Wednesday Morning Rant

Since the outbreak of the war in Israel, we have seen an unusual course of events in the west. The first part - the open Hamas support at many of our "top institutions" and on social media - is not too unusual. It is perhaps distinctly aggressive and open this time around, but it isn't new. Our "top institutions" have been fairly committed to ends-justify-the-means pro-terrorist positions for quite some time. They are, after all, the people who brought us the BDS movement.

The unusual part has been the response to this. On the heels of some job offers being withdrawn from Hamas lovers at the Ivy League's anchor school, we had the "Dox Truck" cruising around the tony digs of Hamasvard to highlight those who are associated with statements of solidarity with Hamas. Various big-time rich guys are withdrawing their support for the schools. Even schools like Afghanistanford have been forced to take limp-wristed and desultory action against egregious behavior by professors.
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And there has been great consternation in response to this unusual push-back. This is, of course, "not who we are." Everyone from the usual suspects on the left to Republican presidential nominees lined up to decry the coming of "cancel culture" to the right. We mustn't do this, you know. It's just plain wrong to make them operate according to the rules they themselves laid down. A teenager who sings a song with a dirty word must be canceled and destroyed, but college students - putative adults - affiliated with organizations that provide full-throated support of barbarian murderers must not be punished.

Nonsense. Turnabout is fair play and it's long since overdue for it to happen. It should continue and it should accelerate. Complaints that it was not done by them but by their organizations are mighty thin gruel. It is time that these people learn about the most powerful prefix in the English language: "dis."
Disassociate.
Disavow.
Disinvite.
Disown.
Disempower.

It was done by an organization of which you are a member? It was, therefore, done in your name. Disassociate yourself from that organization and do so publicly. Disavow their positions and do so publicly. One of these barbarian lovers is scheduled to give a speech at your organization? Disinvite him, publicly. Your organization prefers or endorses terrorism? Disempower that organization and its leaders to have that preference or make those endorsements, or disassociate yourself from that organization. An organization or prominent person you support throws in with Hamas? Disown it or him.

As we learned during the Summer of Love - and as was stated explicitly time and again in venue after venue - "your silence is violence." It is bad to support the wrong thing, but it is just as bad to not decry the wrong thing. Well, turnabout is fair play. Their silence is violence. "It wasn't me, it was an organization I joined but with which I wasn't really involved" is inadequate. It wouldn't be adequate for the traditional victims of this strategy, and it mustn't be adequate for these people. These are their rules, and they must be made to live by them.

It is time for them to learn the power of prefixes.

posted by Joe Mannix at 11:00 AM

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