On Trump hats, viral videos, and political hate machines

The internet is lashing out at my school for a (now viral) video of a friend piping up about someone wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. I don’t agree that the hat qualifies as hate speech so much as I think it was worn specifically to provoke this sort of conflict and foment polarized debate on hate speech and safer spaces. I don’t agree with the circumstances of Zoe’s call-out, but her heart is in the right place and she simply picked a losing battle based on a misunderstanding in this case.

People are now giving one-star reviews to the school on Facebook simply because they disagree with Zoe’s stance. Zoe and other friends are being targeted with vile harassment and threats because of this video. The American right-wing media has even picked up this story and Trump supporters are weighing in on social media.

I know Zoe’s paying the price for her words, but I hope the jerk in the hat and the jerk who publicized the interaction understand the scale of the mob they’ve rallied to their cause and the real harm this is doing to their community and institution.

This is not simply an embarrassment because of one student’s hat or one student’s misunderstanding of school regulations — it’s an embarrassment because whoever posted the video and called in the media thought the viral celebrity was more important than the well-being of their own community and the reputation of their own school.

I am regularly in awe of the quality of instruction at Mount Royal University (#MRU), the dedication of our staff, and the student life. I am regularly in awe of the nuanced, civil discussions we have every damn day on issues like American politics, free speech, racism, LGBTQ+ rights, and safer spaces.

The story that gets told? A lie about how much all our students hate Trump and want to be coddled. A lie about how our faculty is failing to educate us. Thanks a lot, jerks. Thanks a lot.