It's protest season, something that has been missing from campus life for quite some time. I know this because the TV news and national news sites and cable outlets can't stop yakking about it. I also get a daily update from the Metro president about how things are going and about how talks continue and how the university supports the right to protest, but peacefully, of course.
Nothing makes mature, thoughtful adults more nervous and outraged and just plain put off as college students chanting slogans and blocking public right-of-ways and generally refusing to listen to reason. It takes very little to get would-be fascists to call for the National Guard to clear things up (as a number of far-right politicians have done). The president has called for peaceful protests. Pundits have weighed in on how these protests are helping Trump (or maybe not) and certainly are dividing the Democratic Party.
Maybe stuff like this will make the difference in November but it's good to remember that it's now early May... so it's safe to assume MORE stuff will be happening. And it's all going to make "the difference."
Or not. Apparently, many Americans just aren't paying attention. They don't hang out on college campuses and actively avoid all political news. Many Americans report that they long for the Golden Era of happiness led by former President Trump. Wait... was there a pandemic with over a million dying as the guy in charge recommended drinking bleach?
But back to the campus protests: it's tough to argue against calling for the killing of children and innocents of all ages to stop. The government of Israel has exacted much more than an "eye for an eye" in Gaza, though the butchers of Hamas could end it all in a moment by surrendering or fleeing or just returning the hostages.
Yesterday, Hamas announced that they were continuing talks about the cease fire offers on the table. So all should be well very soon. Ha!
The U.S. continues to send humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza while also sending weapons to Israel, so the mixed messages are certainly there.
A message that is NOT mixed is regarding the protester demands that Metro State divest from any financial dealings with Israel and stop offering exchange programs with that nation. It's not mixed because Metro doesn't have any investments in Israel nor does it offer any exchange program with that country. So, mission accomplished?
I see that Students for a Democratic Society, or SDS, are leaders of the local protest. That makes me a tiny bit nostalgic for the late 60s. But I am not nostalgic for a repeat of the Democratic National Convention and the chaos and the eventual landslide victory for Nixon.
I am hopeful that once spring classes end (finals are next week around here), the energy will drain away, the tents will be packed away, and we can return to arguing about Taylor Swift overexposure and that TV quality isn't quite enough to satisfy the reviewers who revere shows that no one watches.
Looks like a Summer of Love is in the offing.
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