This week Joe Biden gave a brief talk about the campus protests in solidarity with Gaza that have swept the country. He said a whole lot in a short period of time, but the sentiment that leapt out to me was encapsulated by two lines, “Dissent must never lead to disorder” and “We are a civil society, and order must prevail.” At almost the exact same time Republican Senator
"this is why students are being met with such an immense and disproportionate police response. Their protests do threaten the order of things. They aren’t disrupting their universities nearly as much as the repeated police invasions are, but they are tearing an ideological hole in the fabric". 📢🍉♥️
There is so much violence in our society. This extends to all the people who are now homeless too. To me, a system that will do that to people is a form of violence.
People around where I live do their corporate jobs, and many make enough money to buy 2.5 million dollar brand new houses, after developers knocked down the beautiful, much smaller working class homes that were built 100 years ago. In their boring, lifelessly gleaming four story fortresses, with wine cellars and wet bars, and roof decks complete with live trees, they talk on the phone all day, being whatever gear they are in the machinery of Bank Of America, or Amazon, or Delloitte, or whatever. I know from doing work in their homes and meeting them and getting to know them that they have no idea whatsoever what the consequences of their jobs may be - not the first clue. They got good grades, played sports, did their internships, got that first "good job," married someone in their same social and class group, had kids, bought that McMansion and they are raking it in, living amongst piles of hundreds and hundreds of expensive children's toys, ordered online, enough to supply an entire nursery, for their two children. They throw away more than half the food they order and serve, leave the lights on in the entire 6 bed, 6 bath, 5000 sq. ft. home all day, regardless of never entering most of the rooms, and behave in the most wasteful and blithely hoggish manner possible, due to their enormous salaries. 5000 sq. ft. for mom, dad and two little Fauntleroys. They think only one thing, hey, I earned it, I can afford it, so I should have it. How the money was extracted, who lost in the game, what the consequences of the business their companies engage in might be is something they do not in any way think about, at all. Believe me, I know them. They make me sick, but have no idea how I feel about them. They think I like them and am impressed. Order, indeed.
Significant societal change doesn't come without exceeding law and order, when law and order are not the same as justice. What we are seeing on college campuses is a result of gross social and economic disparity, and these kids deserve support. These crackdowns apply to all protests challenging the status quo, including protesting for the right to an inhabitable planet. Time for bodies on the line everywhere. The system is sick. https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/gaza-genocide-protests-a-preview
Definitely there's a large segment of America who perceives "order" as the complacent furthering of the status quo, and all supremacist ideas underpinning American identity.
It's also clear this is so in the uneven handling of armed, openly white supremacist demonstrations. Those demonstrations are so widely defended by even people who wouldn't self affiliate as Nazis as "free speech" simply because what the Nazis have to say and are demanding isn't very far removed from the inherent biases of nearly half of America, which they perceive to be part of our nation's very fabric, and which doesn't threaten them personally as part of the preferred class of people.
"Law and Order" has *always* meant "using the law to violently enforce the Natural Order - where, naturally, the ones in power are ordered above the scum and villainy of the human masses"
thank you for writing this. sometimes you look at the commentary on these student protests and feel like you're just losing your mind. how can people focus so intently on the wrong thing?
Students today are being treated like women were treated decades ago. Women were not heard or respected. Students are heard and respected even less today. As Josh stated in another newsletter, these students have been victims their entire lives as schools have been a place of violence and they have learned not to be silent. The status quo may be doing all in their power to squelch the voices of these students now - but these same students will one day surprise this same status quo as the students take their place on global platforms and truly change the world. I believe in these students, support them, and if I had the opportunity I would stand beside them.
I hear you. And of course the president that’s funding the genocide isn’t going to be persuaded by student protesters overnight. He’s committed to being pro-Israel. It’s a huge achievement that it’s no longer no matter what even if the conditions are minor, it’s a crack. He wrote was instrumental in the 1994 crime bill. He didn’t want to desegregate/integrate his area through busing. None of this is surprising. So instead we keep working on the BDS targets and ways where the impact is more immediate like these students are trying to get their colleges to divest.
"this is why students are being met with such an immense and disproportionate police response. Their protests do threaten the order of things. They aren’t disrupting their universities nearly as much as the repeated police invasions are, but they are tearing an ideological hole in the fabric". 📢🍉♥️
There is so much violence in our society. This extends to all the people who are now homeless too. To me, a system that will do that to people is a form of violence.
Engels called policies that cause suffering (like those enacted against the impoverished and homeless) a form of “social murder”.
People around where I live do their corporate jobs, and many make enough money to buy 2.5 million dollar brand new houses, after developers knocked down the beautiful, much smaller working class homes that were built 100 years ago. In their boring, lifelessly gleaming four story fortresses, with wine cellars and wet bars, and roof decks complete with live trees, they talk on the phone all day, being whatever gear they are in the machinery of Bank Of America, or Amazon, or Delloitte, or whatever. I know from doing work in their homes and meeting them and getting to know them that they have no idea whatsoever what the consequences of their jobs may be - not the first clue. They got good grades, played sports, did their internships, got that first "good job," married someone in their same social and class group, had kids, bought that McMansion and they are raking it in, living amongst piles of hundreds and hundreds of expensive children's toys, ordered online, enough to supply an entire nursery, for their two children. They throw away more than half the food they order and serve, leave the lights on in the entire 6 bed, 6 bath, 5000 sq. ft. home all day, regardless of never entering most of the rooms, and behave in the most wasteful and blithely hoggish manner possible, due to their enormous salaries. 5000 sq. ft. for mom, dad and two little Fauntleroys. They think only one thing, hey, I earned it, I can afford it, so I should have it. How the money was extracted, who lost in the game, what the consequences of the business their companies engage in might be is something they do not in any way think about, at all. Believe me, I know them. They make me sick, but have no idea how I feel about them. They think I like them and am impressed. Order, indeed.
If disruptive protest is illegal, effective protest is illegal and you already live in a tyranny.
Significant societal change doesn't come without exceeding law and order, when law and order are not the same as justice. What we are seeing on college campuses is a result of gross social and economic disparity, and these kids deserve support. These crackdowns apply to all protests challenging the status quo, including protesting for the right to an inhabitable planet. Time for bodies on the line everywhere. The system is sick. https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/gaza-genocide-protests-a-preview
Definitely there's a large segment of America who perceives "order" as the complacent furthering of the status quo, and all supremacist ideas underpinning American identity.
It's also clear this is so in the uneven handling of armed, openly white supremacist demonstrations. Those demonstrations are so widely defended by even people who wouldn't self affiliate as Nazis as "free speech" simply because what the Nazis have to say and are demanding isn't very far removed from the inherent biases of nearly half of America, which they perceive to be part of our nation's very fabric, and which doesn't threaten them personally as part of the preferred class of people.
100%
There was a neo-nazi march not long ago where I live & the cops did nothing but block people from disrupting it.
Now the cops are raiding peaceful camps of protectors, injuring people & arresting professors for 'trespassing' at their own colleges & universities.
Really says a lot.
Chilling. It should be the other way around.
"Law and Order" has *always* meant "using the law to violently enforce the Natural Order - where, naturally, the ones in power are ordered above the scum and villainy of the human masses"
Thank you for articulating this so well.
thank you for writing this. sometimes you look at the commentary on these student protests and feel like you're just losing your mind. how can people focus so intently on the wrong thing?
Students today are being treated like women were treated decades ago. Women were not heard or respected. Students are heard and respected even less today. As Josh stated in another newsletter, these students have been victims their entire lives as schools have been a place of violence and they have learned not to be silent. The status quo may be doing all in their power to squelch the voices of these students now - but these same students will one day surprise this same status quo as the students take their place on global platforms and truly change the world. I believe in these students, support them, and if I had the opportunity I would stand beside them.
Really hard not to feel completely beaten.
I hear you. And of course the president that’s funding the genocide isn’t going to be persuaded by student protesters overnight. He’s committed to being pro-Israel. It’s a huge achievement that it’s no longer no matter what even if the conditions are minor, it’s a crack. He wrote was instrumental in the 1994 crime bill. He didn’t want to desegregate/integrate his area through busing. None of this is surprising. So instead we keep working on the BDS targets and ways where the impact is more immediate like these students are trying to get their colleges to divest.
Thank you, you're right and it's good to see it from a more positive perspective.
Brilliant!
Cedric Robinson wrote about this also in 'The Terms of Order'
What does law and order mean you ask? It means you have to compliant and obey the fascism of those in power
People can see that a better world is possible. I hope most of us live to see that world.
Sorry Joe, there is NOTHING civil about this supposed ‘civilized society.’