I’m happy to give Tucker Carlson a platform on this. He is persuading segments of the Republican base to be better people. Evangelicals are starting to get restive, and that is the key group propping up Israel at this point.
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Having college kids occupy libraries would detract from that, while also validating what Trump is doing to our universities. Having Trump attack colleges for allowing kids to protest Gaza has not been helpful to them while Israel is openly starving Palestinian civilians and killing US Citizens.
jul 23, 2025, 11:27 pm • 2 0 • view
I am not sure that any protest ever "detracts" from anything. It's purpose is to do the opposite is it not? Call more attention to the problem? I disagree that ANYTHING can validate violations of the constitutions amendments. Can it? When do you see suppression of speech to be valid??
jul 24, 2025, 12:55 am • 3 0 • view
Protests are a complex thing. I very much supported the Gaza protests last year, but the net result was the near rupture of the Democratic coalition while also sparking a backlash on the right. Despite there being some positive movement on public opinion, they needed to be shut down, and were.
jul 24, 2025, 3:22 am • 1 0 • view
I again supported protests in May, and this was the result. I am not convinced we achieved any positive benefit from any of this. Meanwhile, things have gotten bad enough that the right is starting to recoil on their own. Why do we need to bring attention to it? Likely we would distract them.
jul 24, 2025, 3:26 am • 1 0 • view
There may be a protest that could work, but I do not think it is in the form we have seen thus far. Maybe something different will work, but it’s hard to control otherwise well meaning activists.
jul 24, 2025, 3:32 am • 0 0 • view
Do you mean control? Protest is to challenge the control isn't it? Even peaceful protest intends to disrupt, to get a response and that is always going to be unpredictable and not controlled. Curious what you think peaceful protest is about? Process? Purpose? Products?
jul 24, 2025, 4:23 am • 1 0 • view
Maybe not. But what is hoped to be gained is often only appreciated in theory and retrospect. Think Malcolm X and MLK which really made the changes? Or did the attention (pos and neg) do the heavy lifting? No one really knows just theories--- and results.
jul 24, 2025, 4:08 am • 0 0 • view
Yes, results is the important thing. But what results? There are many possible results, including that protests fail. There is a reason doctors take a Hippocratic oath. Sometimes an intervention hurts more than it helps.
jul 24, 2025, 5:21 am • 1 0 • view
There are many other factors in play which I will not discuss because this conversation is being monitored. If people want to help Gaza, a good way is to go protest Trump’s Epstein ties this weekend. Damaging Trump is a fantastic way to help Gaza, even if it doesn’t feel like it.
jul 24, 2025, 5:30 am • 2 0 • view
We don't all take the oath anymore FYI. UVA dropped it decades ago UofMich we took it with all others in the audience renewing theirs. First do no harm is what you are speaking to. But... as Ghandi and MLK proved harm may not be avoidable. Break it to fix it doctrine of protest. No?
jul 24, 2025, 5:32 am • 0 0 • view
The problem is that Tucker isn’t pushing them to be better people, he’s pushing them to channel their disgust at Israel’s actions into base antisemitism.
jul 23, 2025, 11:50 pm • 16 0 • view
That may be why he is doing it, but that is not what his argument is. He is making a fairly robust defense of IHL, accusing Israel of war crimes, and asking for it to be treated like any other country. He also thinks we should not support them militarily, remain neutral, etc.
jul 23, 2025, 11:56 pm • 0 0 • view
Importantly, he is being effective at persuading large parts of the right that what is happening in Israel is wrong. As long as Israel is a wedge issue for Dems and unites Republicans it just is extremely difficult to make progress. There needs to be opposition from the right.
jul 23, 2025, 11:58 pm • 0 0 • view
Liberal activists who want to make progress should be preparing to primary Dems who support Israel. There is every indication that Trump and Netanyahu will keep this going, and try to force Gazan’s into concentration camps. The politics are shifting in favor of justice and we need to prepare.
jul 24, 2025, 12:08 am • 1 0 • view