Student Activism in the USA

[s1962a]

With the current student protests in the USA regarding the Israel<>Hamas war, I do wonder how long they will go on for, and whether it will have any effect. Violence against students/arrests in the past has been pretty well documented, and this time seems to be the same. Will it change anything though?

https://www.reckon.news/news/2024/04/can-student-p...

[272BHP]

I find some of this quite shocking to be honest.

https://unherd.com/newsroom/have-elite-universitie...

"Activism can bolster high-achieving students’ social and academic standing, including through lucrative fellowships. An organisation funded by Left-wing billionaire George Soros, for example, has been paying student activists $3,000 per three-month term to pressure politicians and government entities to cut financial ties with Israel."

[Andeh1]

Isn't it kind of a students perogative to protest, get all excited by whatever the latest trend is, make lots of noise, feel good about making a difference, graduate and move on? Adults just need to patiently smile and nod and wait for them to get bored and move to the next popular protest.

Also, don't deploy snipers.

Edited by Andeh1 on Tuesday 30th April 21:34

[272BHP]

Andeh1 said:

Isn't it kind of a students perogative to protest, get all excited by whatever the latest trend is, make lots of noise, feel good about making a difference, graduate and move on? Adults just need to patiently smile and nod and wait for them to get bored and move to the next popular protest.

Also, don't deploy snipers.

The problem is that they do graduate and move on ...

Into the bloody workplace

[Timothy Bucktu]

s1962a said:

With the current student protests in the USA regarding the Israel<>Hamas war, I do wonder how long they will go on for, and whether it will have any effect. Violence against students/arrests in the past has been pretty well documented, and this time seems to be the same. Will it change anything though?

https://www.reckon.news/news/2024/04/can-student-p...

It's just the current thing. I doubt any of them could point to Gaza on a map. They'll go back to protesting against Trump in the Autumn.

[mikebradford]

I feel students protesting is OK in principle.
However it appears they've been blocking and intimidating jewish students. This I find unacceptable.
It shows a deeper disregard maybe bording on hatred of Jewish students by a proportion of the protestors.

Ultimately the protests for some are simply an excuse to bring up the Palestine issues with Israel, rather than push for an end to the war and peace.

[Skeptisk]

Outside the NP&E bubble a lot of people are upset and frustrated at the US’s unquestioning support of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians, particularly since the insane attack by Hamas has given the Israelis an excuse to act out their genocidal fantasies.

The better question is not why students are protesting but rather why aren’t more people in the US protesting about the US governments political support, cash and supply of weapons to Israel, which allows Israel to avoid a political solution with the Palestinians.

[JagLover]

Skeptisk said:

Outside the NP&E bubble a lot of people are upset and frustrated at the US’s unquestioning support of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians, particularly since the insane attack by Hamas has given the Israelis an excuse to act out their genocidal fantasies.

And peaceful protest is fine.

What people are questioning more is the attacks on, and intimidation of, Jewish students in American universities. Not perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to progressive protest.

Ironic that the generation that calls anyone they disagree with Nazis would adopt such behaviour, but perhaps the natural end point of identity politics.

[Blue62]

JagLover said:

And peaceful protest is fine.

What people are questioning more is the attacks on, and intimidation of, Jewish students in American universities. Not perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to progressive protest.

Ironic that the generation that calls anyone they disagree with Nazis would adopt such behaviour, but perhaps the natural end point of identity politics.

I’m not sure that this is really a case of identity politics, the opposition to what’s going on in Gaza is fairly broad based, so I don’t understand your ‘natural end point’ comment, but I’m all ears. As for calling people Nazi’s, I was a student in the late 1980’s and it was a much used and abused term back then, it’s really not a generational thing at all.

[Octoposse]

Unfortunate connotations of the NYPD lowering a Palestinian flag (and tossing it aside) and raising the Stars and Stripes.

Shot from below, it looked like a pastiche of Iwo Jima. Unhelpful mindset for policing?

[ChocolateFrog]

Octoposse said:

Unfortunate connotations of the NYPD lowering a Palestinian flag (and tossing it aside) and raising the Stars and Stripes.

Shot from below, it looked like a pastiche of Iwo Jima. Unhelpful mindset for policing?

What we're they supposed to do?

Americans get quite uppity about their flag.

[272BHP]

Octoposse said:

Unfortunate connotations of the NYPD lowering a Palestinian flag (and tossing it aside) and raising the Stars and Stripes.

Shot from below, it looked like a pastiche of Iwo Jima. Unhelpful mindset for policing?

Odd comment.

The Palestinian flag has no business being on that flag pole and it was rightfully replaced.

[ChocolateFrog]

I'd be pissed if I'd paid $70k a year and was told it would be zoom meeting's only because of a load of my antisenitic classmates decided their time would be better spent squatting on university property.

[Randy Winkman]

Blue62 said:

I’m not sure that this is really a case of identity politics, the opposition to what’s going on in Gaza is fairly broad based, so I don’t understand your ‘natural end point’ comment, but I’m all ears. As for calling people Nazi’s, I was a student in the late 1980’s and it was a much used and abused term back then, it’s really not a generational thing at all.

One young person in the 80s. Perhaps even when JagLover was a young one?

[Fast and Spurious]

ChocolateFrog said:

I'd be pissed if I'd paid $70k a year and was told it would be zoom meeting's only because of a load of my antisenitic classmates decided their time would be better spent squatting on university property.

Pissed off? Or did you mean actually pissed, drunk?

[Octoposse]

272BHP said:

Octoposse said:

Unfortunate connotations of the NYPD lowering a Palestinian flag (and tossing it aside) and raising the Stars and Stripes.

Shot from below, it looked like a pastiche of Iwo Jima. Unhelpful mindset for policing?

Odd comment.

The Palestinian flag has no business being on that flag pole and it was rightfully replaced.

Firstly - is that a matter for Police rather than, say, the university authorities or janitorial team?

Secondly, ”storming Mount Suribachi“ isn’t a helpful mindset for the task in hand. And the NYPD risk making themselves look ridiculous.

[CharlieCrocodile]

They just cosplay revolutionaries. They've also been demanding humanitarian aid because of the position they've put themselves in, straight out of the Hamas playbook.

[Electro1980]

JagLover said:

And peaceful protest is fine.

What people are questioning more is the attacks on, and intimidation of, Jewish students in American universities. Not perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to progressive protest.

Ironic that the generation that calls anyone they disagree with Nazis would adopt such behaviour, but perhaps the natural end point of identity politics.

If you exclude all protest where someone feels intimidated then peaceful protest is impossible. But then you Godwin it immediately.

By all accounts, and reasonable definition, the protests have been peaceful. It’s an attack on free speech, by those who claim to so strongly support free speech. By people who are happy to defend people carrying guns in protest, suddenly they don’t believe in the right to protest.

This is all about identity politics. The identity politics of right wing politicians trying to invoke a “far left” boogy man to keep control of a population starting to turn away from populist politics.

[bobbo89]

Largely all the same brainwashed useful idiots we've seen at various other 'protests'. Your typical hair dyed and masked BLM/ACAB/Antifa activists who've found a new cause, a new flag to wave and a new thing to add to their uniform with the Hamas tea towel.

[Ridgemont]

Electro1980 said:

If you exclude all protest where someone feels intimidated then peaceful protest is impossible. But then you Godwin it immediately.

By all accounts, and reasonable definition, the protests have been peaceful. It’s an attack on free speech, by those who claim to so strongly support free speech. By people who are happy to defend people carrying guns in protest, suddenly they don’t believe in the right to protest.

This is all about identity politics. The identity politics of right wing politicians trying to invoke a “far left” boogy man to keep control of a population starting to turn away from populist politics.

This is not 1968.

Jewish students have over the last few days been told to ‘go back to Poland’ and been told they are ‘Al-Qasam’s next target’.

Utterly despicable and outrageous. Bigotry dressed up as ‘right to protest’ and ‘Free speech’ is still racist bigotry.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/21/nyregion/columb...