I no longer think of the victims of this conflict as Palestinians or Israelis. They are human beings, innocents, collateral damage from the acts of two intransigent, selfish bastards. As to the protesters, it is a right to do so peacefully. Abbott wants to eradicate that right. We must reject his ilk with our votes just as the courts have rejected his actions.
You have to think of what's happening in Gaza as vengeance. Bibi cares not who dies as long as he can look tough, and the IDF view has long appeared to be that Palestinians are lesser beings. Israel is an apartheid state.
In order to get some perspective the following link is worthwhile. It is an interview with "Yair Lapid. Lapid is the official leader of the Israeli opposition. He’s a former journalist, TV host and actor who entered Israeli politics over a decade ago, founding a centrist party called Yesh Atid. He briefly became prime minister of Israel in 2022."
Many thanks for laying it out in full view. So many of us know in our heart the agony and horror of Kent State. We also know that Power to the People! In the streets and in the voting booths is the only way to reclaim our democracy. We did it then and we can do it again.
Does it always start with Columbia? Before Kent State, I'm sure I'm not the only one with flashbacks to the beginning of the Vietnam War protests, when in 1968 Columbia University students "occupied" the school's administration buildings and classrooms after evidence was discovered of the University's defense-related investments and activities , followed by demands to divest. A movement, like now, that soon spread to other campuses in part due to the overreaction. Clearly also a pivotal moment as well as, in my mind, the beginning of all "occupy" protests. Sit-ins led to teach-ins. I don't remember other "ins" in the vernacular previously. I do remember on our own college campus when the protest began innocuously with a handful of faculty and students standing in a silent "vigil" outside the library, bearing witness, that continued to grow until it became "marches." The disingenuous mischaracterization of these protests as something more conveniently objected to has been disgusting. Can't wait until it becomes ecumenical by reintroducing the War on Christmas that never was. It says something that Frank Luntz, the godfather of all that type of messaging is now the voice of reasonable analysis.
Columbia and Cal Berkley have seemed to be the place where these protest movements begin historically, I think. My sense is that this is the product of intellectually well-qualified students enrolled on these campuses. Admission is a result of their academic performance more than legacy connections, which is why this kind of thing is rarely associated with Yale or Harvard or anywhere in the Ivy League. The landed gentry have little to moan about. They'll be just fine even after the zombie apocalypse. Educated youth who are enrolled as a result of their own efforts, my view, tend to be more enlightened and politically engaged than the privileged.
And there's a reason all those stops on the way are called prep schools. Fascinating how these legacies are self-perpetuating. Yale did have a respectable degree of awakeness with William Sloane Coffin.
I no longer think of the victims of this conflict as Palestinians or Israelis. They are human beings, innocents, collateral damage from the acts of two intransigent, selfish bastards. As to the protesters, it is a right to do so peacefully. Abbott wants to eradicate that right. We must reject his ilk with our votes just as the courts have rejected his actions.
You have to think of what's happening in Gaza as vengeance. Bibi cares not who dies as long as he can look tough, and the IDF view has long appeared to be that Palestinians are lesser beings. Israel is an apartheid state.
In order to get some perspective the following link is worthwhile. It is an interview with "Yair Lapid. Lapid is the official leader of the Israeli opposition. He’s a former journalist, TV host and actor who entered Israeli politics over a decade ago, founding a centrist party called Yesh Atid. He briefly became prime minister of Israel in 2022."
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/27/magazine/yair-lapid-interview.html?unlocked_article_code=1.n00.bhgG.DAiR-dslmCB5&smid=url-share
Many thanks for laying it out in full view. So many of us know in our heart the agony and horror of Kent State. We also know that Power to the People! In the streets and in the voting booths is the only way to reclaim our democracy. We did it then and we can do it again.
Does it always start with Columbia? Before Kent State, I'm sure I'm not the only one with flashbacks to the beginning of the Vietnam War protests, when in 1968 Columbia University students "occupied" the school's administration buildings and classrooms after evidence was discovered of the University's defense-related investments and activities , followed by demands to divest. A movement, like now, that soon spread to other campuses in part due to the overreaction. Clearly also a pivotal moment as well as, in my mind, the beginning of all "occupy" protests. Sit-ins led to teach-ins. I don't remember other "ins" in the vernacular previously. I do remember on our own college campus when the protest began innocuously with a handful of faculty and students standing in a silent "vigil" outside the library, bearing witness, that continued to grow until it became "marches." The disingenuous mischaracterization of these protests as something more conveniently objected to has been disgusting. Can't wait until it becomes ecumenical by reintroducing the War on Christmas that never was. It says something that Frank Luntz, the godfather of all that type of messaging is now the voice of reasonable analysis.
Columbia and Cal Berkley have seemed to be the place where these protest movements begin historically, I think. My sense is that this is the product of intellectually well-qualified students enrolled on these campuses. Admission is a result of their academic performance more than legacy connections, which is why this kind of thing is rarely associated with Yale or Harvard or anywhere in the Ivy League. The landed gentry have little to moan about. They'll be just fine even after the zombie apocalypse. Educated youth who are enrolled as a result of their own efforts, my view, tend to be more enlightened and politically engaged than the privileged.
And there's a reason all those stops on the way are called prep schools. Fascinating how these legacies are self-perpetuating. Yale did have a respectable degree of awakeness with William Sloane Coffin.
Thanks for the good article, Jim. The awful tide in our state must be turned. I believe your writing helps.
Thanks, Mark. Writers and reporters rarely have any idea if their work makes a difference of any sort, so your words are encouraging, and hopeful.
Very powerful ending. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, buddy. Always appreciate your support.