Pro-Palestinian protestors attempt to seize buildings at Penn, Chicago universities

[MarineCombatEngineer]

May 18 (UPI) -- Police in Philadelphia and Chicago ended attempts by pro-Palestinian protesters to take over buildings at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago Friday.

Protestors gathered around 8 p.m. Friday in the University City area of West Philadelphia and entered Penn's Fisher-Bennett Hall at Walnut and 34th streets local media reported.

Penn Gaza Solidarity members said they intended to occupy the university building before police arrived.

University police and Philadelphia Police stopped the attempted takeover and arrested several protesters, some of whom fought with police.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pro-palestinian-protestors-attempt-to-seize-buildings-at-penn-chicago-universities/ar-BB1mDgXw?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=d879fd53bec94007ad3029937b93422c&ei=85

Glad the police were able to stop this fucking nonsense in its tracks.
I hope those that fought and assaulted the cops are tried, found guilty and sentenced to the max term possible and with a felony on their record, good luck finding work.

They're FA and now they're about to FO.

[RandySF]

1. Not this shit again.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

3. Yep.

I notice that not one of these "protesters" said shit about the recently recovered bodies of hostages that HAMAs has kept for 7 months after they murdered them on 10/7.

These "protesters" are nothing more than fucking hypocrites.

[SoFlaBro]

34. The fucking opening act for the Free Palestine parakeets was to pull down the posters of the dead and hostages.

Why would they give a fuck about Hamas carting around dead hostages because of their PR value?

[Irish_Dem]

2. Most college students are finishing up finals and papers.

Or getting ready to graduate.
Packing to go home.

Some of what we are seeing makes no sense.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

4. I suspect that alot of them were outside agitators paid by...................... nt.

[Irish_Dem]

5. I think that is a given MCE.

This is very well organized, planned and funded.
And some of it not typical student behavior.

So who benefits and how?

We can list the top suspects quite easily.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

6. Let me take a stab at this,

Russia, China, Iran, HAMAs, etc.
Oh, and of course, Jew haters.

[Irish_Dem]

12. Yes. The usual gang of suspects.

This is how it appears to have unfolded:

It goes back to the HAMAS attack on Israel.
Putin's fingerprints are all over that attack.

Hamas does not have the funding, organizational, military planning skills
or intel operatives to have pulled off the attack.

The CIA and Israel's Mossad are the finest intelligence agencies in the world.
And they did not get a whisper of what Hamas was going to do.
Hamas is not capable of pulling off that kind of operation.

Putin is desperate because of Ukraine of course.
He needed to distract Biden and force Biden into a no win situation.
Biden would be engaged on three military fronts, Europe (Ukraine),
the Mideast and the Pacific (China invading Taiwan.)

This would be politically and financially difficult for Biden.
The public would be divided.

Drum up support for the Palestinians.
Divide the Dems, split them right in half.

The whole point is to cause Biden to lose the election.
To rally the public against Biden.

Joe Biden is quite clever, has been threading the needle poltically.
Walking a fine line.

Some of the public has taken the bait, but Joe didn't.

Crank things up with the ginned up student protests.
China appears to be involved in these as well.

Xi and Putin just met in Beijing.
I am sure they had some drinks to celebrate how well it is all going for them in the US.

[Nittersing]

7. On Friday, Denver's Auraria Campus put their schools on lockdown and switched to remote learning.

On Saturday, the protestors started packing up.

https://democraticunderground.com/10416227

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

8. FA yes, FO no. They'll be out on bond in no time.

Or released on recognisance.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

10. True, I meant when they have to face justice in court. nt

[LiberaBlueDem]

9. Good for them

Speaking truth to power is dangerous, yet they do it!

[MarineCombatEngineer]

11. So I'll put you in the column that defacing and destroying property is ok.

Got it.

[LiberaBlueDem]

13. Property

Given the property destruction in Gaza, this is nada

[JohnSJ]

14. This has NOTHING TO DO WITH GAZA, and the fact that you are justifying breaking into buildings and

vandalism speaks volumes

It isn't "truth to power", it is breaking the law.

Almost as good as the slogan "defund the police"

[Cha]

15. Fucking Defacing and Destroying Property at

Universities have NOTHING to Do with the War.

the Protesters are not helping their cause.. . they're hurting it.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

20. So now you throw the Gaza card, as expected, you didn't disappoint.

Where do you think we would be if the terrorist org., HAMAs hadn't brutally and viciously attacked Israel on 10/7 killing, raping, and dismembering over 1200 innocent civilians and then kidnapping over 200 innocent civilians, which lead to their deaths?
I await your deflection.

[RandomNumbers]

16. Fighting the police is not non-violent action

And it is not "speaking truth to power".

[Celerity]

18. where you on the copper's side in 1968 (or retroactively approve if you are too young to have seen it then)?

[RandomNumbers]

19. I don't approve violence on ANY side.

I was too young but I have an older sibling who was not. Sib taught me about non-violent action, the spirit and methods.
Those injured by cops in your picture may or may not have been protesting non-violently; I do not know. But if they were violent and were met with violence by the cops, that is a different story then if the cops beat down protestors who were behaving non-violently and submitting to arrest.

Interestingly, I was once physically attacked by bullies at school and responded by laying down like Sib taught me is the non-violent way. Ya know what? It worked. It helped that said bullies were stupid and did this in front of school, so admin and teachers were on top of the situation pretty quick. But in addition, I earned respect (who woulda thought??) and was never bothered by those turds again - a bunch of other people stuck up for me if there was any hint of crap in the future.

Non-violence is POWERFUL. It is what MLK and Gandhi taught. Today's protestors who use violence, are NOT emulating the protests of the 60's - at least not the ones we should be emulating.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

21. This is a BS post,

this has nothing to do with the current "protestors", back in '68, the US was actively involved in an unjust war, one which I was actively involved in at the time.

The US is not actively in with US troops in Gaza fighting so the comparison is bullshit.

[Celerity]

22. No it isn't. The US has funded Israel with hundreds of billions of dollars since 1948, more than any other nation, and

weapons are being use to kill thousands of civilians by the RW fascist Netanyahu government.

U.S. Aid to Israel in Four Charts

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218877810

[MarineCombatEngineer]

23. So I guess the the US giving Ukraine weapons to fight the Russian invasion is also unjust?

After all, we're helping to kill Russians with US weapons systems.

Are you against that also?

Were do you think we, as the world, would be right now if the terrorist org., HAMAs, hadn't invaded Israel, killing, raping, dismembering over 1200 innocent civilians, and then kidnapping and murdering over 200 more innocent civilians?

Your hypocrisy showing.

[Celerity]

25. Chalk and cheese. Russia is not a self-proclaimed liberal democracy, and it certainly doesn't claim to be

our ally. They are one of our biggest enemies.

Also, Israel has been doing illegal land grabs for decades (as official state policy), the same as Russia in Ukraine since 2014.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

27. Very weak sauce.

Have a great evening.

[LiberaBlueDem]

24. Does Bibi even need the USA

He sure acts like he hates us

[Celerity]

26. Netanyahu wants Trump to win, as Trump very likely will allow the RW fascist Israeli government a free, unfettered hand

to go truly full bore on the ethnic cleansing/mass murdering in order to bring about their ultra RW religio-expansionist Eretz Isreal visions.

Kushner and his RW billionaire mates (plus hordes of ultra RW fascist settlers) already have their sights set on the prime beachfront property that is Gaza.

[Dorian Gray]

40. This is true

Biden has put pressure on Bibi to go easy, but with Trump in office, he'd turn a blind eye to wholesale slaughter.

I think where you and I differ is that I believe that the Israeli's have a right to self defense. I am not surprised by their actions since 10/7. But I also think they've done this all without a plan in place to eradicate HAMAS, and they've killed and harmed too many innocent people. I appreciate the Israeli fury at Netanyahu's government for not prioritizing the hostages and their families, and I would love to see the Israeli people take care of business in the next elections.

But when 10/7 happened and the anti-Israeli protests broke out in NYC on 10/8, I saw a level of antisemitism in NYC and around the world that took my breath away. It changed me profoundly, and a lot of my anger about the local protests are about how comfortable people were with the horrific death of Jews.

[JonAndKatePlusABird]

43. Your last paragraph mirrors my experience

Nothing to add, besides to say that that last paragraph closely reflects my own experience, also living in NYC.

I got really upset when they defaced the Schwarzman library building. Yes yes I know they’re protesting the person, but it would be like going to the Met and defacing it because you don’t like the Koch Bros sponsorship. Don’t fuck with our libraries!

Just left quite a bad taste in my mouth, and since then there have been a few more instances that make me now think that Jew harassment is priority number one for several of these folks.

[Dorian Gray]

39. With all due respect

Israel is a strategic democratic ally in an area of the world that is surrounded with dictatorships and monarchies. Of course we fund them.

We've also put pressure on them in this war, and they've slowed things down because of us. No other country would have that much sway with Israel in this situation. We've insisted on humanitarian aid, as well.

The USA isn't the bad guy. We didn't murder the Israelis on 10/7, nor did we murder the Gazans since 10/7.

[betsuni]

41. +1

[Nixie]

42. Israel was attacked by terrorists who want to kill

all Jews.

Comparing that to Israel being like the civil rights movement or the Vietnam draft here is an excuse for anti-semitism. They should be protesting Hamas.

[FalloutShelter]

29. Thank you!

Man, I am so sick of hearing this comparison glibly thrown about.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

30. You and me both. nt

[Behind the Aegis]

37. It serves a purpose.

See, in their minds (the ones parroting this bullshit), it is another way to paint Israel (and its supporters) as racists and white supremacists. Therefore, anyone who supports Israel, doesn't have to be the government or even its actions, are automatically labelled racists.

[betsuni]

38. Exactly. Obvious!

[edisdead]

32. It sure is a BS post

nailed it.

[betsuni]

33. Yes. The attempt to turn 2024, an entirely different time and situation, into 1968.

Ridiculous.

[edisdead]

31. So then like, taking over the capitol is cool too?

Unreal.

[Cha]

17. I'm glad "Attempt" is the key word.

They aren't helping shit.

[DFW]

28. 34th and Walnut. I used to have my Russian classes around there

I went to U. Penn, and we had almost daily political activity on campus. Black Muslims, gay rights (new back then), women’s rights, voting rights (I was first registered to vote there), Jewish groups, Arab groups, Persian groups, Hispanic groups, anti-Nixon, anti-Rizzo, anti VN war, anti-pollution, we were never devoid of it. The one thing that there wasn’t was violence.

At a time of year when students’ heads are filled with finals and summer break (or commencement), the last thing on their minds is the violent takeover of school buildings to show “solidarity” with some cause they will not help. Whoever organized this stunt, Penn students weren’t it. We never had a problem with speaking truth to power. But that’s literally what we did: speak. Violence and damage? That was—and still is—somebody else’s domain, someone that wants to hang it on us. We, the real students, aren’t interested in their organized violence. Not then, and not now.

Minor footnote—not quite two months after I graduated, I met my wife in West Berlin. Two weeks later, in Jyväskylä, Finland, I read that Nixon had resigned. Not a shot fired.

[LeftInTX]

35. I just realized that it's coming on the 50 anniversary!

I remember that hazy humid night.
I know it's 50 years cuz I got my 50th HS reunion this summer.

We really didn't have many protests in 74-78, especially at UW-Oshkosh, which was a famous kegger school.
I think the big thing was Gary Gilmore and the firing squad.
We also had Reagan show up in Jan 76.
Someone asked me to go to his event and protest. I passed.
A bunch of people got arrested because they threw eggs and tomatoes at him.
Reagan lost the primary anyway.

[DFW]

36. My 50th college class reunion is going on right now.

Unfortunately, I do not have the free time to go running 4000 miles over to Philadelphia just for that. I’ll get some email and be led to a few Facebook posts about it, but that’s as close as I’ll get.