Dear Readers,
Our attention has been brought to some concerns about the second chapter of the Strictly Classified Journal of a BP Debater series.
First of all, we want to openly acknowledge the harmful and unfortunately pervasive myth that progressive taxation policies shouldn’t be implemented because those at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder may one day become rich. The Debate Correspondent does not agree with or endorse these view as they ignore a whole host of structural inequalities and continued injustices that makes it so that many people have little choice but to rely on government assistance to meet their basic needs.
All around the world, a popular conservative talking point is to claim that poor people only want higher taxes on the rich because they are jealous and are not the target of such policies. As inaccurate as it is, this view is part of the reason why many underprivileged persons would rather work dangerous, low paying jobs without complaining rather than fighting for their economic entitlements. The main character of the story is a victim of such beliefs.
The recently released chapter is about the true story of someone bringing their pre-conceived notions about the world into debate world. The arc we intended to create was that of a person re-evaluating their beliefs after participating in an activity is supposed to encourage critical thinking and analysis. Their view on progressive taxation is unfortunately not an uncommon one.
Lastly, as debaters, we have to realize that the world is bigger than the often self-congratulatory liberal space we live in. Even within our space, people still continue to experience discrimination and abuse while debating against those same wrongs. In order to be better advocates for change, we have to first understand that the beliefs we share amongst ourselves may not be as common as we would think and always be willing to challenge our takes.
In conclusion, we’d like to say that we are glad that our story was able to generate discourse on a very important subject. The main aim of our story series is to bring to view the challenges that debaters face in the debate circuit. If you have ideas or suggestions, we would be happy to hear them. Op-ed submissions can be made on the deate correspondent’s website’s contact page or by messaging Jeremiah Sekyi or Jubilee Lambie on Facebook.
-The Debate Correspondent