I’m not gonna let the intruder in my home (who keeps hitting me) stay there because I refuse to break my lamp over his head.

Russians in Ukraine is a much larger threat than less shrubbery.

Lots to unpack, let’s hit the big ones. Do any means justify peace? Is mass murder of entire countries okay because it would result in less overall friction afterward? How long does peace need to last after for it to make it worth it?

Displacement. Is it fair to the people who have lived in a country for generations to leave because of other’s actions? Moreso, many of them currently /want/ to leave (really really bad) but can’t, what should they do? And also, how is that fair to neighboring countries, they’re just required to take in refugees because Israel wants more land? (What if there weren’t neighboring countries?)

Finally, (please educate me), are universities very invested in Syrian companies/industries? That’s what the current protests are about, divestment from Israel. Are you required to care about all atrocities in order to care for one? What line marks which bad things in the world protesters should inclusively be knowledgeable about?

The eradication of millions of civilians is definitely anti-peace.

A similar situation would be the US joining WW2 on the Axis side. I mean once Britain, France, Russia, China, and the Jews were finished off, there’d be peace for a while right?

Ponder what unconditional support for Israel would mean for Palestinians in our current landscape.

Few years ago Texas required ‘In God we Trust’ signs to be displayed in classrooms. Schools weren’t allowed to pay for them, so basically donated. They conveniently rejected the signs that had a rainbow on it, or the one written in Arabic.

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/31/1120239381/texas-in-god-we-trust-arabic-signs-chaz-stevens

Disagree. I won’t say it’s impossible it encourages some antisemitism, but it feels like you’re lumping all these students into that camp. I think the protests provide awareness of where much of the public stands on the issue.

It feels disingenuous to say these protests are a fun party. I can think of plenty of activities I partook in college that were more fun and with less risk. I think these students (a fairly small percentage of all students, realistically), feel an alturistic need to do something. And there’s not a lot of domestic options available to them, especially ones where their voice is actually heard.

These protests must be effective if they’re turning the whole world on Israel. But I think that’s much more of Israel’s doing. Surely killing medical staff, journalists, aid workers, and children may factor in? Of course I’m against antisemitism, but I won’t say the same about antizionism.

There’s also the part where these protests aren’t directly about ending the conflict (of course that’s the ultimate overarching goal). These students are protesting their schools’ investments in Israel. And I think they have every right to have that discussion with the schools they’re attending. This is the impact they’re trying to make, one that /is/ related to them, and one that /is/ possible.

Like it or not, Joe is the best shot at ending the conflict right now, I agree. But it’s been many months of him appearing to do close to nothing. Is Israel backed into a corner? Looks more like Palestinian civilians are in a corner. A corner that keeps getting moved and then bombed.

The US has a lot of sway in the world. There’s a lot of options our government could take. Continued financial, military, and political support doesn’t feel like the best option. I’m not saying we should wipe Israel off the map, but surely there’s some sort of middle ground where civilians of the region aren’t just endless collateral damage?

I agree that the diplomats have a lot of things to consider and need to make careful nuanced discussions that lead to effective decisions. However, I think student protests help sway the public opinion and give more backing to such diplomatic decisions.

And US students obviously can’t make foreign policy decisions with Isreal, so what else are they supposed to do? Clearly, months of smaller actions haven’t seemed to change the situation.

How hot is extreme, you and I have now asked ourselves. Well, let me read aloud.

“as high as 45 degrees Celsius” (113 F)

“northern province [of Thailand] exceeded 44.1 degrees Celsius on Saturday” (111.4 F)

“Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh, forecasters warned that temperatures could exceed 40 degrees Celsius in the coming days” (104 F)

“city of Mandalay could rise to 43 degrees Celsius” (109 F)

“It’s very unpleasant and it takes the energy out of you.”

Op ed: sounds nasty hot