I’m numbed by the police state response to campus protests to end institutional support for the killing in Gaza. College administrators have a model, wielded at places like Brown University, where a set of demands are met with meaningful dialogue, leading to a rapid de-escalation. Elsewhere, there’s been pointless brutality and chaos. A few miles from my house, pro-Israel protesters attacked an encampment at UCLA while police watched. Professors have been detained and beaten, as have members of the press. High-grade military equipment has been put to use as part of suppression tactics. And the hysterical commentary around the spectacles has been completely divorced from the purpose of the protests, to end a war and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe perpetrated against Palestinian civilians. ….more
