"For many Americans, it is increasingly difficult to reconcile Biden’s soaring rhetoric about America with such scenes of civil disorder. What happens if America is an idea a growing number of its younger people no longer believe in—or actively despise?"
And what happens if we see those protesters, or more likely a subset among them, for …
"For many Americans, it is increasingly difficult to reconcile Biden’s soaring rhetoric about America with such scenes of civil disorder. What happens if America is an idea a growing number of its younger people no longer believe in—or actively despise?"
And what happens if we see those protesters, or more likely a subset among them, for what they are: a small fringe group of extremists who do not represent the beliefs or the behavior of the vast majority of Americans? It's easy to see these people as making a statement when they stick out like a sore thumb. But reasonable people also know that there is a big difference between peaceful protest and out of control activism. We've all hashed this out before -- it is possible to be pro-Israel and pro-Palestine at the same time while opposing Hamas. Those same reasonable people understand that the graffiti warriors and avowed Hamas sympathizers, perhaps acting out of emotion rather than forethought, are a distinct minority among us. They harm rather than help their cause when they go past the boundaries of appropriate behavior. If someone believes that this small group is empirical evidence that more and more young people do not believe in America as a concept -- never mind despise it -- I'll ask them to show me the receipts for verification. I don't see it as I'm on my college campus. Or at my grocery store. Or at a park or a ballgame or my church. Blowing the issue out of proportion is more likely to cause a crisis than the deeds of a very small fringe group of activists who lose credibility the moment that they take the law into their own hands and vow support for a known terrorist group. We are smart enough to know that, and we should act like it as the adults in the room.
So true. These young people, perhaps influenced by Iran, have taken “Performance Politics” way too far. Most people, as you say, can support Israel, be against the terrorist group, Hamas, and also anguish at the destruction of Palestine and the many deaths. Of course, since they don’t see videos of Sudan and destruction in Ukraine or famine in Ethiopia, they focus their demonstrations against policies they may not fully understand.
I had the same "uh" moment when reading the article as well. I've been around a while and frankly none of these activist-out-of-control protests strike me as different than what I have seen off and on since the late 60's/70's. Same sh*t different cause.
Well-said. One of the reasons my two young people are upset is — like their grandparents’ generation during Vietnam — they don’t see US policies much line up with our aspirations, and they’re tired of it.
Iran’s useful idiots also dumped maggots and crickets in the hotel where Netanyahu is staying, another stupid move more likely to turn people off than on. Bibi & Co are merely inconvenienced. The STAFF have to clean up the mess. Go team. /s
THANK YOU! The contrast being highlighted there wasn't just against the fringe, it was against the fringe of the fringe: huge crowds, of which a small minority engaged in violence, vandalism, and anti-American statements. Yes, it's important to keep an eye on that fringe and keep it from spreading (as happened to the Right), but it's also important to keep perspective, or a communist and a liberal look like the same thing.
Totally agree, but somehow Harris needs to get out in front of this so she is not defined by it by Republicans. People may have forgotten that when rioting commenced after the George Floyd murder, Biden came out against the riots in a public statement. This was not popular with many progressives at the time who came up with the defund the police lunacy (as opposed to reforming the police and holding bad police officers accountable). This made it more difficult to tie him to the defund the police movement which hurt other Democrats, especially in close House races.
I just saw Harris put out a statement condemning Hamas and protesters burning the US flag, so clearly she is forcefully addressing the issue. Well done.
I suspect the problem for this week is that they're still calibrating how to respond to the big issues of Gaza and immigration. Harris is a very different messenger with a different record from Biden, so it makes sense that they want to approach the issue strategically. That said, if they wait too long they lose any chance to own the issues, and the issues will end up owning them.
My guess is that if you add up the Oathkeepers, 3 Percenters, Proud Boys, and other assorted militias and paramilitaries that support, and are supported by, the Republican party, they significantly outnumber the protesters, some of whom hate Democrats almost as much as they hate Reps, and none of whom have significant support in the Dem leadership. Two wrongs don't make a right, but some wrongs are not comparable at all.
The rise of more normalized antisemitism is real and important to condemn, but calling what is at core a protest against ISRAEL emblematic of people being against AMERICA is just logically flawed.
"For many Americans, it is increasingly difficult to reconcile Biden’s soaring rhetoric about America with such scenes of civil disorder. What happens if America is an idea a growing number of its younger people no longer believe in—or actively despise?"
And what happens if we see those protesters, or more likely a subset among them, for what they are: a small fringe group of extremists who do not represent the beliefs or the behavior of the vast majority of Americans? It's easy to see these people as making a statement when they stick out like a sore thumb. But reasonable people also know that there is a big difference between peaceful protest and out of control activism. We've all hashed this out before -- it is possible to be pro-Israel and pro-Palestine at the same time while opposing Hamas. Those same reasonable people understand that the graffiti warriors and avowed Hamas sympathizers, perhaps acting out of emotion rather than forethought, are a distinct minority among us. They harm rather than help their cause when they go past the boundaries of appropriate behavior. If someone believes that this small group is empirical evidence that more and more young people do not believe in America as a concept -- never mind despise it -- I'll ask them to show me the receipts for verification. I don't see it as I'm on my college campus. Or at my grocery store. Or at a park or a ballgame or my church. Blowing the issue out of proportion is more likely to cause a crisis than the deeds of a very small fringe group of activists who lose credibility the moment that they take the law into their own hands and vow support for a known terrorist group. We are smart enough to know that, and we should act like it as the adults in the room.
So true. These young people, perhaps influenced by Iran, have taken “Performance Politics” way too far. Most people, as you say, can support Israel, be against the terrorist group, Hamas, and also anguish at the destruction of Palestine and the many deaths. Of course, since they don’t see videos of Sudan and destruction in Ukraine or famine in Ethiopia, they focus their demonstrations against policies they may not fully understand.
I had the same "uh" moment when reading the article as well. I've been around a while and frankly none of these activist-out-of-control protests strike me as different than what I have seen off and on since the late 60's/70's. Same sh*t different cause.
Well-said. One of the reasons my two young people are upset is — like their grandparents’ generation during Vietnam — they don’t see US policies much line up with our aspirations, and they’re tired of it.
Iran’s useful idiots also dumped maggots and crickets in the hotel where Netanyahu is staying, another stupid move more likely to turn people off than on. Bibi & Co are merely inconvenienced. The STAFF have to clean up the mess. Go team. /s
THANK YOU! The contrast being highlighted there wasn't just against the fringe, it was against the fringe of the fringe: huge crowds, of which a small minority engaged in violence, vandalism, and anti-American statements. Yes, it's important to keep an eye on that fringe and keep it from spreading (as happened to the Right), but it's also important to keep perspective, or a communist and a liberal look like the same thing.
Totally agree, but somehow Harris needs to get out in front of this so she is not defined by it by Republicans. People may have forgotten that when rioting commenced after the George Floyd murder, Biden came out against the riots in a public statement. This was not popular with many progressives at the time who came up with the defund the police lunacy (as opposed to reforming the police and holding bad police officers accountable). This made it more difficult to tie him to the defund the police movement which hurt other Democrats, especially in close House races.
I just saw Harris put out a statement condemning Hamas and protesters burning the US flag, so clearly she is forcefully addressing the issue. Well done.
I suspect the problem for this week is that they're still calibrating how to respond to the big issues of Gaza and immigration. Harris is a very different messenger with a different record from Biden, so it makes sense that they want to approach the issue strategically. That said, if they wait too long they lose any chance to own the issues, and the issues will end up owning them.
My guess is that if you add up the Oathkeepers, 3 Percenters, Proud Boys, and other assorted militias and paramilitaries that support, and are supported by, the Republican party, they significantly outnumber the protesters, some of whom hate Democrats almost as much as they hate Reps, and none of whom have significant support in the Dem leadership. Two wrongs don't make a right, but some wrongs are not comparable at all.
Thank you so much for this. Why Andrew is trying to make a small radical fringe group representative of young Americans is beyond me.
The rise of more normalized antisemitism is real and important to condemn, but calling what is at core a protest against ISRAEL emblematic of people being against AMERICA is just logically flawed.