University of Texas Instantly Shuts Down Anti Israel Protests

I live near Charlottesville. I remember the protests there.

You had mostly peaceful people on both sides, and a small minority of neo Nazis on one side and hardcore BLM types on the other.

I remember the threads here, we knew that you can’t take one person’s words, or even a handful and just blanket sweep everyone else.

It’s disingenuous and dangerous. Can it be true for some and not the whole? Absolutely.

Nazis can have parades, and they should be able to. I find them abhorrent, but you can’t have free speech if you only apply it where it’s comfortable.

Other extremists have demonstrations all the time.

Protests are uncomfortable, it’s literally the purpose.

If it’s speech that isn’t invoking violence it’s protected. Arrest the ones who break the law. Simple as that.

But those who celebrate using an incredibly small sample to enforce vastly larger groups are the same ones who will bitch when the same comes to them.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: CriticalStinker

There's a difference between being critical of Israel and supporting hamas.

Were you aware?

Can you show me evidence of the broader protests at UT being hamas supporters?

a reply to: CriticalStinker

If they actually are interfering with the schools day to day I understand it getting dispersed.

That’s why they stopped it.
It’s against school policy.
This really isn’t a free speech issue even though some want it to be.
Those same people will act like these protesters are going to be doing 6 months in solitary too. 🙄

a reply to: Vermilion

The school is a public university. If it's school policy to deny students the right to protest then the school policy is in violation of the Constitution.

originally posted by: Threadbarer
What was unlawful about it? The school is public property. The 1st Amendment gives them the right to peaceably assemble.

The school has the right to have as a rule that their pro-Hamas protest can not happen on school property.

UTexas General Information Use of University Property

a reply to: Vermilion

Well, Abbott had previously put in free speech policies for campuses in Texas because of how universities were stifling certain groups.

They went back and made changes to those policies because of these protests.

So this is both about UT and the state of Texas.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: CriticalStinker

There's a difference between being critical of Israel and supporting hamas.

Were you aware?

Can you show me evidence of the broader protests at UT being hamas supporters?

Precedence.

When haven't they been pro-hamas?

a reply to: FlyersFan

Honest question, if these were pro-Israel students protesting Palestine and were behaving the exact same way would you also support bringing in riot cops to break up the protest or would you be crying anti-Semitism?

The more loosely the term antisemitism is used against people, the more it’s actually going to become a thing.

I’m sure people are going to get pissed that they are funding a country with free health care, directly intercepting ordinance for them, stationing our navy and assets in the region to make sure we’re they’re if the war gets more actors.

But you can’t talk about Israel unless it’s lockstep support.

Jewish people are a religion and ethnicity. Israel is a country with their own policy. While Israel is a Jewish state, being critical of a country isn’t the same as being critical against a group of people.

I can be critical of the government of Russia without “hating” all Russians.

I can be critical of the government of Iran while not “hating” all Persians.

Israel isn’t an exception, and I ironically support them as the only democracy in the region. But I also don’t think my speech should be limited if I decided to have a different opinion.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

If they actually are interfering with the schools day to day I understand it getting dispersed.

Now you’ve changed your mind and don’t understand?

The protesters were violating the campus rules.

"Today, our University held firm, enforcing our rules while protecting the Constitutional right to free speech," Hartzell said in the letter. "Peaceful protests within our rules are acceptable. Breaking our rules and policies and disrupting others’ ability to learn are not allowed. The group that led this protest stated it was going to violate Institutional Rules. Our rules matter, and they will be enforced."

The protest and targeting all over are fueled by hamas terrorist infiltrators.

The protests come as the Jewish community celebrates Passover

Soo this is targeted to the Jewish students.

UT's Texas Hillel, a hub for Jewish student life on campus, noted that the timing of the protests was clear.

"The timing of this protest is not lost on us — making use of a Jewish holiday and observance to promote a hateful agenda — and we quickly contacted our university and security partners to begin coordinating a response plan to keep our campus and our students safe," Hillel's statement said.

"The university has assured us there will be no tolerance for disruption or behaviors misaligned to University policy and the governor's executive order," it added.

For some reason the darn terrorist butt kissing media thanks to Democrats keep calling the harassment, and percussion of Israeli students in campuses "peaceful", is nothing peaceful about it.

www.msn.com...

originally posted by: DBCowboy

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: CriticalStinker

There's a difference between being critical of Israel and supporting hamas.

Were you aware?

Can you show me evidence of the broader protests at UT being hamas supporters?

Precedence.

When haven't they been pro-hamas?

Gotchya. Thought crimes and guilty by association.

I remember when you used to be a free speech absolutist.

I see that era is over.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
Can you show me evidence of the broader protests at UT being hamas supporters?

They said they were going to do exactly what Columbia did and that they agreed with Columbia protestors. Columbia protestors are prohamas. You'd know that if you read the thread I gave you.

originally posted by: Vermilion
a reply to: CriticalStinker

If they actually are interfering with the schools day to day I understand it getting dispersed.

Now you’ve changed your mind and don’t understand?

I said if they are, but it hasn’t been shown that they shut down the school has it?

But aside from that, I’m also arguing against the blanket terms of calling people antisemitic or terrorists just because they want their school to divest from entities involved in a war.

originally posted by: Threadbarer
a reply to: FlyersFan
Honest question, if these were pro-Israel students protesting Palestine and were behaving the exact same way would you also support bringing in riot cops to break up the protest or would you be crying anti-Semitism?

If they were anti Palestine to the point that they were threatening their lives on campus and terrorizing them by getting in their face repeating terrorist threats and saying "we know where you live' ,... then yeah .. I'd be saying lock up the pro-Israel students and protestors. NO ONE should be throwing terrorist threats at others. That school is supposed to be a place to get a college degree .. not a place to fight to stay alive.

a reply to: FlyersFan

By they, do you mean most of the protestors or just a few?

originally posted by: Threadbarer
a reply to: FlyersFan

Honest question, if these were pro-Israel students protesting Palestine and were behaving the exact same way would you also support bringing in riot cops to break up the protest or would you be crying anti-Semitism?

Asks the person who was afraid to answer this question back on page 1…..

If those protesters were protesting against LGBT issues would you still cheer them on?

a reply to: FlyersFan

Once again, what laws are violated that necessitated the deployment of riot cops and the arrest of individuals, including a cameraman who was simply doing his job?

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
But you can’t talk about Israel unless it’s lockstep support..

This is why I told you go go read the thread about Columbia. The protestors aren't just 'anti-Israel Government'. They are threatening the Jewish students and the faculty. "we are hamas, pig'. 'long live Hamas'. "Every day is going to be Oct 7'. 'We know where you live'. 'Kill the jews'. 'go back to Poland (where the holocaust happened), etc etc.

That's not protesting Israel and it's policies. That's THREATS and terrorizing people. And that's exactly what UT students said they were going to do. UTexas did the right thing shutting that mess down before it even started.

originally posted by: FlyersFan

originally posted by: Threadbarer
Funny how a so-called Libertarian hates free speech.

Your free speech ends when it steps on the rights of others.

Speech does not step on the rights of others. Words are words.

ALL speech is free speech and protected under the 1st. It is NOT only protecting speech you approve of.

That does not mean ther should be no consequences...just not by the law. When some one says something you don't like, turn it off. When you bitch about it and try to take their rights away, you give them the attention they want.

The 1st also covers the right of the people to "peacefully assemble". Yes, it protects protests.

That being said, if words turn to actions, that is when it becomes illegal. So protests that damage property, are not protests, they are riots. Not protected.