I'm pro Israel and very anti Hamas but I have a different view on this.
IMO:
1) Young people post many things and it's hard to know if the bad posts are one-offs or part of a clear pattern of a belief system. In the very brief amount of time I've spent on this situation, it's not really clear to me that they were more than one-offs, so in …
I'm pro Israel and very anti Hamas but I have a different view on this.
IMO:
1) Young people post many things and it's hard to know if the bad posts are one-offs or part of a clear pattern of a belief system. In the very brief amount of time I've spent on this situation, it's not really clear to me that they were more than one-offs, so in full disclosure, the rest of my thinking is based on assuming they were one-offs. In other words, I'm not convinced she's a "raging antisemite" any more than I'm convinced that someone who says one bad thing about a minority is a "raging racist."
2) USC should not select a vile antisemite (or racist) as valedictorian. A post or two expressing sympathy with Palestinians does not rise to the level of a vile antisemite. Perhaps what she actually said is just as bad as your example of "lynch all blacks" but it didn't seem to me to be the same. If it was, then she should have been removed as valedictorian.
3) We had no idea what her valedictorian speech would have been about. Her posts sympathetic to Hamas didn't necessarily mean she was going to say anything about that during the speech. USC would be within their rights to restrict her from including any political messaging. If she violated any agreement, then she can face the consequences, but cancelling the speech just in case is just wrong.
4) USC set a terrible precedent cancelling the speech but allowing her to remain as valedictorian. Either remove her as valedictorian or allow the speech. Anything else is splitting the baby.
5) Using "safety" to stifle free speech is a loss for freedom for all of us regardless of who's speech is being stifled. We should support free speech for all.
TOTALLY hear you! Couple things: 1. Leland Vittert on News Nation did an exceptional segment on this last night. Look it up. He nailed it. You're 100% right...for them to hide behind "safety concerns" is ludicrous & totally unacceptable. 2. The posts I saw weeks ago that captured all the horrible things she had posted really showed that she's not a one-off "silly ill informed person". She had innumerable posts not merely sympathizing for Palestinians. It was the ugly stuff we're seeing all over...destroy Israel, Intifada...etc etc. Leon Uris in "Exodus" recapped how there's been a holocaust in every century and this pattern we're in is following the exact same patterns in ea cent (altho now w social media). There are years where it becomes okay to be outwardly antisemitic and hate speech becomes normalized and accepted. And then that starts to ratchet up into actions. Cancelling Jews. Boycotting them. Cancelling events. Normalizing barring them from classrooms, etc. And all of this happens while good people don't speak up. Whether for fear of repercussions, ignorance or whatever, the good people stay quiet. The Jews wish it away and hope for more normalcy. Which doesn't happen. Then after years of all the hate speech and antisemitic violent acts, things really explode and we end up with a true holocaust where there are the mass m*rders. So, while it might seem overly aggressive to cancel her speech, if it was truly done as a statement of "we will not allow someone who has these beliefs to have the honor of speaking at graduation" just like they probably wouldn't have a KKK member do a commencement address, I think it's right. We are seeing this normalization and acceptance of treating Jews and spreading all the lies unchecked. And it has to stop! It can NOT be tolerated. Unfort USC hid behind safety concerns and if that's their only reason, then that's pathetic. While it's good all of this is being exposed, this vile hatred is being allowed to spread like a cancer because good people aren't speaking up loudly enough. No one is calling these people out. People are tolerating, condoning, excusing, accepting and it's incredibly dangerous....
I'm pro Israel and very anti Hamas but I have a different view on this.
IMO:
1) Young people post many things and it's hard to know if the bad posts are one-offs or part of a clear pattern of a belief system. In the very brief amount of time I've spent on this situation, it's not really clear to me that they were more than one-offs, so in full disclosure, the rest of my thinking is based on assuming they were one-offs. In other words, I'm not convinced she's a "raging antisemite" any more than I'm convinced that someone who says one bad thing about a minority is a "raging racist."
2) USC should not select a vile antisemite (or racist) as valedictorian. A post or two expressing sympathy with Palestinians does not rise to the level of a vile antisemite. Perhaps what she actually said is just as bad as your example of "lynch all blacks" but it didn't seem to me to be the same. If it was, then she should have been removed as valedictorian.
3) We had no idea what her valedictorian speech would have been about. Her posts sympathetic to Hamas didn't necessarily mean she was going to say anything about that during the speech. USC would be within their rights to restrict her from including any political messaging. If she violated any agreement, then she can face the consequences, but cancelling the speech just in case is just wrong.
4) USC set a terrible precedent cancelling the speech but allowing her to remain as valedictorian. Either remove her as valedictorian or allow the speech. Anything else is splitting the baby.
5) Using "safety" to stifle free speech is a loss for freedom for all of us regardless of who's speech is being stifled. We should support free speech for all.
TOTALLY hear you! Couple things: 1. Leland Vittert on News Nation did an exceptional segment on this last night. Look it up. He nailed it. You're 100% right...for them to hide behind "safety concerns" is ludicrous & totally unacceptable. 2. The posts I saw weeks ago that captured all the horrible things she had posted really showed that she's not a one-off "silly ill informed person". She had innumerable posts not merely sympathizing for Palestinians. It was the ugly stuff we're seeing all over...destroy Israel, Intifada...etc etc. Leon Uris in "Exodus" recapped how there's been a holocaust in every century and this pattern we're in is following the exact same patterns in ea cent (altho now w social media). There are years where it becomes okay to be outwardly antisemitic and hate speech becomes normalized and accepted. And then that starts to ratchet up into actions. Cancelling Jews. Boycotting them. Cancelling events. Normalizing barring them from classrooms, etc. And all of this happens while good people don't speak up. Whether for fear of repercussions, ignorance or whatever, the good people stay quiet. The Jews wish it away and hope for more normalcy. Which doesn't happen. Then after years of all the hate speech and antisemitic violent acts, things really explode and we end up with a true holocaust where there are the mass m*rders. So, while it might seem overly aggressive to cancel her speech, if it was truly done as a statement of "we will not allow someone who has these beliefs to have the honor of speaking at graduation" just like they probably wouldn't have a KKK member do a commencement address, I think it's right. We are seeing this normalization and acceptance of treating Jews and spreading all the lies unchecked. And it has to stop! It can NOT be tolerated. Unfort USC hid behind safety concerns and if that's their only reason, then that's pathetic. While it's good all of this is being exposed, this vile hatred is being allowed to spread like a cancer because good people aren't speaking up loudly enough. No one is calling these people out. People are tolerating, condoning, excusing, accepting and it's incredibly dangerous....