We should applaud our young people,
For protesting Israel’s unholy war.
We don’t hate Jews, we don’t hate Muslims,
But pain and suffering, we do abhor.
Whether we send soldiers or bombs,
The inhumanity remains the same.
Killing innocent civilians is a war crime,
No matter who or what’s to blame.
We do not protest giving them aid,
To ensure that democracy will endure.
But funding a genocide in Palestine,
Nobody signs up for that, I’m sure.
If America loves its young people,
Why deny Gaza’s children the same?
Let’s support peace in the Middle East,
And stand before God without blame.
By: ElRoyPoet © 2024
How college protests against war in Gaza compare to demonstrations of the past
“[Our founders] created a document that built a representative democracy. Because the idea is: that our elected officials represent us, they don’t rule us, they have to listen. And in order to achieve this, you need the machinery for people to have their voice heard. However, it is the republican party that constantly seeks to attack the machinery for change—the method in which the average person can have their voice heard. This is why they suppress the vote, this is why they seek to criminalize assembly, speech, it’s why they attack the media—fake news. This is a method outlined by the founders, so the government can hear the opinions of the people—when it comes to petitioning for a redress of grievances. [Regardless], when it comes to the republican party you are always doing it wrong!” Excerpts from: Trump, the constitution, and the machinery for change
Op-Ed: How Authoritarians squash protests
MAGA Republicans hate higher education, but what they really despise is the 1st Amendment
Peaceful protests have agitators, just as police departments often have ‘rogue cops’. You can’t infringe on the First Amendment due to ‘bad actors’, just as you can’t disband the police force because of bullies. Protests are not a parade of happy people. The word ‘protest’ indicates that the participants are angry and fed up with an injustice. When a peaceful protest devolves into a riot, because it’s been hijacked by anarchists, the governor often declares an emergency curfew to force everybody to go home and forget about it. In other words, “Sorry, better luck next time, you don’t have to ever protest again, because we didn’t learn our lesson.” This results in the dismissal of legitimate concerns from the protesters, so that nothing changes.
However, this is usually orchestrated by the police chief, who employed illegal rules of engagement and commanded his officers to act as covert armed counter-protesters in order to dominate and coerce the peaceful protestors into engaging in civil disobedience. These intimidation and scare tactics are executed by ‘kettling’ and roughing up the protesters. This, in turn, escalates tensions and exacerbates the situation to the point of inciting confrontations. Basically, what the police department did in concert with the Governor is tyranny and the federal crime of censorship, in order to silence the voice of the people.
This Is How Power Protects Itself
The Republican Congress also cries foul by claiming that the protests have gotten out of hand and act as if their constituents are being victimized. They take advantage of the protests to expand their control and spheres of influence, while disregarding the efforts of peaceful protesters. Even though these elected officials are guilty of having instigated the protests in the first place by allowing tyranny to fester under their watch. It’s not about society’s shortcomings; it’s about these politicians not defending the public from an oppressive police state. They were elected to uphold the Constitution and protect the rights of all citizens, not just those who agree with their political views.
Every time progressives try to bring positive change, conservatives dig in their heels to maintain the ‘status quo’. If it were up to them, there would never be a protest or any need for our First Amendment. Fortunately, our forefathers understood that the government would attempt to suppress our civil rights, which is why they enacted the Constitution.
Jewish students and professors speak out against claims Columbia protests are antisemitic
Ultimately, the government can’t blame or collectively punish protesters because of the actions of outliers and radicals, just as we can’t abolish the police force because of the behavior of ‘bad apples.’ It’s up to our government to police the community’s anarchists and to punish the corruption within the police force. Regrettably, the public frequently bears the brunt of the consequences, due to our elected representatives selling us out to police unions, when they should have instead reformed or defunded them a long time ago!
State-endorsed violence is triumphing over left-aligned protests
References:
“The Function of Protest and Civil Disobedience”, Philosophy & Public Affairs, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Autumn, 1975), pp. 3-39
“The Impact of Public Emergencies on Democratic Societies”, Democracy and Security, 15:3, 262-282
“Police and Protests in the United States”, Policing: An International Journal
“Political Polarization and the Dynamics of Mass Protests: Evidence from the U.S.”, Journal of Politics
“Political Ideology and Resistance to Change”, Political Psychology, Vol. 30, No. 5 (Oct., 2009), pp. 759-783
“Police Corruption and Misconduct”, The Oxford Handbook of Police and Policing
“The Politics of Police Reform: Society against the State in Post-Soviet Countries”, Oxford University Press, 2018
The primary purpose of colleges and universities is to educate and empower our young people to become responsible and informed citizens. These institutions of higher learning should embrace debates on various ideologies. These institutions serve as a crucial platform for fostering critical thinking and leadership skills in students. Encouraging open discussions on different viewpoints can help us expand our perspectives and challenge our beliefs.
School administrators can play a significant role in creating an environment conducive to free speech by designating a First Amendment zone within the campus. This zone can serve as a safe space where students feel comfortable expressing their opinions without the fear of censorship or backlash. Allowing students to exercise their civil rights not only promotes freedom of speech but also encourages them to engage in meaningful dialogue with their community of peers.
Moreover, by participating in debates and discussions on different ideologies, students can earn social justice credit for their efforts. This incentivizes active participation in conversations that promote equality, diversity, and inclusion on campus. By encouraging students to advocate for social justice, colleges and universities are equipping them to be better leaders, so that they will be able to address the complex challenges of the world to come.
What People Forget about Student Protesters? They’re Usually Right
References:
“The Role of Critical Thinking in Education”, Hafen, B. (2017), Springer
“Free Speech on Campus”, Johnstone, R. (2018), Harvard University Press
“We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.” By: Ayn Rand
“Zero tolerance for protestors, they better be peaceful or else, besides nobody cares about ungrateful minorities’ and their sympathizers grievances, anyway. However if our law enforcement officials accidentally mess up, we need to give them a pass because they have a very dangerous job to do and need our support so that they won’t feel demoralized.” By: B. Bondman
“Those who make peaceful revolution (freedom of speech) impossible, will make violent revolution (protest theatrics) inevitable.” By: John F. Kennedy
“Police brutality doesn’t stop protests, it provokes them. Only tyranny stops protests, because it makes the First Amendment mute.” By: B. Bondman
“Conservatives believe social movements and protests divide us, but actually, it’s the opposite, at least for popular demonstrations. French democracy was built on a model in which voting is not the only means of popular expression. A demonstration expresses dissatisfaction with government policy. Some commentators have quipped that it doesn’t make sense for the French to essentially be on stand-by for protest at all times, when they have things so good in comparison to everyone else. But this is exactly why things are better in France—because they see the power in collective action and demand change. The French don’t wear their suffering like a badge of honor as is the custom in England.” Excerpt from Why are the French so good at protesting?
“…people who value social conformity […] support the government when it wants to increase its control over social behavior and punish nonconformity […] valuing social conformity increases the motivation for placing restrictions on behavior […] the desire for social freedom is now subservient to the enforcement of social norms and rules. Thus, groups will be targeted for repression to the extent that they challenge social conformity…” Excerpt from: Stanley Feldman, Enforcing Social Conformity: A Theory of Authoritarianism, 2003
“Each of us feels some aspect of the world’s suffering acutely. And we must pay attention. We must act. This little corner of the world is ours to transform. This little corner of the world is ours to save.” By: Stephen Cope
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