Photo by Nathaniel St. Clair
'Genocide' As President Joe Biden continues to ignore the will of the people demanding an end to America's complicity in genocide, one of his press secretaries, Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates, says: He announced pearls of wisdom. There is a right to freedom of expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful. ”
He might have added: “…so you can ignore it.”
Since Israel began its unspeakable genocide in the Gaza Strip last October, the US government, at Biden's orders, has sent billions of dollars in weapons to the apartheid state to continue its crimes against humanity. Around the world, millions of people are protesting these crimes and the unbearable and unimaginable suffering that Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing, as well as the accelerating attacks by Zionist organizations on Palestinians already suffering in the West Bank. We are gathering to demand an end to oppression.
Today (April 30, 2024), students supporting the liberation of Palestine and an end to the genocide committed by Israel and the United States took over Columbia University's Hamilton Hall, which was last occupied 56 years ago and is currently occupied by previous generations. It was reported that the area was occupied until the end. Concerned students spoke out against America's brutal, unjust, and immoral war against the Vietnamese people and the rampant racism within the United States. In 1968, the university called in the police and arrested more than 700 people. About 150 people were injured in the police attack.
It took years on college campuses, on the streets of major American cities, and in cities around the world before top leaders in the U.S. government under President Gerald Ford finally acknowledged publicly what they had known privately for years. also held protests. The United States will be able to defeat the Vietnamese people. These campus protests were peaceful until university administrators made the mistake of calling the police, and the same mistake is being made in many cases today. CNN reporter Nick Watt, reporting from USC, commented on the situation during the demonstrations, particularly when “public safety personnel” were called to the scene. There were also speakers. It was peaceful. As soon as university public safety officers entered, an altercation ensued and quickly turned violent…'' Another peaceful demonstration, this one at Emory University in Georgia, was quickly followed by a police raid. The incident escalated into violence, and students and members of the facility were arrested as well.
University administrators, like U.S. government officials, do not seem to have learned from history. Just as the United States is at war with its own citizens, universities are at war with their own students. Because they are the ones who stand on the right side of history, opposing genocide. It's shocking to think that protesting genocide in the United States in 2024 could result in arrest. It could also lead to suspension or expulsion from some of the country's most prestigious universities.
Today, many universities that condemned Vietnam-era war protesters and students who fought for racial equality are attempting to rewrite history, extolling the virtues of diversity and supporting free speech on campus. is declared. Looking back and recognizing that America's war against the Vietnamese people was a moral outrage that resulted in the deaths of millions of innocent men, women, and children, glossing over the oppression of those who understood that reality. is very convenient. at that time. Because our society today is more “enlightened,” at least in some ways, and most college campuses enroll many students from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, racist admissions Policies are often overlooked. In retrospect, it is said that everyone has 20/20 vision. What is missing is the ability to learn from history and not repeat the same old and fatal mistakes.
During the Vietnam War era, many universities benefited financially by having ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) offices on their campuses. These offices fed the war machine and provided trained men and women willing to undergo training to kill innocent people for reasons that are difficult to explain. One of the demands of student activists at the time was the removal of ROTC offices, many of which eventually closed (though most have since reopened). Many universities currently benefit from relationships with Israel. Columbia University has issued a statement saying it will not withdraw from Israel. But protesters are not satisfied and have vowed to continue their protests until Colombia divested from companies with ties to the apartheid regime.
Columbia University President Minoush Shafik also stated that “…protests must be given at least two days' advance notice and must take place in an approved location as defined by university policy.”
How could Mr. Shafiq and many other university administrators and officials escape the protests that the protests allowed by them are not actually protests at all? They (students) know that nothing will change unless they (the expected good boys and girls) follow the rules and don't cause any ripples. One wonders how long the war against the Vietnamese people would have lasted if students back then had not misbehaved and simply followed the rules. “Protests” that take place in authorized locations, have time limits, and use only methods approved by authorities are wasteful. However, protests that violate these “sacred” rules can attract attention, spark increased dialogue, and ultimately, results.
University authorities are making a huge mistake in trying to suppress student voices. These are the young men and women who will be making future decisions in these and other schools and governments. If “institutions of higher education” as well as factories that produce workers want to be like that, they must encourage not only critical thinking but also the actions that accompany it. Today, many of these officials have made terrible mistakes, and history will record their errors in judgment.
