
Chelsea Clinton is Here to Tell Us Which Opinions We Can Have
While even most liberal Democrats wish that the Clintons would get out of the public spotlight and stay in the New York woods, daughter Chelsea apparently hasn’t gotten the message. In a speech at the CARE national conference in Washington, D.C. on Monday, the woman some expect to follow in her parents’ political footsteps appeared to take some poorly-disguised shots at President Donald Trump and his “deplorable” band of supporters.
In the speech, Chelsea said she was sympathetic to the plight of white working class men and women who turned to Trump as a last, best chance out of the economic stagnation of recent years.
“When you’re working crazy hard to make ends meet and get the bills paid,” she said, “you really don’t want somebody who grew up in a house with a chef telling you why everything you believe is wrong.”
Oh, hey, look at that. She’s got some self-awareness. Could it be that Chelsea is ushering in a new era of Clinton – one that we as a country could be proud of instead of–
Oh, nevermind.
“I think, though, that we also have to recognize particularly at this moment that sexism is not an opinion,” Chelsea said, ruining the moment. “Islamophobia is not an opinion. Racism is not an opinion. Homophobia is not an opinion. Jingoism is not an opinion.”
Er…all of those things are opinions, actually. If they aren’t opinions, then they must be facts. Is Chelsea telling us that sexist beliefs are factual? Interesting.
Of course, that’s not what she’s saying. She’s saying that while those things are technically opinions, they aren’t valid opinions to have. Which is, as you probably know, just another opinion. As is the very concept of racism, sexism, homophobia, and so on. These are not scientific, unquestionable concepts. You can’t point out a statement and say, “That’s racist,” and then get a fact-check from the Washington Post. It’s your opinion that the statement is racist, and that’s all it is. Some may agree with you. Some may disagree. Some may even feel that “being racist” is not the worst thing in the world. These are all opinions.
The left, however, wants to make it so certain opinions are no longer allowed in free society.
It’s easy to sit back and say, “Oh, well that’s a horrible thing to think and no one should think that way.” You may be right. The problem is, there are things that YOU think that OTHERS feel the same way about. So who gets to decide which opinions are valid and which ones aren’t? Isn’t it easier to just let everyone have their say and allow society to weed out the good from the bad? Isn’t that what the First Amendment is all about?