Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) argued that paying back one’s student debt constitutes “policy violence” — an argument promptly refuted by conservatives on social media.
On Friday, the progressive lawmaker posted a lengthy Twitter thread about student loan debt, arguing that the phenomenon is a “racial,” “gender,” and “economic justice” issue.
Today, over 43 million people in the U.S. are crushed under more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt.
This fall, the A-Team led our first ever deep canvassing efforts w/our neighbors across the #MA7 to hear how this crisis impacts our communities. This is what we learned🧵
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) December 17, 2021
“Today, over 43 million people in the U.S. are crushed under more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt,” Pressley noted. She thanked activists for “deep canvassing” her district — a process in which they “engaged voters across the district in longer, one-on-one conversations about student debt cancellation, discussed how canceling student debt would impact their lives, and introduced new perspectives by sharing stories & lived experiences.”
Pressley offered three such interactions, concluding: “And so many others whose lived experiences continue to affirm what we know to be true: That the student debt crisis is multiracial & multigenerational. That it is a racial, gender & economic justice issue.”
After calling on President Biden to unilaterally cancel loans, Pressley declared that “student debt is policy violence.” However, conservatives immediately noticed the hypocrisy behind Pressley’s argument.
Let’s make it plain: student debt is policy violence.
We’ll keep fighting to relieve families across the country, to make sure our policies & budgets reflect their lived experiences & that we build this grassroots movement to #CancelStudentDebt together🧵
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) December 17, 2021
“Paying your own debts that you entered a contractual agreement to repay is VIOLENCE. But forcing blue-collar workers to repay your debts while you engage in online social justice activism is EQUITY. Am I understanding this correctly?” tweeted Christina Pushaw, the press secretary for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). “Student debt is violence, but throwing Molotov cocktails into police cars is social justice,” she noted sarcastically in another tweet.
“Let’s make it plain: you’re a dirty Communist,” said New Discourses founder James Lindsay. “We’ll keep fighting to remove you from any power and influence in our society, and you’ll thank us if you don’t end up is prison for the rest of your life.”
“Democrats always get the human motivation part wrong. Every time,” said cartoonist Scott Adams.
“Abusing terms like ‘violence’ doesn’t persuade people,” acknowledged Will Saletan, a correspondent with progressive outlet Slate. “It just makes them discount the rest of your message.”
“Abortion is violence,” countered Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton.
Pressley’s remarks follow other Democratic lawmakers’ complaints about their own outstanding student loan balances.
In a speech on the House floor, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called it “ridiculous” that she needs to pay $17,000 in student loans — although her annual salary as a member of Congress is $174,000.
“I’m 32 years old now,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I have over $17,000 in student loan debt, and I didn’t go to graduate school because I knew that getting another degree would drown me in debt that I would never be able to surpass. This is unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) said on the House floor that she is likewise struggling to repay her obligations: “I worked full time, Monday through Friday, and took weekend classes to get my law degree. And still, close to $200,000 in debt. And I still owe over $70,000 and most of it was interest.”
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Source: Dailywire
