Columbia University protesters drama
Students at Columbia University
occupied
a building, and the president brought in cops to arrest them.
Was the occupation really organized by outside agitators unrelated to Columbia?
I am skeptical of the claim, given that at least 50 students have been
suspended. That sort of convenient accusation is easy to claim, whether it is
true or not, because it is hard to disprove. I can't be sure it is false, but I
would not trust Night-Mayor Adams' word for it, or President Shafik's.
Likewise for the claim that students destroyed doors and so on.
I wonder what the protest organizers have to say about this claim.
What is unfortunate is that the confrontation has gone in a direction which is
likely to lead university administrations to give priority to "showing who's
boss" over all else. Which means that the protest movement can vent a lot of
anger but it can't advance the cause of peace in Gaza. It can only create
festering hostility.
It also plays into the hands of the right-wingers in Congress who
bullied the university presidents, and the fascist leader they serve.
To make effective pressure for peace in Gaza, or more precisely to pressure the
US to pressure Israel to allow peace in Gaza, would require different kind of
protests.
Let's not lose sight of
where we want to end up.
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