“We need to talk”: for Siloë, 21, “we must not close ourselves off with people who think like us”

The idea had gained ground since the last European and legislative elections: finding a way to exchange ideas with people who do not share one’s ideas. So when, at the beginning of October, Siloë heard about the “We need to talk” operation in The Cross – her parents are subscribers – she did not hesitate.

She of course has debates with the students of her engineering school in Palaiseau (Essonne). Debates rather “posed”, “where everyone knows how to listen”. But, at 21, Siloë also understands the limits of social homogeneity. “We do the same studies and we generally all come from the same background, like in most major schools. I find it more interesting to talk to really different people. »

Her background, this daughter of a doctor mother and an engineer father, defines it with two adjectives: “well-off and Catholic”. The second of three siblings raised in Aix-en-Provence, she also thinks that the values ​​transmitted within her family are not foreign to her approach. “The idea of ​​accepting everyone, of remaining open to others, is what I remember first from the religion in which I grew up and in which I still recognize myself today. »

“The idea of ​​accepting everyone, of remaining open to others”

With his brother and sister, as with his parents, exchanges are fluid and the majority of points of agreement. Some subjects, however, have become “a little sensitive” with his grandparents, to the point that they avoid approaching them. This is the case of the environmental crisis which has shaken up his life since the climate marches in 2019. “In my generation, we have understood for a long time that there is a problem, but what struck me at that moment was the inaction in the face of the climate crisis,” explains the young woman who would like to work to preserve the marine environment.

His choice of study, his associative activities, like his attraction to the sea, everything aligns with this urgency. “I want to acquire the scientific skills necessary to be credible,” insists the student, who evaluated with the teachers the contents of her school’s new program dedicated to sustainable development.

“Don’t lock yourself in with people who think the same thing”

Siloë also loves music – she has been playing the saxophone for twelve years –, science fiction or detective novels, but also biographies, gymnastics and rowing. And make no mistake. On November 23, she does not intend to convince her interlocutor. She didn’t even think about it when she signed up. “I didn’t tell myself that I could change it, I want to understand how we can be resistant to the changes imposed by the state of the planet today. It’s important to be able to understand, to not lock yourself in with people who think the same thing. »

The fact remains that the exercise is not easy. “Part of me fears that I won’t be able to listen if it becomes too divisive, too different,” admits Siloë who, when registering, answered the first question in the negative “Can we love each other and have opposing political ideas? ». If she knows that on the big day, she will be able to count on her empathy and her ability to listen, she fears her sensitivity. “It’s sometimes very difficult for me to hear things that are the opposite of what I think, I’m afraid of being hurt. But you have to try it! »