Vent: Our campus paper pulled my op-ed about the 2016 election results the morning it was set to print.

I wrote a piece saying we should listen to the other side's voters, not just call them names. The editor told me it was 'too divisive' and could 'cause disruption.' Back then, that kind of preemptive shutdown was a big surprise. Now, looking at how many speaker events get canceled over security concerns, it feels like that was just the start. Has anyone else had a piece killed for just trying to bridge a divide?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavin_kim31mo ago

@robin_wright That's exactly what I said when I read the post. "Too divisive" for actually asking people to stop screaming at each other for five seconds. I get it, I went through something similar a few years back. What finally worked for me was submitting the same piece to a smaller local paper online. They ran it with a note about community dialogue. @leo_kelly, I know you said the logic is backwards and it really is. But sometimes you gotta find a place that isn't scared of quiet, like you said, and just let the words sit there. It didn't fix everything but it got the conversation started without all the noise.

robin_wright2mo ago

Wait, they called a call for listening "too divisive"? That's... wow.

leo_kelly2mo ago

Unbelievable, right? @robin_wright, it's like they're scared of quiet time. Next they'll say asking for basic respect is starting a fight. The logic is just not there. Calling for people to just hear each other out is somehow the problem now. It's so backwards it's almost funny, lol.