Nowadays when people discuss protests, the subject usually is pro-Palestinian protesters, so that’s what I’ll discuss in this posting.
That’s because Black Lives Matter marches have receded into history, and there won’t be a Democratic version of January 6 though I’m sure Trump would relish opportunity to beat up or shoot people for doing what his followers did then.
Palestinians have a long history of violence and terrorism, which limits public sympathy for their cause. That’s unfortunate, because millions of peaceful Palestinians have legitimate grievances against Israeli oppression.
Israel didn’t start the Gaza war, but has bombed schools and hospitals, killed women and children, and murdered journalists and aid workers. At least one member of Netanyahu’s cabinet has called for genocide. The Israeli anger over the Oct. 7 attacks is understandable, but taking it out on innocent civilians is equally atrocious.
Here in America, Republicans have never liked dissent, and falsely label sympathy for Palestinians as “pro-Hamas.” Hamas is Palestinian, but not all Palestinians are Hamas; you can sympathize with innocent Palestinian victims of Israeli war crimes and still be against Hamas.
But Republicans aren’t known as masters of such nuances. And Trump doesn’t like criticism. Nevertheless, this is America, where peaceful protest is a constitutional right. But Trump didn’t get that memo.
News Nation warns, “Student protesters could be in the crossfire of the Trump administration’s crackdown on colleges, with activists increasingly concerned about freedom of speech for pro-Palestinian advocates” (read story here).
Last year’s pro-Palestinian campus protests were marred by disruption of classes, harassment of Jewish students, and graffiti damage to buildings. The perpetrators weren’t exclusively students; they included outside agitators.
As a result of these abuses, News Nation says, “Those on campus have already seen stricter rules around demonstrations this academic year” from university administrators. They’re capable of managing their campuses.
But Trump is itching to stick his fingers in this pie. He’s threatening protesters “with everything from military action to deportation.” On the campaign trail, he said “any student that protests, I throw them out of the country. You know, there are a lot of foreign students.”
Foreign students who commit crimes can lose their visas. But kick them out just for voicing their opinion? Hmm. Caselaw says the Bill of Rights applies to everyone within our borders, not just citizens.
Trump isn’t a big fan of constitutional rights. His previous administration “pioneered the strategy of misusing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to try to censor speech critical of Israel on college campuses,” according to a lawyer with a U.S. group that advocates for Palestinian rights. She thinks he wants to “quash the movement for Palestinian rights” and “make it impossible to criticize Israel.”
Keeping protests peaceful and lawful is a job for local police. Trump seems more interested in stifling dissent. If the Supreme Court is still willing to enforce free speech rights, they may have to yank his fingers out of that pie.