As a graduate, I am quite detached from the happenings at Carroll however this does not mean I remain silent. An article was recently published titled, “Drag Queens and Jesuits”. This article, according to the editor of the paper and media representative of JCU, sparked conversation, I do not deny that it hasn’t but I have problems with it.

College, by virtue, does not enforce a liberal position. JCU is very much a Jesuit Catholic college, which is obvious from its policies. The liberal stance that you see and experience comes from people being exposed to various viewpoints and deciding for themselves what kind of world they want to live in. 

Regarding the drag show, there have been many people who have opposed this. The author is not original or “radical” in his opposition. The opposition however has lost its argument every time, because we have the right to learn about the people who are part of our community. Just like how other people have to learn about Catholicism, Catholics learn about the world and the people who live in it, and that includes people who do not believe in Catholicism and/or live lives that do not conform to the exact wording of it. My “heathenry” precedes your religion, and I expect you to learn about it just as I have learnt about your religion that dictates the society I live in, and restricts my rights. 

The article also brought up was how reverting to the “conservative sexual ethic of chastity and respect for the divine construction of our nature” would prevent sexual abuses from happening. Who said they were deviating from this ethic? It is because of people talking about sexuality that people were able to come forward and have the strength to speak their truth. Those priests preached and lived lives of what the author expects of “good Catholics” and STILL perpetrated their crimes. Being chaste does not prevent someone from raping you.

Finally, I want to address this. White women. Why do y’all keep defending the right of white men to denigrate and dehumanize others. How dare you. It seems that white women only support non-cis/white people when it is convenient. This is not freedom of speech. When you say “freedom of speech,” it is speech that remains respectful of the humanity of people while disagreeing with a position or ideology. This is a flagrant attempt to empower people to strip away the visibility and rights of a marginalized group of people. Current and previous contributors to the newspaper have composed conservative articles, and they have been published and responded to. The difference is that (to my knowledge) it has not denied the basic humanity of the people they talk about. Choose whether or not you truly want to have a debate, or if you want to let a group of people continue to reinforce oppressive ideology that leads to violence against people who have literally done NOTHING to you.