Random Thoughts

Congressional hearings. They seldom account for anything, except for a great theater. A handful of actors hone their oratorial skills in a spectacle of public interrogation. All in the name of political posturing in front of the electorate. This was the background going into last week's House hearing on campus antisemitism, where heads of four elite universities were being grilled. In fact, I wasn't even aware of it, until I saw the viral compilation. And boy, to say that I was stunned by abhorrent responses, is to say nothing. Presidents of the most prestigious schools in the land, each respectively answered "depends on the context", while being asked if calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the university's code of conduct. It was despicable, especially coming from people responsible for minting future elites.

To my delight, and against my skepticism, the reaction came fast and hard. Calls for resignations started to get loud. Private donors expressed a desire to claw back sizeable donations, if leadership remains in place. In a rare moment of unity, Republicans and Democrats escalated their pressure, which is still mounting. The situation is still developing, but some heads were chopped and some apologies were made public. My money says we're not done yet.

This episode is a great reminder to all those alluding to the spread of antisemitism in the modern USA. It pours cold water on the idea that we're following Germany of the 1930s. No, we are not. Don't confuse a few radical and loud imbeciles with the general public. The severity of the backlash, from both politicians and citizenry, demonstrates that our society is not going to put up with such rhetoric. The pendulum has swung too far this time. I hope, that perhaps, it'll mark the beginning of wholesale changes in our universities. At a minimum, this should be a strong signal of what not to do.

P.S.
An interesting thought experiment is to contrast this with the BLM movement two years ago. This probably needs a separate post.

#politics
December 2023.

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240 viewsedited  Dec 11, 2023 at 21:23

Congressional hearings. They seldom account for anything, except for a great theater. A handful of actors hone their oratorial skills in a spectacle of public interrogation. All in the name of political posturing in front of the electorate. This was the background going into last week's House hearing on campus antisemitism, where heads of four elite universities were being grilled. In fact, I wasn't even aware of it, until I saw the viral compilation. And boy, to say that I was stunned by abhorrent responses, is to say nothing. Presidents of the most prestigious schools in the land, each respectively answered "depends on the context", while being asked if calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the university's code of conduct. It was despicable, especially coming from people responsible for minting future elites.

To my delight, and against my skepticism, the reaction came fast and hard. Calls for resignations started to get loud. Private donors expressed a desire to claw back sizeable donations, if leadership remains in place. In a rare moment of unity, Republicans and Democrats escalated their pressure, which is still mounting. The situation is still developing, but some heads were chopped and some apologies were made public. My money says we're not done yet.

This episode is a great reminder to all those alluding to the spread of antisemitism in the modern USA. It pours cold water on the idea that we're following Germany of the 1930s. No, we are not. Don't confuse a few radical and loud imbeciles with the general public. The severity of the backlash, from both politicians and citizenry, demonstrates that our society is not going to put up with such rhetoric. The pendulum has swung too far this time. I hope, that perhaps, it'll mark the beginning of wholesale changes in our universities. At a minimum, this should be a strong signal of what not to do.

P.S.
An interesting thought experiment is to contrast this with the BLM movement two years ago. This probably needs a separate post.

#politics
December 2023.

BY Random Thoughts