Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has some strong words for social justice warriors who call for safe spaces from differing opinions.
In a piece for Teen Vogue, Clinton wrote about what young people can do to have their voices heard. One of Clinton’s recommendations was for people to listen to — and learn from — those who disagree without being “disagreeable”:
Learn from those who disagree with you. I grew up in a house with lots of opinions. My father was a Republican and my mother was basically a Democrat, although she didn’t talk much about politics. Being surrounded by diverse ideas shaped my view of the world. It might not seem like it sometimes, but we can disagree without being disagreeable.
Clinton also said it’s important to have “difficult conversations” and to understand other people’s perspectives on issues:
In fact, we need to have difficult conversations—that’s how progress is made. So seek out others who see issues differently from you. Challenge yourself to understand their perspectives, and encourage them to understand yours. I promise you’ll learn something new from conversations like these. I do all the time.
Clinton’s statement is contrary to the view held by many college students who claim certain opinions don’t have the right to be heard at all.
Some students have pushed for safe spaces for one specific race, created bias reporting systems for any potential “microaggression,” and regularly ban conservative speakers from campus who dare to have a different opinion.
In 2015, President Obama has also famously criticized leftists who believe in shutting down other opinions without listening, saying, “I don’t agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of view. You know, I think you should be able to—anybody who comes to speak to you and you disagree with, you should have an argument with them. But you shouldn’t silence them by saying, ‘You can’t come because I’m too sensitive to hear what you have to say.’ That’s not the way we learn either.”