What I Saw at Columbia's Demonstration [View all]

[Mosby]

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I was at Columbia hours before the police came in and liberated Hamilton Hall from its occupiers. Unlike protesters of the past, who were usually eager to share with others what they thought and why, these demonstrators would generally not speak or make eye contact with members of the press, or, as they say, “corporate media.”

I was on a bench taking notes as a group of young women, all in sunglasses, masks, and kaffiyehs, walked by. “Friends, please come say hello and tell me what you think,” I called. They marched past, not making eye contact, save one, a beautiful girl of about 20. “I’m not trained,” she said. Which is what they’re instructed to say to corporate-media representatives who will twist your words. “I’m barely trained, you’re safe,” I called, and she laughed and half-halted. But her friends gave her a look and she conformed.

I watched small demonstrations of dozens:

“Israel bombs, Columbia pays! How many kids did you kill today?”

In front of Hamilton Hall, students milled about and chanted. From a second-floor open window, next to the window police would enter that night, two male students with a big rough rope were hauling up food—vegetable sandwiches on wheat bread, Dunkin’ Donuts—from the first floor entrance way. They hauled that black plastic supermarket hand cart up like they were re-enacting the siege of Sevastopol. There was a lot of re-enacting going on.

What struck me, beyond the chanting and bull horns, is that the demonstrators didn’t seem to want to make progress on questions you’d think would engage them. If they cared about the pummeling of Gaza, about overall U.S. policy in the Mideast, or the destructive impact of Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership in Israel, half of New York City would march alongside them. But they don’t want allies. Nor did they seem interested in marching in compassion for the people of Gaza.

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Gift link:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-i-saw-at-columbia-demonstration-masks-lack-of-engagement-4c778d4c?st=ctdtb2l3k49tx45&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Different link:
What I Saw at Columbia’s Demonstration https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-i-saw-at-columbia-demonstration-masks-lack-of-engagement-4c778d4c