The quotable Bill Maher was in the news again this week. He rarely fails to make interesting comments. Although Maher often expresses moderately liberal views, his political alignments are difficult to sort out. He’s not consistently on the left. For example, he is no fan of political correctness (he’s been quoted as saying, “Liberals protect people, and P.C. people protect feelings.” Maher and I agree on the smugness of political correctness (see here, and here).
I mention him now, because a few days ago he said, regarding the media’s response to recent student protests, “. . . as always with media these days, they don’t cover what’s most important, just what’s most fun to watch. There are 15.2 million college students in the US and 2300 have been arrested. That’s 167th of 1%. And half of the ones in New York weren’t even students.”
Maher has a point, but I believe his interpretation overlooks the underlying dynamics and implications of the protests themselves. To illustrate, Maher’s argument fails to acknowledge the scale and intensity of the protests. Although only a fraction of college students were arrested, a much larger number participated in the demonstrations. These protests often escalated into clashes with law enforcement, physical confrontations, violence, injuries of bystanders, and property destruction. The fact that relatively few arrests were made amidst such turmoil raises questions not only about the adequacy of law enforcement responses but also about the potential ramifications of allowing such unrest to persist unchecked. First some background.
Squeamish? If you are, please skip the next two paragraphs
What prompted Israel’s latest military invasion of Gaza? Consider the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The exact number of Israelis killed, raped, and butchered during that onslaught, including a few dozen American citizens, is difficult to pin down, but somewhere around 1,200 killed is in the ball park. Beyond that, Hamas took about 240 hostages, some of whom have been released, others have died, and many still are in captivity. The horrifying details of that attack surely prompted Israel to respond by attacking Hamas in Gaza. Below are some snippets of the Hamas attack I took from the BBC. The brutality is shocking. Feel free to skip the details.
Several people involved in collecting and identifying the bodies of those killed in the attack told us they had seen multiple signs of sexual assault, including broken pelvises, bruises, cuts and tears, and that the victims ranged from children and teenagers to pensioners. . . Multiple photographs from the sites after the attack show the bodies of women naked from the waist down, or with their underwear ripped to one side, legs splayed, with signs of trauma to their genitals and legs. . . It (a film) showed bodies of people who had been bound. A room with at least seven bodies reduced to ash. Civilians shot in bedrooms, bathrooms, front yards. Blood so thick it nearly obscured hallway floors. . . a pregnant woman whose womb had been ripped open before she was killed, and her fetus stabbed while it was inside her. . . One was sexually terrorized with a knife stuck in her vagina and all her internal organs removed,” his statement says. Here’s a source if you would like more gore (see here).
OK, the squeamish can continue reading here
Recalling the above carnage reminded me of the Cornell associate professor who said he was “exhilarated” by the Hamas attack, that man being one Russel Rickford, who specializes in African-American political culture and the Black Radical tradition. Let’s be frank here. Can you imagine a bigger creep? Rickford later walked back his comments after being scorched by a heated backlash. But, like a bad penny, he came back and later was spotted behind a megaphone celebrating the Cornell students anti-Israel protesters (even though he had requested a leave of absence from Cornell after his odious comments).
Maybe the student protesters get their information from weirdos like Rickford. How many of the current college protesters actually know how heinous the Hamas attack was? Are the protesters aware of the atrocities committed by Hamas fighters during their attack? I’ve read that some of the protestors, when asked why they are participating, and what their goals are, respond by saying, “I am not trained.” Well, they obviously have been trained how to respond to questions. My guess is that if they actually knew what precipitated Israel’s counter offensive, many would go home.
An historical perspective
When examining the current protests from a historical perspective, it would seem wise to place stronger emphasis on the need for law enforcement to take decisive action when protests escalate into violence or property destruction. Rather than downplaying the significance of the relatively low number of arrests, the quotable Bill Maher might highlight the risks posed by allowing protests to spiral out of control and the importance of swift and effective law enforcement response in maintaining social order. Perhaps it also is important to focus more attention to the “outsiders,” i.e, non students who apparently have played a significant role in orchestrating as well as participating in the protests.
History has underscored the dangers of unchecked radicalism and the potential consequences of allowing extremist movements to gain momentum. Although it would not be fair to draw direct parallels with 20th Century events such as the protesting violence of the Brown Shirts that contributed to the rise of Nazism in Germany (See here), or the initial protests sparking the Russian Revolution and the subsequent rise of the Communistic USSR (see here), neither of those should be ignored.
Both of those uprisings began with relatively small protest mobs and soon gained momentum. These movements capitalized on social discontent, exploited political divisions, and ultimately had far-reaching consequences, leading to significant upheavals that changed the makeup of their respective societies, for the worse most would agree. Here’s a question: would it not be wise to pay more attention to those who shout “Death to America” during current protests in this country?
It was George Santayana who wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Should the historical examples I’ve cited be remembered? I suggest that all citizens, regardless of their personal political persuasions, should keep in mind what the past has revealed.
I wonder what the quotable Bill Maher would have to say about that.
Well researched, Ken. This situation can turn out to be a calamity if not nipped in the bud. A administration change is needed.
Right, one of the primary duties of any government is to protect its citizens. Recently, law and order seem to be in short supply in much of the country. Police departments are suffering from decreased budgets, resignations, and difficulty attracting applicants. Then too, states such as the three facing the Pacific Ocean have become accommodating to law breakers. Many arrested in those states simply are allowed to turn around and walk out. Often these characters then return to whatever activities prompted their arrests in the first place. No wonder that stores in central San Francisco, to cite one example, have closed in droves. Losses from theft and fed up employees were primary reasons for the closures.