All the Protesters Are Somebody’s Child

Encampment of students protesting at George Washington University in Washington on May 3, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Commentary

My first thought after hearing that pro-Palestinian students unlawfully camping out at Columbia University had been arrested was that justice had finally been served. But there was also a tinge of glee—privileged kids had gotten what they deserved, I thought. I don’t wear a MAGA hat, but I’m a retired law and order lawyer who opposed the idea of defunding the police.

Although I’m not Jewish either, some of my family members are. My list of Jewish friends is as long as my Catholic ones. I’m pro-Israel and, since Oct. 7, I’ve been heartsick at the brutality of the Hamas massacre of Israelis, as well as the death of all innocents during this unfortunate war.

About a week ago, I learned that among those arrested at Columbia was the daughter of a long-term acquaintance in my hometown. Yes, the girl had been a protester, but the family had also been doxxed when their daughter had apparently been misidentified as another masked protester holding an inflammatory sign.

I don’t know the mom’s political views on the Israel-Hamas conflict. She and I differ on politics in other areas. But I know the mom. She’s a good person and a marvelous supporter of the arts in our community, and I believe her when she says she’s tried to be a responsible parent, too. Despite my horror at our country’s rash of antisemitism, the moment I learned of her child’s identity, I realized that my heart held room for compassion, too, for both mother and child. Because all the protesters are somebody’s child.

There but for the grace of God go I. I remember that oft-repeated phrase growing up. My children graduated from college relatively unscathed, but the years had not been without their challenges, especially as our family went through a difficult divorce.

I got good grades in high school and stayed out of trouble. But I went a bit wild on a few occasions once I got to college and had my first beer. I couldn’t wait to protest something. What I found was a handful of well-behaved students holding signs against the latest tuition hike. Looking back, I realize that the peace signs and fringed moccasins I wore in high school had been more fashion statement than protest. In reality, I’d known precious little about the Vietnam War that came before me.

If I’d gone to college years earlier, would I have joined the Vietnam War protesters? Perhaps, although I’m fairly certain that if the university had told me to decamp, I’d have listened immediately. My parents wouldn’t have stood for any defiance. But I also wanted to study law, believed in right and wrong, and knew that actions held consequences.

So I channeled my youthful restlessness into opportunities provided by the university to give students a voice. The president appointed me as the student representative to his private advisory council. I was elected student representative to the Faculty Senate. To me, these were not resume-enhancing activities for law school applications that, sadly, they’ve become today. Rather, I listened to students, advocated for them, and, in turn, earned the respect of professors and administrators.

I had little time to get into trouble. My parents went without to pay my tuition. I worked in order to pay for extras, down to a slice of pizza on Friday night after classes.

Student demands that Columbia University divest itself of Israel-related holdings in exchange for student evacuation smells like blackmail to me. Never a smart way to effectuate change. But why aren’t colleges doing a better job of redirecting student energy into lawful, productive endeavors, like my college did? Perhaps one reason is that college leaders were equally culpable in the mayhem, having paved the way. Columbia University’s president clearly lacked spine during her questioning by Congress. Other Ivy League presidents equivocated on the basic question of whether calling for the genocide of Jews was unacceptable campus behavior.

According to our cultural definition, most of these students are probably “privileged.” And yet they’re still children with developing brains. While protesting, they were also holding yoga poses, making friendship bracelets, and yearning for what all children want—to belong. The suicide rates among college students are increasing. Today, they’re dealing with things most of us didn’t have to contend with, like deciding whether they’re a boy or girl and achieving the correct dosage of their anti-depressants. They’re a generation of kids who got a prize merely for showing up.

Imagine any of them having to defend their families in Israel, where military conscription is mandatory for women and men at 18. As Hillary Clinton pointed out, many of them have no idea of the history surrounding Israel, Gaza, and Hamas. For all their prestige, our American institutions of higher learning have stunted their growth.

Adults are undoubtedly using them as political pawns too. How else did they organize so well so quickly? Why did they have matching tents? How did the organized food chain supplying ingredients for gourmet meals get so easily established?

These aren’t excuses, merely a fuller portrait of how ill our uncivil society has become.

I’m glad Columbia University had students arrested. By all accounts, they behaved unlawfully and spewed hate. Legally and morally, they must be held accountable and incur appropriate consequences for their actions, including the property damage they caused. Our catch-and-release justice system teaches them nothing and perpetuates political polarization.

Americans eschew enduring difficulty, but wisdom is best gained through hardship and suffering. It’s even backed up by scientific research. At the same time, however, the door to redemption must always remain open. We live in a society where lives and livelihoods are routinely upended in a single moment. That’s neither just nor compassionate. Let’s reclaim both along with dialogue and decency. Would that it wouldn’t take our children to reveal to us these truths.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.