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I am friends with Republicans. I am friends with Republicans who voted for Trump. These feel like confessions, the type I’d share late night with a couple of my closest friends, an admission of guilt. In today’s world of cancel culture, too many people are quick to assign blame to those who don’t cut all ties with the dark side.
This saddens me. For years, the diversity of my friend group was a point of pride and frequent compliments. My friends are Indian, white, black, and Latinx. They are gay, straight, asexual, and trans. They are Christian, Jewish, atheist, nerds, jocks, singers, lawyers, small business owners, and politicians. Most lean left. Some do not.
The fact we have differences of opinion is crucial.
I say this as a progressive Indian American feminist: since when did diversity and freedom of speech only matter when it wasn’t threatening? Diversity that threatens, diversity that challenges, is the one we must fight for. It’s easy to say you’re diverse (cough, big law firms, cough), but only want people who are white or act white. I have long complained about the lack of diversity of culture in traditionally white and male institutions. Why would I allow it to be lacking in my…
