Ana Marie Cauce has called the situation in Gaza “horrific”, has vocally supported a ceasefire, and allowed UW students to form a pro-palestine encampment on campus, despite opposition from her colleagues.
I am doubtful that these were actual pro-Palestine protesters. “UW partners with Boeing (the largest employer in the Seattle area) and Boeing does business with Israel, therefore the president of UW is pro-Genocide” doesn’t sound like a real argument.
Privileged college kids larping as radicals that will only protest in safe spaces and only protest against people that agree with them and/or aren’t a threat to them. It’s kind of like whatever the opposite of “fighting the power” is. I’m convinced that’s why there’s so much infighting on the college left: they’d rather hyperventilate about a minor transgression that fails the immaculate morality purity test for someone that 99% agrees with them in all other respects than actually take their politics to people who have real and serious disagreements with them.
Hint: they’re usually only a few blocks from college campus. You know, the area you and your friends never go? Where the poor people live? That you supposedly care about?
Not all are like this, obviously, but I regularly interact with “campus activists” in organizing circles, and it’s largely an exercise in self-obsessive circle jerking in my experience. It’s incredibly difficult to convince them to do something that might actually take them out of their comfort zone. They’d rather yell at each other, yell at other privileged, harmless college students that disagree with them, or protest college administrators. As though college administrations are some great fascist force.
They’re one level above high school principals, Olivia. Relax.
Precisely this
Never underestimate the penchant of people for stupidity. Even people on our side.
