So I've been wanting to discuss this, but at the same time, I just....haven't gotten around to it, mainly because everything seems so charged and biased. Western media seems to be portraying the protests as a bunch of violent hamas sympathizers, and leftie media is like "oh no we're poor innocent babies who wouldnt hurt a fly and the cops are being mean." And....like always, the truth is in between.
First of all, the protests. People have a right to protest and assembly in this country. But at the same time, if the protests are becoming violent, or are occurring on private property (like an elite college campus), or are obstructing stuff, then I could see why some would want them shut down. And honestly, I think when Columbia wants to shut these protests down, they're doing it for good reason.
I have to admit, most protests I've seen have been relatively peaceful in and of themselves, with nothing going on, but at the same time, there are moments. Random protesters chanting vile things in support of hamas, or calling for a genocide of israel, or someone getting poked in the eye with a flag pole or something, or fighting with the cops, and I can see why Columbia would deem these protests unsafe, cancel their classes, or encourage Jewish students to go home. The culture surrounding them is kinda dangerous, there is a powder keg there, and there are....issues there.
I have no doubt most of these protesters are relatively peaceful. MOST. But not all. And some protesters seem to have bad motives and are ruining it for everyone else. And let's face it, this is how i characterize the pro palestine movement in general. Most mean well, but the weirdo radical leftists come off as kinda dangerous and seem to be trying to incite crap. And we all know they exist. I bash them regularly on here. Their concern for palestine goes well beyond the current military operation overstepping its boundaries, and into support for hamas, and palestinian nationalism, and antisemitism. And let's not deny this. We all know some people are like this. And I think people have a right to be concerned. Still, as long as this stuff remains PEACEFUL they should largely have a right to do it, the problem is it's getting borderline, there are bad actors, and the crowd seems to be getting out of control.
Now, police response. I also have mixed views here. Columbia itself, idk, I kinda think the protesters are screwing around and finding out. I see videos of people being asked to leave, getting all militant and in the cops faces like "dont tell me to leave i have a right to be here" and then the protesters get arrested. I mean, that's screwing around and finding out. If youre asked to disperse, first by the college and then by law enforcement, and you dont, and you argue with the cops, don't be surprised when at some point they start wrestling people to the ground.
At the same time, some police responses seem grossly disproportional. I know I've seen videos out of...I think it was Emery university in Georgia? Anyway, the imagery looked different there and they were brutally throwing peaceful protesters to the ground and hauling away college professors. That's NUTS. I mean, here's the thing. Im not sure police always makes the situation better. Sometimes they make it worse. They're rough, they're brutal, they should only act as a last resort IMO. But....sometimes police overrespond. That's how we got the george floyd stuff in 2020 with defund the police, and obviously, many of the protests there were like WTF as they were throwing old people to the ground, shooting people in the face with teargas cannisters, and generally acting violently toward protesters who seemed reasonably peaceful. So, yeah, it happens. And it's happening here too. The NYPD in Columbia doesnt seem to be acting as out of line, but the ones in georgia? yeah, overkill.
Here's the thing. I've been hearing some of this being compared to like, Kent state university. There was a really bad anti war protest there in 1970, and it devolved into the cops shooting protesters. And I do wanna give some warning here. 50 years later, no one remembers the protests as much. What they remember are the dead bodies on the ground and that girl screaming. So....police response, dont overdo it. It makes the situation worse and makes law enforcement out to be the bad guy. Of course leftists are gonna say law enforcement are always the bad guy, but yeah I'm not ACAB here. Police serve a vital role in society, but sometimes they do make things worse.
It's all contextual. Ideally, people should protest as they want, as long as they're peaceful. The cops should only step in when the benefits of their actions outweighs the risks of them overreacting, and yeah. Law enforcement should be somewhat restrained here. Still if you willingly violate a cop's orders, I'm just gonna write that up as FAFO. Ya know?
As far as free speech, well let me put it this way. I never seen anyone get arrested for posting pro palestinian sentiment online. In person protests should absolutely happen, but if they go on for too long to the point they start obstructing people of their use of private property, or the crowd gets dangerous, then I can see some reasons why police would step in. It's a balance. People have a right to protest but if youre on private property, that's not gonna have the same protections as a public square. And if the crowd causes people to feel reasonably unsafe (reasonably being the key word), then that's not justifiable either.
Still, protesters should be given as much leeway as reasonably possible here. And I do think that police are sometimes overstepping their bounds. At the same time, FAFO still applies. It's like those famous last words "what are you gonna do, shoot me?" You provoke cops and get all up in their face, and dont me surprised when your face meets the pavement pretty fast. It's a pretty simple principle.
Above everything, stay safe. If an environment feels dangerous, leave. If the cops are telling you to leave DEFINITELY leave because crap is gonna get real if you don't. Focus on self preservation. Everyone has their rights, I'm not saying they don't, but there are reasonable limits here that need to be enforced. This isn't worth dying or getting injured or arrested over. And that's my view.
Oh yeah, one more thing. To Bibi Netanyahu, SHUT THE HECK UP! Seriously, he's doing what he's doing over in Israel and then he's calling people protesting him hamas? Again, i dont doubt theres a minority of protesters who actually support hamas, but seriously, I don't think that war criminals have a right to bash the people protesting them.
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