Yasin Akgun is a member of Tottenham Conservatives who is currently studying in Birmingham where he is actively involved with BUCF. Here Yasin defends students as being a more political group in society then we like to think.
I first came up with the idea of this article when I heard a couple of girls in a pub talking about a guy who had dared to knock back one of their friends by saying that he wasn’t attracted to her. Their conclusion was that he must be gay.
Which got me thinking and realising. Their attitude is precisely the same as politicians towards students. They have the attitude that students aren’t attracted to politics therefore they must have no interest in anything in political in nature.
Politics is unattractive. The politicians are stale and most are clear rejects of society. They are self interested, self serving and self flattering. So why should students be at all interested in politicians?
I do something that very few people involved in politics do. It’s called talking to people. And no I’m not referring to conversing with people in the political bubble. The kind of people who will watch their party’s member on television and say how great they were. I’m talking about normal people, the people that matter.
When I speak to students about politicians and politics they are turned off faster than I am when thinking about spending a night with my ex girlfriend. However, as soon as something political in nature is mentioned the conversation is ignited. Students have an opinion on everything, except for politicians and party politics.
For example when I went out for dinner with some people on my course tonight somebody asked me about what made me get myself involved in politics. I answered, knowing that whatever I said the conversation would die very quickly. Then I threw in something subtlely political, I said I believed that pepper sprays should be legalised for people without any criminal records.
Immediately everyone on the people started talking about it, giving their opinion on it. Before we knew we’d discussed more political issues than all the leadership debates combined.
Just because students do not care for, or are attracted to party politics or politicians it does not mean that they therefore have no care or interest to anything political. Just like the poor bloke the girls were destroying like vultures in their conversation decided that just because he didn’t find their friend attractive (nor did I to be frank) that he must therefore have no interest in girls full stop.
It’s quite funny. A lot of my friends apologise to me when they malign party politics and politicians. To which I say do you know what, I don’t blame you at all, in the slightest. Party politics is pathetic, boring and frankly unattractive to anybody who lives in the real world.
They say they’re not political or have any opinions on politics when in fact they have far more intelligent things to say than a party political whore.
The point of this article is two fold. Firstly to point out that students do have an interest in politics whether they know it or not, they just have no time or interest in party political posturing. Secondly it’s to ask those who are involved in politics to stop being so unattractive to people who live in the real world. Fact of the matter is that you’re turning off the very people we need. Think about that one the next time you harass and jump on someone when talking about party political things. You are being unattractive.
The only people you’re impressing are the converted. Everyone else is turned off.
Birmingham University Conservative Future 