Rosen: What’s motivating today’s political protestors
In these highly divisive times political protests are seemingly endless. Protestors are often confronted with counter-protestors of an opposite viewpoint. Disputes are about abortion, war, civil rights, global warming, politics, union strikes, police behavior, and countless other issues.
The protests du jour of radical leftist students (and some faculty) on college campuses are irrationally condemning Israel and defending Hamas for its barbaric slaughter of innocent Israelis on October 7. It wasn’t so long ago that leftist students of this ilk pretended to be delicate snowflakes emotionally devastated by the mere utterance of a conservative viewpoint in their presence. Empowered by their victories in the cancel culture, they’ve now grown fangs and morphed into intolerant goon squads hysterically heaping venom on Israel and Jews in general. Thoroughly brainwashed by progressive ideology in K-12 and higher education, this younger generation of neo-Marxists is reminiscent of the pro-communist useful idiots who worshipped the Soviet Union.
For the record, I treasure the constitutional rights of Americans to freely speak, assemble, and protest. However, as George Will concisely put it, these fundamental rights are tempered by four essential words: “up to a point.” None of these rights is absolute. Free speech doesn’t permit libel, free assembly doesn’t include trespass, and protest must be peaceful.