Imperialism
Israel
Palestine
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[1] fair use.
[I]ncreasingly violent campus demonstrations have erupted across the country, and colleges are turning to law enforcement to regain control. At City College of New York, police cleared an encampment Tuesday night and reportedly arrested 173 people, including some students. Protests have also ignited at the University of California at Los Angeles, the Johns Hopkins University, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and the University of Texas at Austin. Meanwhile, the University of Southern California has decided to cancel its main commencement ceremony after the administration cited safety concerns due to the demonstrations.[2]
Whether or not they’ve made agreements, college leaders shouldn’t expect students to throw in the towel. Today’s student protesters, [Demetri L.] Morgan said, have come of age in a decade filled with major social-justice movements, like Black Lives Matter, March for Our Lives, and Me Too. The lack of progress on issues that feel existential to them has instilled a lack of trust in officials.
That’s part of what makes it difficult to persuade students to come to the table with administrators, which is only complicated further by the divisive nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on campuses.[3]
Since the very founding of Israel was an ethnic cleansing project,[4] justice would demand the expulsion of Zionists who continue to steal Palestinian land with the fully armed support of Israeli authorities. Further, we must understand Zionism as an ethnic cleansing ideology.
A two-state solution is compromise and one Israel—not just Binyamin Netanyahu—adamantly rejects.[5] So who’s being unreasonable?
Deutsche Welle, “UN court rules German military aid to Israel can continue,” April 30, 2024, https://www.dw.com/en/un-court-rules-german-military-aid-to-israel-can-continue/a-68956989
Stephen Collinson, “Student unrest ratchets up an already tense election year,” CNN, May 1, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/30/politics/student-protests-election-year-analysis
Lazar Berman, “Netanyahu tells Blinken he will not agree to end war on Hamas as part of hostage deal,” Times of Israel, May 1, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-israel-blinken-blames-hamas-for-hostage-deal-holdup-gaza-humanitarian-crisis/
J. Brian Charles, “After Negotiations Collapse, Police Sweep Through Columbia U. and Arrest Dozens,” Chronicle of Higher Education, May 1, 2024, https://www.chronicle.com/article/after-negotiations-collapse-police-sweep-through-columbia-u-and-arrest-dozens
Erin Gretzinger, “Unrest Has Gripped Campuses Across the Country. These 3 Colleges Struck Deals With Their Protesters,” Chronicle of Higher Education, May 1, 2024, https://www.chronicle.com/article/unrest-has-gripped-campuses-across-the-country-these-3-colleges-struck-deals-with-their-protesters
Abigail Hauslohner, “House passes antisemitism bill over complaints from First Amendment advocates,” Washington Post, May 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/05/01/antisemitism-awarness-act-campus-protests/
Ishaan Tharoor, “The delusions behind Biden’s plan for Middle East peace,” Washington Post, May 1, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/05/01/middle-east-peace-biden-plan-delusions/
Stefan M. Bradley, “Columbia University protests look increasingly like those in 1968 as police storm campuses nationwide,” Conversation, May 2, 2024, https://theconversation.com/columbia-university-protests-look-increasingly-like-those-in-1968-as-police-storm-campuses-nationwide-228851
Neoliberalism
Work
Fig. 2. The spectre of Death, in the form of a large skeleton, rises with the smoke and flames of the burning Asch Building during the Triangle fire, as people jump and fall to their death. Artist unknown, from International Ladies Garment Workers Union Photographs (1885-1985) at The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
It would seem I’m not the only one[6] to notice that the job market often seems like a scam.[7]
Callum Borchers, “A Strong Job Market? Try Telling That to These Workers,” Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2024, https://apple.news/AWebr76IcQn2Orf0fNhuz5Q
Electric vehicles
Fig. 3. “A Toyota bZ4X electric sport utility vehicle: EVs currently on the market are fitted with batteries that use liquid lithium-ion electrolytes.” Photograph by Kiyoshi Ota, n.d., via Financial Times, fair use.
Michael J. Coren, “I found a $2,100 EV. Here’s how you can, too,” Washington Post, April 30, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/04/30/cheap-electric-cars/
Bradley Brownell, “Electric cars are dying fast and the repair industry is lagging,” Quartz, May 1, 2024, https://qz.com/evs-are-dying-fast-and-the-repair-industry-is-lagging-1851450290
Bryan Pietsch, “Chinese EVs are good for the world. Biden says they’re bad for America,” Washington Post, May 2, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2024/05/02/china-electric-vehicle-biden-protect-united-states-auto-industry-ev/
- [1]Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
- [2]J. Brian Charles, “After Negotiations Collapse, Police Sweep Through Columbia U. and Arrest Dozens,” Chronicle of Higher Education, May 1, 2024, https://www.chronicle.com/article/after-negotiations-collapse-police-sweep-through-columbia-u-and-arrest-dozens↩
- [3]Erin Gretzinger, “Unrest Has Gripped Campuses Across the Country. These 3 Colleges Struck Deals With Their Protesters,” Chronicle of Higher Education, May 1, 2024, https://www.chronicle.com/article/unrest-has-gripped-campuses-across-the-country-these-3-colleges-struck-deals-with-their-protesters↩
- [4]Karen Attiah, “The colonial history of Israel-Palestine: Bringing the receipts,” Washington Post, November 3, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/03/colonial-history-britain-israel/↩
- [5]Matthew Bell, “Israel says ‘no’ to a 2-state solution,” World, January 24, 2024, https://theworld.org/stories/2024-01-24/israel-says-no-2-state-solution; Dov Lieber, “Israel’s Netanyahu Bets Political Survival on Opposing a Palestinian State,” Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israels-netanyahu-bets-political-survival-on-opposing-a-palestinian-state-9e78790f↩
- [6]David Benfell, “About my job hunt,” Not Housebroken, n.d., https://disunitedstates.org/about-my-job-hunt/↩
- [7]Callum Borchers, “A Strong Job Market? Try Telling That to These Workers,” Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2024, https://apple.news/AWebr76IcQn2Orf0fNhuz5Q↩