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thanks for posting this, Lou. It is all well said comradely Gary On Sat, Feb 4, 2017 at 8:06 AM, Louis Proyect via Marxism < marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote: > ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** > #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. > #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. > ***************************************************************** > > > Then I saw someone wearing all black walk up to a student wearing a suit > and say, “You look like a Nazi.” The student was confused, but before he > could reply, the black-clad person pepper-sprayed him and hit him on the > back with a rod. > > I ran after the student who was attacked to get his name and more > information. He told me that he is a Syrian Muslim. Before I could find out > more, he fled, fearing another attack. Amid the chaos came word the event > had been canceled. > > ---- > > NY Times Op-Ed, Feb. 3 2017 > How Violence Undermined the Berkeley Protest On Campus > Malini Ramaiyer > > BERKELEY, Calif. — What do you do as a reporter when a protest begins? You > cover it. > > But what about when the man being protested is known for rhetoric that > makes you nauseated? Or when you see a student get beaten up because he > looked “like a Nazi”? > > How do you remain objective? > > Those were the questions that faced me when, as a reporter for the student > newspaper at the University of California, Berkeley, I covered the protest > on Wednesday night at the college that turned violent, drawing national > attention. I didn’t know what to think about it all, and truthfully, I > still don’t. > > The protesters were demonstrating against a scheduled speech on campus by > Milo Yiannopoulos, a Breitbart editor and right-wing provocateur, who had > been invited by the Berkeley College Republicans. > > This was always going to be a controversial event. Mr. Yiannopoulos has > been giving inflammatory speeches on a college tour meant to push back > against what he sees as the stifling politically correct left. But his > language has veered decidedly toward hate speech. At the University of > Wisconsin-Milwaukee, for example, he singled out a transgender student for > ridicule by name. > > Because of actions like that, many Berkeley students and more than 100 > faculty members petitioned the university to block the event, but the > chancellor, Nicholas Dirks, declined to do so, citing free speech. > > This, of course, raises questions about free speech: Is it free speech if > it makes us feel unsafe in our own skin? On the other hand, what does this > campus represent if it doesn’t respect the rights of people with whom many > of us disagree? > > Protests are a staple at Berkeley and I’ve always appreciated the activism > here. Wednesday night, I saw many creative posters urging people to fight > Islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, sexism and racism. One > group of protesters wore red ribbons emblazoned “Resist,” while another led > a “resistance dance party” near the venue. > > Until Wednesday, I never felt in danger during a protest. Around 7 p.m. I > saw a huddle of people yelling at one another. As more people surrounded > them, a burning red trucker’s hat was held up on a stick. There were > reports that another student wearing what appeared to be a “Make America > Great Again” hat was severely injured. > > Then I saw someone wearing all black walk up to a student wearing a suit > and say, “You look like a Nazi.” The student was confused, but before he > could reply, the black-clad person pepper-sprayed him and hit him on the > back with a rod. > > I ran after the student who was attacked to get his name and more > information. He told me that he is a Syrian Muslim. Before I could find out > more, he fled, fearing another attack. Amid the chaos came word the event > had been canceled. > > It was clear early on that the majority of violent protesters most likely > were not from the campus. Still, in the aftermath, I heard people say that > peaceful demonstrations would not have succeeded in preventing Mr. > Yiannopoulos from speaking. So was violence appropriate? > > A Trump supporter was hurt. A Syrian Muslim student was hurt. Does either > of those statements seem more outrageous than the other? > > Violence often has unintended consequences. For one thing, those who > initiated the violence implicated many others in it too. Black students, > Latino students, gay students and others who are already vulnerable — and > were protesting peacefully — became even more vulnerable to the backlash. > > When the violent protesters thought they were defeating “fascists,” could > they imagine who else they might be hurting? When my co-reporter was > threatened as she recorded students marching down the street, and I was > threatened when I took pictures of the vandalism, I myself became afraid > and upset. > > There are so many people in this country who have been fighting social > injustices for years. Acts of violence undermine their efforts, and can > reverse good, patient work. The beauty and the defining characteristic of > peaceful protests is that they are a struggle, and they don’t always > translate to concrete results. How do protesters achieve success when they > are screaming at the top of their lungs and it doesn’t seem as if anyone > can hear? I understand that frustration. I have felt that frustration. > > However, just because peaceful protest doesn’t get as much attention as > punching someone in the face, it doesn’t mean that we should abandon the > commitment to peace. Violence doesn’t encourage social progress, and it > certainly doesn’t quiet those with whom we disagree. > > I understand the fight for a more progressive, just society. But this is > not how we get there. > > Malini Ramaiyer is a first-year student at the University of California, > Berkeley. > _________________________________________________________ > Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm > Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/opt > ions/marxism/gary.maclennan1%40gmail.com _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
