15 Comments

Excellent! I, for one, would ask the kid claiming that the Uni of CA is "inherently violent" because built on colonialism: why does he accept to be a student of a "colonial" and "violent" institution? if he truly believed his own words, he should give up his position and maybe offer it to a Native American. Also, he should give up all his assets that exist on "stolen land"; likewise, all adults who keep giving land acknowledgments about standing on "stolen land," should donate their houses, all sitting on stolen land, and the jobs at institutions "inherently violent." Then, they should leave the US, which is all colonized "stolen land." The only problem is that they would have to emigrate to settle on someone else's land. Whatever they would do, they couldn't escape their status of settlers.

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author

"Excellent! I, for one, would ask the kid claiming that the Uni of CA is "inherently violent" because built on colonialism: why does he accept to be a student of a "colonial" and "violent" institution?"

Ah, that's so often the problem isn't it? It's so easy to grandstand when you don't have to sacrifice anything.

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I’ve been patiently waiting for this too. And if you don’t own the “stolen” land upon which you live, find out who originally owned (or resided upon) that land and pay rent to the rightful landlord. You will be evicted, of course, but there is a real price to be paid for standing up for your principles. That is, if you really mean what you say.

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"Deconstructors" standing in the civilization their ancestors built, talking about how they want to burn the whole thing down...I'd believe in them if they were actually building anything.

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And, never from these entitled children, scions of some of our wealthiest citizens and heir apparent to the highest rankings of society, is a word of empathy for a country who suffered the brutal mass murder of hundreds of civilians. I have zero sympathy for them.

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May 6Liked by Steve QJ

I agree with your comments for the most part. However, a big part of the students protests seem to be about the Biden administration funding Israel's war on Gaza with United States tax dollars because Israel claims they are fighting against Hamas etc. (wink). And then there's the shit stirrers head bumping a flag on purpose then claiming the protesters assaulted them.

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"a big part of the students protests seem to be about the Biden administration funding Israel's war on Gaza with United States tax dollars "

Yep, and I fully agree with this. One of the first articles I wrote after Oct 7th called for U.S. military aid to Israel to become conditional on their following international law. I just don't think shouting "Globalise the intifada" and "Israel go to hell" is going to achieve that. I'm not criticising the idea of protests, just the execution.

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Yeah, that's the problem. I'm entirely in favor of neutrality in this matter, and divesting is fine (if largely symbolic). But this isn't about Palestine; this is just a proxy for American politics. And protests obliterate any nuance and drive extremism. Doesn't help that the crackdown has been typically heavy-handed and overreacting.

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May 6Liked by Steve QJ

great piece, there is a typo I believe: parag that begins with "he argued- an "amd"

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Thanks! I had a quick re-read today and fixed a bunch of typos. Clearly I've been spending too much time in imagination land.

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Oh my, yes, you’re right.

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So now when people think of Netanyahu’s butchery in Gaza, their minds leap directly to immature kids chanting slogans and making messes. Not helping.

Israel is as bad as the Nazis. No boxcars, the Palestinians are already in a concentration camp. No Zyklon-B, just bombs and bullets.

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Oh watch out "Discrete" or you will be branded as anti-semitic. The United States House of Representatives passed a bill making hate speech about Israel a crime.

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Nice piece. Especially about the inability to recognize when others may have a different opinion.

Regarding the tactic of demanding that “universities divest” from companies that deal with Israel, such as Microsoft or Amazon, would it make more sense for the universities to actually increase their holdings in those organizations? And then use their ownership position to make their case to the board? In other words, could it be that divestment is the exact opposite of what they should do if they want to have an impact?

If it's purely symbolic, then where is the impact of the “praxis?”

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The CDC needs to investigate this bizarre phenomenon whereby support for Palestine is directly correlated to an apparently increased likelihood of catching COVID.

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