By KATIE HOVAN
Philip Rucker of The Washington Post published an article Wednesday depicting Donald Trump’s New York supporters that were seated on a New York ferry during the evening rush hour to Staten Island.
Rucker describes several of the passengers through their jobs, appearance and background and he even juxtaposes a construction worker, a Hungarian immigrant, and a fashion model who all support the Republican candidate. The article is meant to be colorful and intimate, while shedding light on the different types of Trump followers and their reasons for supporting him.
Although it’s pleasing to read and I gained a greater perspective on the different types of people who support Trump and their reasons for doing so, I found that Rucker’s reporting itself is a bit too rightward leaning for my taste.
I feel that it’s important to be much more careful about how writers portray such a large group of people with so many different views. A Staten Island ferry ride may give a glimpse at Trump supporters, but it doesn’t speak for everyone.
I’ll admit that Rucker makes several attempts to express the voices of opposing New Yorkers, but the piece projects Staten Island, and New York, as a predominantly Republican area. The title itself gives the impression that most New York and Staten Island residents support Trump, and after reading the article, that’s is the idea that I was left with.
For me, it all boils down to perception. If I finish reading a piece and am left with a single idea about a large group of people, I consider it to be too predisposed.
I’m sure that my criticism is too harsh, given the fact that a writer can’t possibly listen to the individual opinions of all 8.4 million New York City residents, but I’d like to believe that there is a lot more diversity in opinion than those few people on the ferry who believe Donald Trump is representative of the typical New Yorker.