they're against themselves” (Anonymous 1). Being Republican and Black is contradicting with the Republican party's current main candidate, Trump. While, as stated previously, the world consists of grey areas where there are people who fall out of line, me being an example. I am not a part of either group, I am center; not in favor of a mascot, whether an elephant or a donkey. Meaning if a Republican candidate came along with beliefs and morals I align with then I would vote for them. Something Lila had also stated, “aligning yourself with just one party over others isn't representing it well. So I vote for values but more of them with the current democrats” (Cundiff). Now, as it seems important to highlight, not all republicans are MAGA and therefore not all Republicans support Trump. Before the party switch, beginning in the 1930’s, the Republican Party stood against the extension of slavery to the country’s new territories and, ultimately, for slavery’s complete abolition (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). However, after the party switch, the party came to be associated with laissez-faire capitalism, low taxes, and conservative social policies (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). The Republican party was founded by many but a notable mention is Thomas Jefferson, who later made the Democratic-Republican party, now known as the Democrats (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). To reiterate, the Republican party was first closer aligned to the 21st century Democratic party, hence the name, “party switch” (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). Though in order to subjugate the line between the wealthy and the middle class, we’ll need substantial support for American freedom to offset slides into short-term security; in Americans rallying for support of deep reductions in the role of money in politics, and that applies to both parties (Croce).

The world is often grey and so, other parties are often made, like the Green party; but different ideals of government is always an option. My father had stated that he was an anarchist (Willmington-Richée). An anarchist is one who desires no government; a person who rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power (Merriam-Webster). Sounds nice if I’m going to be honest. However, anarchy is closely aligned with violence (Merriam-Webster). My dad describes it differently, “[t]he basic idea was a return to the original state of mankind when there were no governments. . . When I say, ‘original state,’ I mean so from my theological point of view. (. . . I’m a Christian!) My understanding of creation and the fall of mankind is that there was a time, before sin, when there were people and no government. That can only work of course if people stopped being the way we are” (Substack).

Has our government harmed you and, if so, how?

I know for a fact that the government has harmed me and others around me. Is it as common as I think? “specifically as a young black woman, they don't expect me to go very far, thinking we’re hoodlums but we’re not” (1 Anonymous). 

The war on drugs, officially inaugurated by Nixon in June 1971, used drug laws to selectively target specific communities (Dholakia). “Black and brown people are disproportionately impacted by drug enforcement and sentencing practices. Rates of drug use and sales are similar across racial and ethnic lines, but Black and Latinx people are far more likely than white people to be stopped, searched, arrested, convicted, harshly sentenced, and saddled with a lifelong criminal record” (Dholakia). Aggressive criminalization of certain drugs, targeted heavily against certain communities; it’s a method of oppressing, disrupting, and disempowering marginalized communities (NACDL). “[B]y getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and the blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news” (NACDL). “Yes [the government has harmed me], I’m a Black man, there is insufficient space to document all the ways how” (Wilmington-Richée). Others had stated they don’t see how our leaders have wronged their citizens, yet not denying that there is something at play, “At this moment in time, our government has done things to harm me, but has not majorly affected me yet. But have set things into effect with the opportunity to harm me” (Cundiff). “Trump’s actions, including his broad slashing of international aid, both cause direct harm and encourage other world leaders to walk away from women’s rights” (Barr). “For years, most mainstream politicians saw advancing the rights of ‘women and girls’ as a priority, even if the reality did not always match the rhetoric. Doing so often seemed uncontroversial and bipartisan. . . Yet today, we are struggling to slow the loss of rights’ protections. Trump’s attack on women’s rights within the US has already gravely damaged respect for reproductive rights and is having a much broader impact on the health and economic rights of women and girls inside the United States” (Barr). The Trump administration’s assault on efforts to redress inequities based on historical and current forms of racism and other forms of discrimination (DEI) is having a chilling impact (Barr) Even the word gender is an anathema to the US government, with the US mission to the UN seeking to remove this word from every UN resolution (Barr). Absolutely idiotic, decades of hard work went into providing women the rights we currently had and Trump is setting the system to where only wealthy White men will have a time of day.

“They. . . affected my funds by going to jail, which wasn't the best. My students were being treated differently. “On May 31, I was with my fiancé (Stephanie Kornexl) and a former student (Ariana Tulay) in downtown Louisville marching and chanting, ‘No Justice! No Peace’ (Kaufmann)! “We ended up being trapped after curfew with the rest of the peaceful protesters. I livestreamed what I could, but it was difficult because the police were attacking us with tear gas, flash bangs and various projectiles. The group of protesters were forced to splinter in several smaller factions. . . everywhere we turned, police were blocking off streets and shooting us with tear gas” (Kaufmann). He was arrested that same night, the police treated him more courteously than the many Black men and women who were there that day (Kaufmann). Honestly we talk of reconstruction not being a part of education, that hurts everyone when we're denied the truth (Kaufmann). Reconstruction (1865-1877) was the turbulent era following the Civil War; it was the effort to “reintegrate southern states from the Confederacy and 4 million newly freed people into the United States. Under the administration of President Andrew Johnson in 1865 and 1866, new southern state legislatures passed restrictive ‘Black Codes’ to control the labor and behavior of former enslaved people and other Black Americans” (Editors). “Americans are appallingly ignorant of the history of racism in the United States. Yet it’s not a singular void. Americans are appallingly ignorant of U.S. history, period. Our lack of knowledge regarding the nation’s racist past in particular is a symptom of our lack of historical knowledge in general” (Snyder).

“Any other opinions?” 

During each of these interviews we had conversations that didn’t make it in as they were side conversations or just private conversations, but there were a couple responses that were funny and some that were sad; still, ultimately, they gave the mindset of the ones I interviewed. My mother, as I had stated in part one, was an example of white fragility, “I don’t like the questions. (she was very angry) “You made me feel like a bad guy and that White people are bad” (Wilmington-Richée). In our interview she was hurt and felt targeted by my questions, my dad felt the same, “I feel that these questions are not good for white people, and are attempting to do too much with improper phrasing” (Wilmington-Richée). I was not attempting to target either race with my questions, I simply wanted to see how aware the people around me are, regarding these topics. Through my mother’s response, I was reminded that race really does have a role in how people and society as a whole thinks. Black people have to be aware in their day to day lives of these privileges that others are allowed, if not, they are at risk of being targeted. White people simply do not have to think about race and their safety. Something that gave me hope was that Matt thinks “kids are the future. They are inheriting this country and we have the duty to think of the generations ahead, when we are thinking and planning. Adults need to do better. We don’t think enough of that. We need people who take the long view, 7 generations ahead as Indigenous people taught” (Kaufmann) I was glad that someone acknowledges the need to help the future and heal the past. 

Alright, this article is done. A consensus of many others' thoughts and opinions being validated or disproven but still stated as humanity needs to understand one another. But I want to end it with thought, the study of history has a moral purpose (Fears). We believe that we are immune to the lessons – the laws – of history (Fears). We believe that our modern science and technology has lifted us above the lessons of history (Fears). To Americans specifically, our founders understood the lessons of history are to endure as human nature never truly changes (Fears). “All the human emotions are the same today as in Egypt of the pharaohs or China in the time of Confucius: Love, hate, ambition, the lust for power, kindness, generosity, and inhumanity. The good and bad of human nature is simply poured into new vehicles created by science and technology” (Fears). “Racism isn't the shark in the water, it's the water itself,so how do you change the water?” (Kaufmann).

Resources

Barr, Heather. “Trump Spurs Global Rollback on the Rights of Women and Girls.” Human Rights Watch, 7 May 2025, www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/07/trump-spurs-global-rollback-rights-women-and-girls.

Bidgood, Jess. “Why Scapegoating Works for Trump.” The New York Times, 4 Feb. 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/us/politics/trump-blame-politics.html.

Croce, Paul J. “Deeper than the ‘Deep State’: Follow the Money | Origins.” Origins, 10 July 2025, origins.osu.edu/read/deeper-deep-state-follow-money.

Daniels, Nicole. “What Students Are Saying about Race and Racism in America.” The New York Times, 18 Feb. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-race-and-racism-in-america.html.

Davidson, Lucy. “Animal Farm by George Orwell – Summary and Themes.” History Hit, 1 Jan. 2022, www.historyhit.com/culture/animal-farm-summary-and-themes/.

Dholakia, Nazish. “Fifty Years Ago Today, President Nixon Declared the War on Drugs.” Vera Institute of Justice, 17 June 2021, www.vera.org/news/fifty-years-ago-today-president-nixon-declared-the-war-on-drugs.

Dodds, Ciji. “The Constitution as a Racial Contract.” Scholarship Law, University of Pennsylvania, 2024, scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1298&context=jlasc#:~:text=42%20Mills’%20premise%20is%20that,supremacy%20is%20the%20unnamed%20basic&text=subjugate%20Black%20people’s%20lives%20to,The%20punishments%2C%20such%20as%2C%20whipping%2C.

Editors, History. com. “Reconstruction - Civil War End, Changes & Act of 1867 | HISTORY.” HISTORY, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/articles/reconstruction.

Equal Justice Initiative. “Jim Crow Laws.” Equal Justice Initiative, 1 May 2014, eji.org/news/history-racial-injustice-jim-crow-laws/.

Fears, J. Rufus. “Why We Refuse to Learn from History.” Big Think, 5 Sept. 2011, bigthink.com/guest-thinkers/why-we-refuse-to-learn-from-history/.

Haskins, Ron. “What Are the Presidential Candidates Saying about Poverty and Opportunity?” Brookings, 29 Feb. 2016, www.brookings.edu/articles/what-are-the-presidential-candidates-saying-about-poverty-and-opportunity/.

Katz, Andrew. “Scenes from the Deadly Unrest in Charlottesville.” TIME, 2017, time.com/charlottesville-white-nationalist-rally-clashes/.

Kaufmann, Matthew. “Protester: We Were Hunted down and Arrested. Then I Saw How Police Act behind Closed Doors.” The Courier-Journal, Louisville Courier Journal, 11 June 2020, www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2020/06/11/breonna-taylor-protests-police-hunted-arrested-and-mistreated-us/5328440002/.

Maqbool, Aleem. “The Christians Who See Trump as Their Saviour.” BBC, 16 Nov. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20g1zvgj4do.

Merriam-Webster. “Definition of ANARCHIST.” Merriam-Webster.com, 2019, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anarchist.

Miller, Cassie. “Bigoted Beliefs, Racist Ties Found among Some of President Trump’s Appointees.” Southern Poverty Law Center, 6 Mar. 2025, www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/bigoted-beliefs-racist-ties-found-among-president-trumps-appointees/.

Morrison, Melanie. “Becoming Trustworthy White Allies | Reflections.” Yale.edu, 2000, reflections.yale.edu/article/future-race/becoming-trustworthy-white-allies.

NACDL. “Race and the War on Drugs.” National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 29 Nov. 2022, www.nacdl.org/Content/Race-and-the-War-on-Drugs.

Roston, Aram, and Jim Urquhart. “American Nazis: The Aryan Freedom Network Is Riding High in Trump Era.” Reuters, 8 Aug. 2025, www.reuters.com/investigations/american-nazis-aryan-freedom-network-is-riding-high-trump-era-2025-08-08/.

Snyder, Jeffrey Aaron. “Why Americans Don’t Know Enough about Black History.” Washington Monthly, 10 Dec. 2021, washingtonmonthly.com/2021/12/10/why-americans-dont-know-enough-about-black-history/.

Spencer, Richard Bertrand, et al. “White Nationalist.” Southern Poverty Law Center, 10 Jan. 2025, www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/white-nationalist/.

Spring, Jake, and Hannah Natanson. “Our National Parks in Crisis: Trump’s Administration Continues Its Effort to Censor History | ANPR.” Anpr.org, 2025, www.anpr.org/release/2025/0923.

Substack. “Kamarr Richée.” Substack.com, 2025, substack.com/@knazehrite/p-184058382.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Republican Party.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Jan. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Republican-Party.

Williams, Ray. “How Rising Inequality Threatens American Democracy.” Medium, 13 July 2025, docs.google.com/document/d/1mw1WrYZ3xwkRUXYd1hgc0cz9jNEHOcl6vg1fZTwsgZs/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.e4m2dig3h365.

Wolf, Zachary B. “Congressional Republicans Are Running out of Powers to Give Trump.” CNN, 6 Jan. 2026, www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/politics/congress-trump-war-powers-act-analysis.

Bear with me, this story is a wild one. I was on Roblox the other day, and was on a game called Podcasts. In a nutshell, it’s a game where you can talk with other people on any topic imaginable. From topics like “George Floyd’s death was justified” to “Charlie Kirk deserved it” to “Women shouldn’t vote”. I decided to join a server/podcast with the topic “Men shouldn’t have a say in abortion.” Weird thing was there was really only men talking about the topic, even though it is women’s health and their bodies, but that’s for another article. After the topic was discussed and everybody had a say, the creator of the server changed the topic to “Physical punishment is a good form of discipline.” I completely disagreed, and so did another person, but I wasn't really being listened to, so I left. Then I thought, what ever happened to treat others like you want to be treated? Why would you treat your child any differently than how you would like to be treated? Where did this form of discipline come from? 

The Origins of Punishment 

For a lot of Black Americans, whoopings were a normal part of their childhoods. Some people even go so far as to compare whoopings. With spanking being so common among African-Americans than any other racial or ethnic group in America (CNN) this begs the question, where did hitting your kids to put them back in line originate? Christianity can point to Proverbs 13:24, “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him (CNN).” This phrase has been used numerous times to justify the "discipline" of children, even if it’s wrong. Along with it being wrong, not only was this present in biblical times, it was done in slavery. Whipping, the most normal form of punishment on plantations and usually done with large tailed whips, was done to “teach the accused or guilty slave a lesson, as well as to set an example for the other slaves on the plantation. (CUNY Academic Commons)” Even if it wasn’t done with a whip, punishment could be done with a paddle or strap “to keep from scarring slaves and reducing their value” (CNN). These origins, both rooted in trauma and history, have shaped the punishments of today. 

Pros and Cons of Physical Punishment: School and Home 

With the “estimated 1.2 billion children aged 0–18 years [that are] subjected to corporal punishment at home each year” (WHO), what exactly does this punishment do? It can’t be that bad, right? 

“A large body of research shows links between corporal punishment and a wide range of negative outcomes, both immediate and long-term: 

• direct physical harm, sometimes resulting in severe damage, long-term disability or death;

• mental ill-health, including behavioural and anxiety disorders, depression, hopelessness, low self-esteem, self-harm and suicide attempts, alcohol and drug dependency, hostility and emotional instability, which continue into adulthood;

• impaired cognitive and socio-emotional development, specifically emotion regulation and conflict solving skills;

• damage to education, including school dropout and lower academic and occupational success;

• poor moral internalization and increased antisocial behaviour;

• increased aggression in children;

• adult perpetration of violent, antisocial and criminal behaviour;

• indirect physical harm due to overloaded biological systems, including developing cancer, alcohol-related problems, migraine, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and obesity that continue into adulthood;

• increased acceptance and use of other forms of violence; and

• damaged family relationships”. 

Along with “studies finding that the association with child aggression and lower achievement in mathematics and reading ability became stronger as the frequency of corporal punishment increased” (WHO). So, there’s a lot of cons, there have to be some pros, right? No. According to Elizabeth Gershoff, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has been studying corporal punishment for 15 years, “spanking does not improve behavior.” This only comes to show that this form of discipline doesn’t do anything. It just causes resentment and harsh feelings, along with the anger, hurt and pain that can last a lifetime. So, it seems that sparing the rod doesn’t spoil the child, it just makes them a better person, and overall, helps them out in life better than a belt ever can.

Works Cited 

“A History of Spanking.” CNN, 6 Dec. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/12/06/health/gallery/history-of-spanking.

Sibley, Natalee. Whipping: A Physical Punishment of Slaves – Trans-Atlantic Digital Archive, Lehman College Spring 2018. transatlanticarchivespring2018.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2018/03/26/whipping-a-physical-punishment-of-slaves/.

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Theatre is often viewed as a form of art meant to be performed for entertainment purposes only. For children, theater serves a much deeper purpose than just entertainment. Theater is a learning environment that plays a crucial role in child development. Theater can help children increase cognitive growth, emotional intelligence, creativity, social skills, communication abilities, and more. From just collaborating with your peers in the classroom to putting on a performance  on stage, theater helps children develop skills that prepare them for challenges they may face later in life such as building relationships to public speaking. 

Research shows that theatrical activities can significantly enhance cognitive ability such as memory, problem-solving, and attention span. Some forms of acting require children to memorize scripts, cues, and blocking. These skills are closely tied to memory and concentration. The improv form of theater can encourage kids to think quickly and to be able to adjust to new scenarios comfortably. These skills are essential for academic success and also for real life scenarios.

Children involved in theater often show higher literacy and language skills. Reading scripts expose kids to new vocabulary and interpreting dialogue enhances their comprehension abilities. Analyzing characters helps kids with critical thinking and understanding abilities that help success in academic subjects like reading and writing. 

One of the impacts of theatre is its ability to foster emotional awareness and empathy. While portraying a character children step into others’ shoes and explore different emotions and lifestyles. Children learn what it’s like to be someone they're not, which helps them understand others and have more empathy. This enhances emotional intelligence by helping children understand both their feelings and the feelings of those around them. The ability to empathize is a healthy trait to have because it enhances emotional intelligence and empathy can build healthy relationships.

Participating in theater also helps children manage their emotions. The rehearsal process that actors go through teaches children resilience and they begin to learn that making mistakes is normal and it’s a part of growth because they are constantly being told to make changes to the way they portray a character by being directed. This can lead to a confidence boost and reduced performance anxiety, which is good for mental well-being and self-esteem.

Theater is mainly collaborative. No matter the form of theatre a child may be doing they must communicate and work with others towards a shared goal. These experiences build communication skills, problem solving skills, and cooperation. Children learn to articulate their thoughts by reading nonverbal cues and negotiating roles and responsibilities. In theater, everyone matters from a background role to a stage manager to a lead role in a play. 

Creativity is a main component of theater. Children get to convey their own characters and imagine settings in stories which encourages divergent thinking. The ability to think of many possible solutions to a problem is a skill closely associated with innovation. Theater encourages children to express themselves through movement, voice, storytelling, and design. Encouraging children to be creative at a young age reinforces the idea that thinking outside of the box is crucial. 

The benefits of theater will go beyond the stage. Skills that get developed while children are in a theater environment stick with them and it helps them throughout their life. Some skills include problem-solving, public speaking, effectively collaborating with others, and being okay with making mistakes. These skills are highly valued in every career whether a child grows up to be a business owner, a doctor, a teacher, etc. These are great skills that will support children for a lifetime.

In Louisville, Kentucky: the Walden conservatory is a powerful example of healthy ways theatre can impact children's development. The Walden conservatory has a history of providing intensive theater training to the youth that leaves a huge impact. Walden conservatory builds community. Children feel like they have people to trust and a place to express who they really are. In 1976 Walden conservatory was founded by Nancy Niles Sexton. The conservatory was built on the belief that theatre education develops artistic talent and character. Today, Walden continues to offer year round classes and put on performances that are designed to challenge and engage youth. In 2017, there was a study to determine if theater plays a role in development by using Walden Theatre. Children would take surveys and answer questions asking how Walden has helped them throughout the years. The study showed that children who are engaged in theater are most likely to have increased cognitive abilities. Beyond classes, Walden conservatory gives students the opportunity to participate in productions and bring theater to life. Throughout the year, many alumni of Walden Theatre have gone on to have great theater and non-theater careers, which demonstrates how fundamental theater can shape futures.

As I’m often inclined to do, I decided to take on an improbable task: making an animated short film in the course of five months. Admittedly, this wasn’t the smartest decision I’ve ever made—to create 100+ frames of art isn’t the most lenient goal. To make matters worse, I promised Vanderbilt University it would be done by February 1st, available to the public. During these final days of editing, recording, and drawing, I want to reflect on the journey from August 4th to January 21st.

The film features a story I created as a child, about a lonely elf living in the apocalypse. The elf, Ingrid, must conquer her fears and past to survive, including a deadly friend-turned-foe. It’s a story of grit, determination, and inner strength. Because the film is only 3-4 minutes long, the story is condensed into many short animation sequences. Any longer, and it would have taken over a year.

I hit the ground running: the first two weeks yielded 21 panels. This was a full process of drawing, inking, coloring, shading, and editing for each one. The main struggle was lighting–I really wanted the colors to shine, and give it an ethereal quality. These first panels were all reworked by December due to consistency issues.

After this streak, I began to produce less and less. The next four weeks led me to create about 20 more panels before I took a very long break. During October and November, I only pecked at the project, banking on winter break to save me from art block. I thought everything was fine; I already hired voice actors and a background artist. The script was finished as well. At this point was when things began to go wrong.

My voice actors both quit. I had too much school work and college application emergencies. I realized that I hated the script and had to change everything. Not only that, but my art style changed completely over the months, meaning I had to redraw or edit most of the panels. I didn’t want the film to be boring, so I also decided to compose my own music for the film. This was a problem, considering I haven’t picked up an instrument since elementary school.

Of course, the show must go on. I began this project knowing it had the potential to go wrong, and there was no choice except to finish it. As of January 21st, I had seven more panels to draw, and one to fix. I recruited a new voice actor, whose vocals have already been added to the film. Now she and I will both play main characters, alleviating most of my worries. The music is almost done–it’s entirely composed on the keyboard, which I taught myself to play in this short time. Finally, on February 1st, the film was published to Instagram for everyone to see.

If anything, this project has taught me a lesson about perseverance. Everything has changed from beginning to end, but I still managed to beat the deadline. I want this to be a beacon of hope for all aspiring creators: don’t let anything stop you, and never lose hope.