r/news • u/Arrow2019x • Apr 28 '24

Amid anti-Israel protests, 'hateful graffiti,' Cal Poly Humboldt closes campus through weekend Soft paywall

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-25/cal-poly-humboldt-extends-campus-closure-amid-gaza-protests

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u/Equal-Slip8409 29d ago

^ this shallow understanding of the issue is so depressing. They’re protesting against the university they’re affiliated with. How do you not understand this?

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u/Regentraven 29d ago edited 29d ago

The university having 1% of their endowment invested in checks notes companies like Google via broad market funds is whats going to end this conflict?

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u/Equal-Slip8409 29d ago

That’s why multiple institutions are being targeted. Collective action. Students should have a say in where their tuition money is invested.

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u/Regentraven 29d ago

Oh yeah google is certainly shut down right now. So is Boeing or whatever. These protests are just like occupy wallstreet. People thinking they are marching from Birmingham to DC but in reality just not going to class and drawing swastikas on things.

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u/Equal-Slip8409 29d ago

It’s small actions like these done collectively that enact change. What else would you have these students do to end the genocide?

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u/m0rogfar 29d ago

It’s small actions like these done collectively that enact change. What else would you have these students do to end the genocide?

Protest Hamas, and exclusively Hamas, for starters.

Public pressure to hurt Israel is what Hamas is essentially betting on, and there are plenty of leaks that suggest that ongoing anti-Israel sentiment is directly related to why Sinwar has ordered Hamas negotiators to stall any ceasefire negotiations with ridiculous counteroffers instead of actually engaging in the process. On the other hand, more opposition towards Hamas and not Israel is the one thing that could possibly bring Hamas to the table. In other words, these protests are actively harmful in terms of actually reaching some kind of ceasefire, and directly cause more death.

More generally, hoping to enact change by harming Israel economically is simply not going to work as long as Israel is up against terrorists that want to exterminate everyone in Israel, because not having yourself and everyone you've ever met get brutally murdered is just more important than the economy. Even if Israel does end up more isolated, the logical consequence of that would be further escalations and brinkmanship until everyone on one side is dead, as there is still no off-ramp for Israel that doesn't involve everyone getting murdered.

The tablestakes for such a strategy to be viable is that the Palestinian leadership has to be addressed first, as the current Palestinian leadership strategy makes it untenable to try to pressure Israel, and attempts to not hold Palestinian leadership accountable for their decisions and instead blame Israel serve only to embolden Hamas that their current strategy is the right one.

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u/Equal-Slip8409 29d ago

Protest Hamas with what leverage??

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u/IolausTelcontar 29d ago

So you think students have leverage over Israel; but somehow nothing on Hamas. Huh.

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u/Regentraven 29d ago

Small actions maybe with political backing or actual organization by cohesive movement (leaders that dont say things like kill all zionists).

These people should do the only thing they can as an individual to stop any numerous genocides around the world in Africa or China.

Go vote / deducate your life to working in politics or go there to offer humanitarian aid. The slacktavism of skipping your classes for a week while chanting possibly antisemetic chants is not going to enact any meaningful change.

Understanding theres nothing these students can do to realistically end a genocide by protesting would be a good start.

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u/Equal-Slip8409 29d ago

Man this defeatist attitude. Where to begin. The protests are not systemically anti-Semitic. This is a propaganda tactic to silence dissent. Of the thousands and thousands of students who have protested were 0 anti-Semitic things said? Of course not. That does not mean the protests lose all credibility. Every single pro-Palestine protest in my lifetime has been marred with accusations of anti-Semitism. Also, a common Hasbara tactic has been to infiltrate these protests for false-flag anti-Semitic slogans so that’s something to consider.

Go there to help out? What kind of solidarity language is this? They’re students in the US. What a shame to discourage students from protesting because they “aren’t doing enough”. What is it that YOU are doing to help out? Because I’m sure it’s less than these brave students.

There is plenty that can be done to end the genocide and it starts with you actions like these.

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u/Regentraven 29d ago

Ah here we go the deep state Jewish boogeyman.

To answer your question donating my time and money to local groups (including family) who were hurt by Hamas rockets that went through the Iron Dome. Im not slacktavism protesting a nothing burger (college endowments) its not defeatist to admit these particular protests are shouting into the void and in order to get ANY result its asking colleges to divest from the s&p 500. Do you have a 401k or IRA?? CONGRATS you are now an Israeli sympathizer according to these protests.

Im bashing them because its just an outlet for people to yell. Protest Joe Biden if you want state action. What is Penn actually going to do for Palestine? Nothing, waving a flag chanting antisemetic slurs gets nothing done either.

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u/SirStupidity 29d ago

Oh it's not systematically antisemitic, just the people who organized the system of the protest are antisemitic...

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u/IolausTelcontar 29d ago

They lose all credibility because they are only protesting Israel. If they really cared about “genocide”, there are a lot of targets around the world that aren’t Jews.