My grandfather was one of (if not the) first in my family to go to college. He somehow got into Harvard without a cent, worked his way through as a janitor. His son, my dad, went to Harvard, too. So did my brother and sister. Of all the campus adventures the all told, there was never a peep about anything like this.
The school I went to in Philadelphia had a large Jewish presence. There were activities everywhere, and Jewish kids in my class, in my main activity (the Balalaika Orchestra), pretty much everywhere. I didn't think anything of it any more than I thought of the large number of Catholics where I spent part of my high school (Spain). It's just what they were. My two roomies, friends from my senior year on high school, were black Baptists. Again, big deal. So what? No skin off my back. Why belonging to one of these groups is grounds for intimidation and harassment is obvious: low hanging fruit. If you can't spit in Netanyahu's face, and least you can spit in theirs. Sure, and that makes you a hero. (no, it doesn't)
I feel sorry for the kids that got so caught up in the hate that they were drawn into it so deeply that their academic careers were temporarily (or permanently) ruined. But I feel just as badly for the Jewish kids who get cursed out, spit on, or roughed up without their assailants knowing anything about their sentiments in the matter. I somehow doubt that, if asked, any of the Jewish students would advocate the violent deaths of Palestinian non-combatants. From the celebrations of the Hamas actions of October 7th, I can't make such a sweeping assumption about the Palestinian "patriots" with the sudden generously financed "protests." I realize that Billy Joel's lyrics were spot on: "The King and the Queen went back to the Green, but you can never go back there again." 1968 was chaotic, home-grown and organic. This is none of the above.
Whatever way the news is leaning on any given day, crap like what is suddenly happening all over the place--this is not spontaneous. I just don't buy it. Like Roger Ailes said at the inception of Fox "News:" we have an agenda. I think the same can be said about much of the "protest" movement. Some will believe what the shadowy organizers and financiers are saying. Some actually believe Trump knew what he was doing as president, too. I believe neither.
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