What do Starbucks, patchouli, and balding men with ponytails all have in common? Well, for one, they all linger around me like bad cigar smoke at my college campus in Boston.
Ah, liberal academia.
If you’re a college student, you know what I’m talking about. On any campus, you’ll see an abundance of students in Birkenstock sandals and Che Guevara tees. Most of these clueless kids would be shocked to learn that Guevara was put in charge of ridding Cuba’s society of gays, dissidents, and AIDS. But that’s okay, because the T-shirt is just so darn colorful and hip!
These silly, well-intentioned students eat their tofu bars while pontificating about how evil corporate America is. Of course, they use their Macs to do this, which are built by America’s largest corporate giant (Apple was bigger than Exxon Mobil as of the beginning of this month). But that doesn’t matter, because liberals love Apple.
Pumping out political commentary is a fulltime job for these idealistic do-gooders. They furiously blog about how the government has no right to control abortion, but simultaneously demand that the government pay for it. Blogging and tweeting makes them feel important. They get together to talk, nod in agreement, enjoy a doobie (that’s pronounced DO-BEE, mom), and wear patchouli. Yes, lots and lots of patchouli, to cover the smell of pot and body odor (which, but the way, is only slightly less offensive than patchouli). Can you tell how much I love patchouli? Good grief, even the word “patchouli” irritates me.
These plugged-in activists were busy texting, blogging, and posting when it was revealed that thirty years ago, Romney put his dog in a pet carrier strapped to the top of his car. Liberals went into an online frenzy. By comparison, there was very little chatter on the interweb when it was discovered that Obama had eaten dog in his youth! Then again, who among us hasn’t enjoyed a good Korean meal?
Most of these students want what’s best for our society, but they are completely devoid of any economic education (other than what they hear on MSNBC or “All Things Considered”). Ask them about the economy, and they will tell you the rich are taking advantage of the rest of us, and need to pay more in taxes. But ask them about the “Laffer Curve” or current Fed policy, and you usually get a blank, cannabis-induced stare over their badly groomed mustaches (and that includes the ladies)!
College campuses are liberal utopias. And if you think the students are progressive, come take a look at the professors. Political Science classes are often bias jabber-sessions, taught by greying-ponytailed idealists.
I remember one writing class where the teacher was especially vocal about her political views. This was last spring when the presidential primaries were in full swing, so I was expecting some political banter in the classroom. But this professor had her head positioned so far up Obama’s rear-end, she could probably count his colon rings. (My apologies to our dear friend and retired Congressman Barney Frank for the anal reference).
One afternoon during an in-class activity, I wrote about my admiration for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign. When I read the piece aloud, an awkward silence fell over the room. It was as though someone just farted and everyone was embarrassed and didn’t know what to say.
After the “Ron Paul reading event”, as I like to call it, my classmates acted differently around me. Not mean, per se, but they treated me like the sweet but sad handicapped wheelchair kid in elementary school. I got lots of fake smiles, short pleasantries, then, “Well, I gotta go now”. The teacher gave me a C for the semester. Yet my liberal friend who can’t spell “politics” (there’s no “K” in there, Sheila!) got an A for reciting the proper political message.
My experience in that class was frustrating, but not uncommon. Last year, those Obama “Forward” tees were everywhere. I honestly can say I don’t remember seeing a single Romney shirt on campus. This is probably because conservative students are so rare, but also because it’s clear conservatives are not welcome. Even the “End the Fed” sticker on my laptop gets me evil glares.
The truth is, while this one-sided academic culture is annoying, I don’t really care about the political views of those around me. Heck, I even agree with progressives on some issues, like gay marriage. Then again, as a libertarian, I think we should allow anyone to marry anyone. How about polygamy? If not, why not? And I support abortion rights. I dare say, I think some preggos should be encouraged to consider abortion (you listening, Kim Kardashian?).
It’s not the differences in opinion that bother me- it’s the smugness and overwhelming self-righteousness of these liberal students. They pride themselves on being “tolerant”, but will not tolerate anyone who doesn’t completely agree with their liberal ideas. They think it’s okay to trash millions of dollars worth of public property in the name of social justice, ala Occupy Wall Street. Yet peaceful Tea Party demonstrations will not be tolerated because it does not fall in line with their liberal agenda.
The bottom line is that it isn’t easy being a conservative (or libertarian) student on a college campus. If you speak your mind, you risk being ostracized. And depending on your professor, you could even suffer a bad grade.
As for me, I will shamefully admit that I pretend to be a little more liberal than I really am when writing my political science papers. After all, my professor has an awesome grey ponytail.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristin Tate is a political and economic journalist for Red Alert Politics, The College Conservative, Turning Point USA, and The Berkeley Beacon. Follow her on Twitter @KristinBTate.
Kristin Tate 
Awesome article! You always do a phenomenonal job enlightening the masses! I look forward to your next post!
Common sense blogging! Refreshing to see young new talent that tells it how it is rather than asking Obama what she should write…. Thanks for your service to the conservative and independent movement…
“They pride themselves on being “tolerant”, but will not tolerate anyone who doesn’t completely agree with their liberal ideas.”
This. SO ACCURATE.
Hilarious stuff!!! Love the Barney Frank reference! LMAO! And HOLY SCHNIKES, you are freakin gorgeous!
What is going on at the college level is also going on at the high school level. The indoctrination is ubiquitous and disgusting. Thanks for calling out the bias at our nations finest universities!
Great post. Living near a college campus makes life frustrating out here. I want to take these dumb mushy minds and slap some sense into them. Perhaps your blog will do just that for a few of them.
Great writing. When the heck did liberals become so damn angry all the tim?! Oh, and your gorgeous, Libertarian Chick!
Grey ponytails and patchouli. Ewe… Two things that should be banned. Always.
I don’t follow politics too much, but woman, you fine!
Wow! You are sooo on target! I had a friend that was an English professor at a prestigous college in Greencastle, Indiana and she was targeted by a student due to having “Focus on the Family” brochures on a table in her class. She was taken out of her classes and ended up in legal litigation and lost. It was very apparent SHE was the one who was discriminated against. It was very sad to see her go through this as she is a very nonjudgmental, kind person who always helped her students.
Ironically, the professors live in a “false” economic closed off world. They have the LUXURY of having these liberal opinions; however, isn’t it ironic that these colleges cost between $40,000-$60,000 a year. Who can afford these tuitions/room/board, hmmmm people who believe in capitalism and free enterprise. These professors would not be able to survive financially if they had to live and die by their beliefs. WHO would pay their salaries?????
I’m not a religious zealot; (having a Jewish mother and Catholic father), but I have witnessed alot of discrimination against the Christian high school students that do not profess to be sweet and innocent. I have heard people comment on these students in a manner where they are just elated if these Christian students aren’t perfect.
I agree with you with regard to the professors and their biased grading system. How sad are they to preach everyone should have a right to their own opinions and then grade students lessor if they don’t have the same opinions. What weak people. They should respect and admire someone who can stand by their opinions and even factually back it up!
Love your blogs! Keep up the great work. I’m amazed how enlightened you are at such a young age!
This post suffers from immense generalizations and your claims lack any factual basis. First, how can you describe these attitudes as prevailing on “any college campus.” Take a hike
out of Boston, down to the University of Alabama or Vanderbilt, and I’m sure you’ll find a far more politically diverse student body. Likewise, the liberal culture you describe is not confined to those with liberal political views. I’m sure more than a few conservative ideologues have participated in the cannabis culture. But thats not what bothers me about this post. The evidence you employ is subjective, if not completely based upon assumptions regarding the political leanings and knowledge of your fellow students. How can you possibly assess their political engagement? I would argue that your fellow conservative students don’t have any idea what the “Laffer Curve” is either. MSNBC? Yeah right. The average American college student is probably watching MTV or re-runs of Law and Order SVU. I get it, college campuses are liberal, but I can promise you that no matter who they voted for in 2012, most students don’t have a clue about political policy. I’d recommend more substantive pieces if you want to be taken seriously. If you troll like this, you can expect a hoard of trolls to comment after you.
YAY!!! THERE’S ONE OF THE ANGRY, SELF-RIGHTEOUS LIBERALS YOU WROTE ABOUT! Lmao. Liberals ALWAYS lack any sense of humor (it’s not in their genes… Poor thing…) Have a dube, ol’ Frank, dab on a little patchouli, and watch an episode of Workaholics.
Frank hates you because you’re smarter than him, better looking than him, and you don’t live in your parent’s basement. Relax, Frank. The government will take care of you…
Your wit, knowledge, and strong conviction make for very engaging reading.
Alot of these kids are in for some harsh lessons in reality after college! I feel for alot of these students – they are in way over their head in debt and not getting any life skills or knowledge to help them function in the real world. Yet they are entering the work force tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands in debtl!! Their is also an unusual phenomenon in that today’s employers seem to prefer older workers who already know basic work skills like how to show up to work on time – not something college teaches. It’s just a sense I have, but, I think this recession is really hitting the young people, new to the workforce, harder than in the past. Things that can’t go on forever – won’t 🙂 These colleges will not be able to go on forever being subsidized by a private sector that they despise, charging kids a fortune for degrees that will never payoff to fill heads with worthless political crap instead of how to actually make stuff and do thing!. BTW – forget the old guys in the ponytails – they are lost causes – lol :))
Well done, Kristen! It reminds me of when I was a college student in Brazil, I had the same opinion about my friends in college. Of course when you’re in college you have all these fresh ideas and you hope that the world will listen to you, but unfortunate when you enter the real world you learn that everyone has a different opinion on strong topics that you’ve touched. I strongly agree with you when you say that college is a Utopian community, but I used to love it. I’m extremely honored to follow your blog. Looking forward to reading future posts.
Kristin,
I absolutely appreciate your take on the situation, honestly, Ron Paul is one of the most honest politicians I know of (I am also aware that whatever I ‘know’ of him has only been fed to me through media, but we have to have a stance somewhere, right?). Saying this though, I cannot take you seriously.
Not yet at least.
As a reader, what I expect out of a solid argument is something void of the subjective matter you are discussing. Birkenstocks? Patchoulis? What in gods name does that have to do with politics?
I know this is a blog, and therefore you don’t ‘need’ to be all about the facts, that’s fine. But coming from someone like me who thinks the current Obama administration is only digging our country into the ground even further, and who agrees with you on multiple points, I find you to be the intolerant one.
You are generalizing a major part of the population, and by belittling them, you are automatically negating any voice they may have as “smug and overwhelming self-righteous liberal students” just as ‘they’ had generalized to you.
If you are sick and tired of people judging you for your stance and beliefs, then I ask that you be the bigger person and don’t do the same by generalizing them.
That is one of our greatest flaws as humans; when others don’t agree with us, let’s just make them feel like shit without sitting down and genuinely engaging them in discussion as fellow sentient beings.
You are an intelligent young woman.
Do yourself the justice and don’t fall to this level of political critique.
You have solid points to make, and I would like to read them, consider them, and try to broaden my own political views from the voices of people similar to or different from me. Saying this though, I can’t help but find this post a self-righteous attempt to reason why you are right and why the majority of your peers can’t seem to ‘see the error of their ways’.
I am glad you are posting your opinions; sharing our political views is the only way this country/world has any chance of growing. But if others are to take you seriously, stop all of this pining over people treating you “like the sweet but sad handicapped wheelchair kid in elementary school” and get down to the real facts of the matter.
(… Also… really? “like the sweet but sad handicapped wheelchair kid in elementary school” There is not a single reputable journalist/blogger out there that writes like that. I’m sure you can do better)
I really do believe that the government is far too involved, that thousands of Americans have died for the freedoms we unknowingly lack… and do you know why that is the case?
Because of intolerant people who write off the ‘other’ as incompetents and ignore their opinions, be they liberal, conservative, or in between, it doesn’t matter.
Don’t add to the already massive pile of intolerance.
State your opinions as intelligently as you can, and hope that your message can make others think in a way they haven’t before.
I hope your future blogs will make people thoughtfully analyze their own stances verses turning people against each other.
Best of luck.
-A
The only flaw in your argument is that you think I claim to be a “reputable journalist”. Au contraire, my darling.
Have a jolly day, and thank you for all those words!
-Kristin
Holy sh*t. You are a gorgeous and spunky one, LibertarianChickie!
LMAO. Don’t change, Libertarian Chick!
Oh Kristin, you naughty naughty girl! How dare you alienate the your Birkenstock-wearing, pot-smoking readers! GASP!!! (Throwing hand over forehead… Now falling to the ground… Now twitching…)
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LIBERTARIAN CHICK, DO NOT TAKE HER ADVICE! There are enough “intelligent” blogs out there… Don’t be like all those others. Don’t try to please everyone or you’ll please no one. This is your best blog, IMHO. As for you, Abby, you are forbidden from ever reading TheLibertarianChick again. Stick with CNN or the NYT opinion columns. As for you, LibertarianChick, keep poking fun at the Libtards the way you do sooooo well!
Love your writing style. Informative and hilarious. Very refreshing and fun to read!!!
Btw, I’m not in wheelchair, but I am physically handicapped (use crutches to get around for the rest of my life). And despite Abby’s comments, I found your analogy refreshingly honest and quite funny.
Great post, Kristin. And spot on. What is happening in our schools is a travesty!
scolt is right. It’s very easy to be a liberal student when you live with mom and dad, don’t have any bills to pay, and you’re magically handed new cash whenever you need it. Oh wait, I guess most adult liberals live the same way…
Sorry, nobody likes Ron Paul. Mitt Romney lost, Obama is your president. Get over it. Students live in their own little world, far removed from reality. Abby is spot on, you talk about how annoying it is that these students are smug and judgmental about their opinions and yet you sit here and say that they are all pot smoking hippies because of what they believe. You are a great writer, kept me interested the whole time, but not only does your piece lack in evidence and facts, it is insanely hypocritical.
Nobody likes Ron Paul? His supporters are like rabid dogs! There is no other politician who was more loved with so much passion than Ron Paul. His ideas about reforming government are so logical that no one wants to take the medicine and do the right thing… Soooo, we will continue to spend money we don’t have, grow the welfare state exponentially, and fight foreign wars all over the globe. And all these fat lazy dependent Americans will continue to wait for the government to give them something for free. The similarities to the Roman Empire are astounding…
YEAH that must be why hes had so much success running for president!!! THAT makes sense…he is so logical that nobody wants to do what he says….. You sir are a winner
Kristin, you can’t expect people to be tolerant of your libertarian beliefs when you are so obviously intolerant of liberals.
I am honestly shocked that you, as a woman, would (even jokingly) suggest that Kim Kardashian have an abortion. It’s been 40 years since Roe v. Wade. Surely you’ve realized that a woman’s reproductive rights are her own?
Even when you make valid points in your writing, they are overshadowed by your ignorance, disrespect, and rudeness. You should be ashamed of the way you present yourself to the world.
Anonymous, thank you for all your support. It means everything to me!
Hey, Humorless Anonymous Chick,
Kristin made it very clear that she supports a woman’s right to choose.
“You should be ashamed of the way you present yourself to the world.” Yup, that sounds like a typical, sanctimonious Liberal…
You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.
– Winston Churchill
Way to go libertarian chick! This is spot on!
Hey its mean that you make fun of us college students swho like to indulge in a bit of patchouli,… Patchouli is awsome, and it smells good. you can’t judge. me fooool! Im all for i support liberaltarian stuff and all, but dont make fun of me just becase I like to indulge in a little weed or pachouli. I mean, who am I hurting, seriously?
Chuck, there’s no doubt in my mind that you will be a tremendous success.
Well written, Kristin. It’s about time someone called out and pushed back (in a big and humorous way) against the liberal educational establishment. Three cheers for the Libertarian Chick!!!
For me it’s not the smugness or one-sidedness, it’s the anything i don’t understand, or anything that challenges my narrow wold view – MUST be wrong. If it doesn’t fit what I think I KNOW – it’s just, evil. wrong, and you’re evil and wrong for thinking it.
That’s not academia. That’s not intellectualism of any kind. It’s cult of personality.
AMEN! Glad I came across your site.
Funny how the more things change the more they stay the same…when I was in college (in 1970) patchouli was being worn, as were Che Guevara tees. Somewhere along the line I stumbled across the information that Guevara was in charge of Castro’s firing squads-a job he was quite fond of-and I just never got around to buying one. I’m bald-but no pony tail, thank you-and Justin Amash is my idea of the kind of person I’d like to see filling the halls of Congress. Keep up the great work, Kristin!
Hey, I resemble that remark about balding me with pony tails!
How do you call yourself a libertarian, believing everyone is created equal and support abortion rights? Libertarianism is not anarchy. Don’t you still have a duty to protect unborn babies? Maybe you think life doesn’t begin at conception? Just wondering..
Why on Earth would you go to college in Boston? If you like the Northeast, transfer to a New Hampshire school! Or are you trying to learn how the establishment thinks so you can help us overthrow them and their untenable liberal dreams for the USA?
Che Guevara must’ve been a magician, ridding Cuba of AIDS a couple of decades before the disease was ever even heard of! With fact checking like this I can see why you got a C on your political paper.
Nearly every teacher I have had since High School has suppressed all opinion, but their own. What is most terrible is that they all share very similar ideals. The last two Profs I have had even went as far as saying that the only reason people dislike Obama is because he is black. Most in these classes just eat it up and regurgitate the muck every chance they get. I understand your sentiments on liberalizing papers for a good grade, but it certainly hurts to whore one’s self out like that. My hope is that one day those grades will put me in a position in which I may influence some change.