On defending the indefensible

The paradox of anti-Semitism is that it is invariably up to the Jews to explain away the charges. The anti-Semite simply has to make them. – Jack Schwartz

I understood the underpinnings of the rampant late 60’s college campus protests against the Vietnam War. Though I was only ten, it seemed like such a pointless conflict. Even my Korean War veteran father thought it was hopeless. “You can’t win a war without the hearts and minds of the people,” he’d say.

I was similarly appalled by how those same students treated our returning servicemen, but the stark reality is 95 percent of college students are unrepentant fuckups. It’s the very essence of being too old to be supervised and too young to understand their blissful youthful ignorance.

That inherent stupidity will figure quite prominently throughout this piece.

Considering our doomed to repeat it Homo Sapiens nature, particularly in regard to university presidents and their boards, wait long enough and just like a Leave it to Beaver rerun, history will inevitably hit the replay button. And this time the forgotten lesson comes in the form of insipid pro-Palestinian college demonstrations.

But there’s a vast difference between those 1968 anti-war protests and the current defense of the indefensible. At least the male students had skin in the game because they were the ones being drafted.

So, what exactly are those idiots defending? A regime that specifically aimed to slaughter innocent women and children – after they cut off women’s breasts and pounded nails through their vaginas for good measure. Civilized nations don’t take hostages and hide behind their own women, children, and hospitals. Civilized people don’t sit back and gleefully watch as they burn parents and their babies alive.

Let’s not forget the blatant gender apartheid which means women have no rights in Gaza. You can tell the difference between the females by the bourkas. Not to mention that Hamas kills homosexuals and any Palestinian who dares to disagree with them.

And how is it that I’m one of the few media members who’s pointed out that, prior to the surprise attack, the Israeli government was supplying Gaza with food, construction material, medicine, and ALL of their electricity while Hamas was lobbing rockets into Israel on a daily basis. Israel’s misguided hope was that humanitarian effort would moderate Hamas’ rhetoric and stated goal to wipe their country off the map. So, much for turning the other cheek.

Please explain why none of the Arab nations were making the same kind of aid effort? Aside from arming Hamas in a proxy war, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the rest want nothing to do with Hamas or the Palestinians. Why is it that Egypt had to be publicly browbeaten into – temporarily – opening the Rafah Crossing?

So, while I fully understand their unequivocal response, my fear is the Israeli government is creating the very reality they’ve fought so desperately to avoid. I’ve never been a fan of Benjamin Netanyahu, but humbled by his massive intelligence failure, he’s behaving like a wounded animal which only serves to create the next generation of Palestinian terrorists.

For comparison purposes, the culmination of the last surprise attack on this country was the deployment of two nuclear devices killing 226,000 people. I’ve said it before. If Hamas, or any other Arab nation, had Israel’s arsenal, that small country would already be gone. Meanwhile, the Israelis have the power to wipe Gaza off the map but they don’t.

So, while I can almost understand this absurd collegiate double standard, I can’t begin to comprehend the swift rise of anti-Semitism on those same campuses. Just like it is with the impending cicada’s, every 20 years of so our Jewish brothers and sisters have to start looking of their shoulders and I’m fucking fed up with it.

Make no mistake. we’re seeing the ageless specter of anti-Semitism that lurks in the shadows ready to pounce on the slightest opening. I could cite hundreds of examples, but do I really need to go any further than the Columbia University student protest organizer who publicly proclaimed, “Zionists don’t deserve to live.”

That’s when – be still my beating heart – the Columbia University Board grew a pair just long enough to ban the asshole from campus. But that was long after local rabbi’s had to warn Columbia’s Jewish undergrads to pack up and leave before it was too late. So much for that 90 grand a year in tuition, fees, and housing.

The fact that so many of these delicate tent darlings are wearing masks and otherwise hiding their faces pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?

Then, to top it off, the idiots want their universities to divest themselves from any company that does business with Israel. Really? Considering the complex nature of today’s financial markets where large clients generally invest in hedge funds, that kind of picking and choosing has become virtually impossible. And it would have no material effect on Israel or the war if it could be done.

Oh! And while we’re on the subject, despite the U.S. government being Israel’s single biggest benefactor, I don’t see any of those idiot protesters “divesting” themselves of their government backed student loans or scholarships. That kind of rank hypocrisy is always a fascinating prospect.

To be fair, a great deal of this insanity is, per Mr. Ramirez’ attached political cartoon, the result of progressivism running amok on college campuses for decades. The majority of these whiny fuckups have never been challenged by their parents, a teacher, or a professor in their overprotected lives. In an effort to continue to charge exorbitant tuition and keep the parental donations coming in, those universities have indulged these little shits every step of the “safe space” way.

But now those progressive chickens are coming home to roost and biting the hand that so eagerly fed them. You have to admire the karma involved there.

To be fairer yet, I also believe there’s a bit of Joseph Campbell involved, which would go a long way towards explaining this bizarre backing-the-wrong-horse phenomenon. Unlike our predecessors, Western Civilization has abandoned rites of passage to adulthood, and that vacuum puts the process in the hands of the Lord of the Flies mob.

The pandemic made more than a few of us question our lives and, after not standing for anything for their first 20 years of theirs, these children are desperate for a cause, meaning, and belonging. But that void is absolutely no excuse for anti-Semitism which demands the most swift and severe consequences.

So first, I hope the Fortune 500 companies who’d likely hire a Columbia (or similar) graduate are paying close attention. It’s not too difficult to determine the identity of these protestors, and they should be blacklisted for the rest of their miserable lives.

Better yet, these college presidents and boards need to put on their big girl panties and big boy Jockey briefs so they can finally respond like Vanderbilt University did. Not only did that administration deny food, water, bathrooms, and medical treatment to the 30 students who occupied an administrative building, but then they suspended the lot, barred them from campus, and expelled three who were charged with pushing a security officer and a staff member who agreed to meet with them.

This begs the question, “What don’t the other universities understand about maintaining reasonable order and protecting all students including their Jewish charges?” This is going to be a very expensive lesson for them.