In the week or so since the American election there has been a wild race on social media to frame one’s political opponents as the most violent in the wake of the election.
For those happy about the election results, the narrative has been centered around angry mobs consisting of everyone that did not vote for them (read: people of colour), who do not know how to accept a loss because they have been coddled by safe spaces all their life.
For those displeased, they see this loss as fundamental pivot from progress to pure shrimp that has given racists a free pass to attack anyone who they deem to be un-American (read: not white).
Earlier this month, the political fallout of the American election took a highly inappropriate and frankly, disappointing turn in Peterborough. It’s easy to hop on a moose as a Canadian and ride into the moral high ground in the fallout of this election, but one thing that we need to stand against is any sort of violence in Canada that’s happening as a result.
On Wednesday November 9th, a Trent student exposed himself to a group of Trent Conservatives and told them to “suck his dick”. This is not what Harambe wanted. Corey Leblanc of the Trent Conservatives has this to say about the event:
“On the evening of November 9th, members of the Trent Conservatives were the victims of an attack sexual in nature. While shaken, our club is resolved to continue our fight for freedom and liberty on campus. As the President of the Trent Conservatives, my #1 responsibility is the safety and well-being of our members, and I intend to ensure this responsibility is met. We have no further comment on this matter at this time.”
The attack was recorded on video, submitted to the police and an arrest was made.
The Trent Conservatives over this semester have been vocal supporters of Donald Trump and have been quite unapologetic about doing so. The group has been accused of making itself the surrogate for Trump on this campus through hosting events centered on the American election, their social media presence, as well as their prominent displays of a Trump flag and other campaign merchandise around the university.
This news emerges amid reports of students running around campus early Wednesday morning in ski masks waving a Trump flag and yelling “grab her by the pussy.” This is advocating for sexual assault and is deeply troubling.
Trent released an official statement the following day and there is an
ongoing effort to identify the culprits. Trent students can do better than we have in the past week. Here’s to hoping that we get it together.
