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***Warning: This post is in no way meant to be offensive to anyone, and displays my own personal beliefs and opinions.***
The #AskTrump tag on Twitter went about as well as you would think. It appears that for every Trump supporter there is out there, there’s at least three people against him (which is more comforting than it should be). I wasn’t originally planning on writing any posts on the upcoming U.S. presidential election (and the campaigns for the party nominations), since I am very biased in that field, but I don’t think a candidate like Donald Trump can be ignored. Is there anyone Trump hasn’t offended, aside from rich white American males and even then, he’s gone after his own kind in some instances. And while nationalism and pride in one’s country isn’t the worst thing you could endorse as a potential candidate for president, there are definitely a lot of problems with strong strong nationalism (anyone else remember a certain leader who started out just wanting to create a strong German nation many decades ago?). And while you shouldn’t believe every idea you hear or every parallel you see, there is definitely some take away from that one. In an effort to connect with the younger generation, Trump launched his #AskTrump tag on Twitter, stating that he would answer any and all questions sent to him. And people had a field day with it. Below are some of my personal favorites.
And there are so many, many more. If you want to read them all (in all of their glory), I suggest checking out the #AskTrump tag on Twitter.
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I hate my name. Susan feels like a middle aged housewife who hates her life and regrets most of her life choices. Susan is tired of feeling tired. Susan feels like everything I would hate to become. When someone mispronounces my name or bastardizes it into Sue or Susie or Suzanne, I don’t really mind. But lately, I’ve come to realize that there is a privilege in this indifference. See, Susan is a familiar name. It’s simple and easy and generic and very very white middle class America. You see Susan in the grocery store, down the bread aisle, contemplating white or whole wheat. Susan is nonthreatening to those in power. Susan doesn’t mind being oppressed. Susan is quiet and complacent and rarely speaks her mind. I’ve been trying to recognize the privileges I’ve been born with and realize how they affect who I am and what I stand for. Going through the American education system, I’ve noticed that my name is many’s first impression of me, even before they see me. I’m just another notch on a class list. Writing resumes has only cemented this thought. Potential employers see my name, and they have a distinct mental image. And most of the time, they’re at least partially right. My name has much different soci-cultural/economical, and even political connotations and implications than a more unique name. These videos from the Freakonomics documentary explore what a name means and how it will affect your life, I'd highly suggest watching the full film (it's even on Netflix, you have no excuse) because it makes some interesting points that I couldn't find in clip form. At the beginning of this semester, I noticed more of my professors taking more time to ask each student how they preferred their name be pronounced. I saw this as a really valuable opportunity to build a rapport with each student and show respect within the first few moments of meeting them. Unfortunately, the reason I was so excited by this is this respect isn’t always shown in other aspects of our society. I’ve noticed that generally, white populations have a difficult time dealing with unique names, and tend to pronounce them the way they feel inclined to or give them ‘white’ nicknames that’s easier for them to remember, without consideration from the person. Below is a great example of this from Late Night With Seth Meyers. All in all, I was just hoping to get people thinking about their names, and the people around them's names and how to lessen our personal biases regarding what we see the connotations as. I'm hopeful that we can stop being dicks and call people what they deserve to be called. Note: none of these clips are our own, and belong to the respective labeled sources.
I’m a huge fan of Nicki Minaj; her music, her personality, her values, everything! I absolutely love her. Not only is she an incredible female rapper in an industry dominated by men, or a successful WoC in the female music industry dominated by white women, but she’s also very driven and level-headed. She’s succeeded in an industry designed to keep her down, and I admire that very much. I can assure you that there are more than 10 reasons to love Nicki Minaj, but I figured a shorter list would be more powerful than a longer one. So here are 10 reasons to love Nicki Minaj. 1. While I’m not a fan of girl-on-girl hate (especially between celebrities and especially when the media is involved), I did like how Nicki stood behind her statement about why her video “Anaconda” (which celebrates the black female body instead of the white female body) wasn’t nominated for video of the year , when confronted by Taylor Swift. Nicki handled the situation very well, not naming names but still holding Swift accountable for misunderstanding the tweet (which, to Swift’s credit, she did apologize for later on and all was forgiven between the two). 2. Nicki realized the value of a college education, and often tells her fans to stay in school and further their education as much as they can, because she never had the opportunity to go to college. “If you have the opportunity, go to college and forget these little boys out here that are trying to get in your pants.” - Nicki Minaj 3. Nicki is an excellent rapper, and doesn’t need to demote women to do so. Her verse in “Monster” (by Kanye West and also featuring Rick Ross, Jay-Z, and Bon Iver) proves she is one of the best rappers out there. 4. She believes women should feel empowered and in control of their lives. She also called out the double standard between bossy men being “bosses” (a positive connotation), and bossy women being “bitches” (a negative connotation). “I just want women to always feel in control. Because we’re capable, we’re so capable.” - Nicki Minaj 5. She’s a good role model for little girls because she shows them how powerful dedication, motivation, and believing in yourself can be. “I want to show little girls that the possibilities are endless. That’s my goal, to not only do it for myself, but to show them I can do whatever I put my mind to.” - Nicki Minaj 6. A few years ago in 2011, Nicki went on Ellen and rapped her song “Super Bass” with the adorable British mini-duo Sophia Grace and Rosie. If you haven’t seen the video check it out right now, it’s too cute not to! (And she told the two to stay in school, as per usual; “Music is beautiful, but I want you to stay in school. Put your books first and singing second”). 7. Nicki and Queen Bey are best friend goals. When they work together, the end results are always perfect. Source? Try a live version of Beyonce’s ***Flawless featuring Nicki, and the video for “Feelin’ Myself” the two made off of Nicki’s latest album. 8. Nicki also made a killer video with friend Cassie for their song “The Boys” And while it isn’t my favorite song, the two are definitely spreading some real bad girl vibes. 9. She understands that you don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to be everything you’re expected to be. “When you’re a girl, you have to be everything: you have to be dope at what you do, but you have to be super sweet, and you have to be sexy, and you have to be this and you have to be nice, and you have to- it’s like I can’t be all of those things at once. I’m a human being.” - Nicki Minaj 10. “Anaconda” really was a break-through video, that went from objectifying black women to empowering them. Nicki shows through her video that it’s okay for women to look and act sexual, especially black women (who are more often than not exploited in the music industry). (NOTE: All pictures were taken from Nicki’s Facebook, since none of us know her personally) (ADDITIONAL NOTE: All quotes were found via tumblr, and may not be linked to their initial interviews. We did not conduct the interviews, and are in no way associated with the conductions of the interviews, because again, we do not know Nicki at all).  
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