What’s been happening on elite campuses this spring is quite simple. Protesters have enacted “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI). They’ve put into practice the DEI corollary known as “silence is violence.”
The message is clear: Jews are not welcome short of performing the “silence is violence” pantomime.
Protesters are engaging in red-guard-like behavior under the guise, inspired by Frantz Fanon, that Israel is an imperialist power oppressing an indigenous people. This serves as a pretext to act as though the issue pertains only to a small country halfway across the globe. Protesters exert pressure on Jews to engage in a compulsory pantomime, to renounce the existence of the Jewish state in accordance with DEI principles. Otherwise, the mere presence of Jews is deemed violent. They are denied the freedom to walk to class without fear or intimidation, as their silent presence is seen as an affront to the current identity narrative.
Would that the “protesters” had the knowledge and courage to stand before the likes of Blackrock and State Street, to stand before famous athletes, entertainers, and their corporate patrons, to protest the massive investments and wealth-making supporting the most oppressive regime in world history, directly northeast of the Himalayas. But this is not about knowledge and courage. Nor is it about oppression abroad. It’s about enforcing DEI canons at home.
In this coercive environment, there’s no compromise or conversation to be had. “Silence is violence” comes from deep within the bowels of a worldview that is profoundly warped in its spiritual aspirations. It encompasses and defines related pablum like “allyship” and “solidarity.”
You must be our ally, the purveyors of equity demand. We are being harmed by silence. We are being targeted by silence. We are the victims of silent aggression. You must stand with us in vocal solidarity by explicitly denouncing all the peoples and ideas we identify as requiring denunciation. According to the winds of our political gods, those requirements are subject to change—monthly, weekly, and even daily. But without solidarity, you too might require intimidation and marginalization, at the very least.
What we witness at elite campuses is merely the latest performance of a theatrical run that has been touring for some time. Label it as you wish. Both the anti-racism advocate and the white fragility proponent have profited significantly, promoting parallel productions and demanding performative acts from individuals categorized by melanin levels rather than religious belief—all under the guise of allyship and solidarity.
Stagecraft like these prey on the insecurity of our credentialed classes whose members seek approval by embodying the latest personas of faux-sophistication, however dangerous and juvenile they are.
Silence is not permitted; participation is not optional. The inclusive uplands are nigh, and not following the script endangers the community. The learned application of coercion and censorship—with excommunication from employment when needed—will surely yield the equity awaiting us just over the hill.
“Silence is violence” encapsulates a toxic worldview, representing a distorted spiritual pursuit to construct an alleged community of inclusivity and equity akin to a modern-day interpretation of the general will.
As an ardent advocate of such endeavors once proclaimed:
whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be compelled to do so by the whole body. This means nothing less than that he will be forced to be free; for this is the condition which, by giving each citizen to his country, secures him against all personal dependence.
Forced to be free, from rivers to seas, be they near Albany or Jordan, Los Angeles or Lebanon.
The great liberators of history have invariably built the thickest of prison walls. Today’s protesters are no exception. They are but the latest exemplars of an inglorious history. And make no mistake, they are not violating the creed of DEI. They are enacting it.
Photo by Ted Eyton — Flickr
This is more than the Marxist Fascist Leftism garbage that has plagued higher education for the past forty years — this is actual terrorism and not something that I say lightly.
The purpose of terrorism is to use a real but unrealistic fear to influence political policy, and that less than 0.001% of the American population was murdered on September 11th, less than 0.0001% on a hijacked airliner, and that’s only happened once (so far).
“Protesters exert pressure on Jews to engage in a compulsory pantomime, to renounce the existence of the Jewish state in accordance with DEI principles. Otherwise, the mere presence of Jews is deemed violent. They are denied the freedom to walk to class without fear or intimidation, as their silent presence is seen as an affront to the current identity
narrative.”
That’s terrorism — clear terrorism — and with a clearly stated political goal, and there has been a very interesting lawsuit filed over it: https://legalinsurrection.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Parizer-et-al.-v.-Am.-Muslims-for-Palestine-E.D.-Va.-Complaint.pdf
Yes, it’s only allegations at this point, but what struck me was this:
““Defendants encouraged their members to exert political pressure on American institutions and politicians, in service of Hamas’s goals. The chaotic images emerging from American campuses are the intended result of Defendants’ endeavors.
68. In short, Defendants act as Hamas’s public relations division and recruit domestic foot soldiers not only to disseminate Hamas’s propaganda but also to foment violence, chaos, and fear across the United States to intimidate citizens and coerce change in American policy. This is all in support Hamas’s short and long-term goals for its international terrorist activities.”
“Foment[ing] violence, chaos, and fear across the United States to intimidate citizens and coerce change in American policy” is, of course, “terrorism.” Domestic terrorism. Something very different from the “We Hate AmeriKKKa” garbage that we have been dealing with for the past forty years, and something with some very serious implications.
Including for the colleges and universities that have implicitly (if not explicitly) been supporting Team Hamas over the past few months. Things could get quite interesting.