Boots & Sabers

The blogging will continue until morale improves...

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Category: Culture

Revenge of the Cat Ladies

by | 0834, 27 Jul 24 | , | 0 Comments

This little manufactured controversy has been entertaining because it really struck a nerve.

Donald Trump’s vice-presidential candidate JD Vance has defended resurfaced comments in which he called Democratic politicians a “bunch of childless cat ladies with miserable lives”.

 

His remarks, made in 2021, have been roundly criticised this week, with Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston among those to have hit out at the 39-year-old Republican.

 

“Obviously it was a sarcastic comment. People are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said,” Mr Vance told the conservative media personality Megyn Kelly on Friday.

 

“The substance of what I said, Megyn – I’m sorry, it’s true,” he added.

I listened to the extended interview. Vance was clearly being glib to make a point. But the point is valid. Liberals are generally less happy than conservatives. The studies showing this have been replicated for decades. With that misery, it is a common human reaction to want to lash out and make sure other people are as miserable as you. Think of how angry many liberals got when they saw people ignore Covid restrictions and having a good time. Or think of how angry liberals gets because Vance appreciates a good soft couch (see, we can poke fun at ourselves). Liberal ideology is not a “live and let live” ideology. It is a “everyone conform for the greater good” ideology.

By and large, most conservatives I know are generally happy people. Happy in their families. Happy in their faith. Happy in their homes. They mostly just want people to leave them alone. They get most worked up when the government or other people interfere with how they are trying to live their lives. Why are they happier? I think it is because generally their values are centered around God and family instead of government and society at large. It’s easy to look in your children’s faces and find joy. It is not so easy to look around at the mass of humanity and find that same joy.

Related, Vance has also shared the sentiment that people with children have a greater stake in the future of this country. This is correct and used to be understood. No, that does not mean that people without children are less American or cannot act in the best interests of the future of this nation, but it is different to have an esoteric or intellectual stake in something and to have your own children’s futures in the balance. It is the difference between the chicken and the hog at breakfast. One has a lot more skin in the game, so to speak.

For people who love to crow about nuanced and honest discussions, they sure pounce like J. B. Pritzker on a donut when they think it is to their political advantage.

 

9 of 10 Fastest Growing Cities are in Texas

by | 1710, 23 Jul 24 | | 1 Comment

Evil Republicans creating an environment that people want to live in.

And between 2020 and 2023, that seems to have been true of population growth.

Nine of the 10 U.S. cities and towns where populations grew at the fastest clip during that period are found in the Lone Star State, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data on places with populations of 20,000 or more at any point between April 2020 and July 2023.

California Bans Schools from Telling Parents About Their Kids

by | 0628, 16 Jul 24 | , , | 20 Comments

When the government refuses to tell you information about your own minor children, they are not acting in the interests of the children or the parents. The government is acting in the interests of someone else. Do not endanger your children by trusting these people with their care.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California became the first U.S. state to bar school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of their child’s gender identification change under a law signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

 

The law bans school rules requiring teachers and other staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the child’s permission. Proponents of the legislation say it will help protect LGBTQ+ students who live in unwelcoming households. But opponents say it will hinder schools’ ability to be more transparent with parents.

International Perspective

by | 1628, 8 Jul 24 | , | 2 Comments

I’m traveling out of the country for a few weeks. This morning I was at a little ice cream shop and the young worker (17? 20?) asked where I was from and I said, “the States” (as if my accent didn’t give it away). She asked who I was supporting for President. It was an impertinent question but asked in what seemed genuine curiosity. I shared that I was not happy with our choices, but I was leaning Trump. She gasped and said, “really!?!?” I explained that while Trump certainly has his problems, our lives were better when he was president in terms of the economy, crime, immigration, world affairs, etc.

While she was surprised, she did share that she asks every American and every one of us had said “Trump” and it worried her.

The conversation ended there as she served me a double scoop in a waffle cone, but it was a curious conversation. While Americans who might travel to where I am represents a varied subset of Americans in terms of geography and socioeconomic class, it would be predominately middle-class folks from the Midwest. For what it’s worth…

Declaration of Independence of the United States of America

by | 0737, 4 Jul 24 | , , | 0 Comments

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Justice Jackson Still Can’t Define What a Woman Is

by | 1753, 27 Jun 24 | , | 0 Comments

She still doesn’t know that only women get pregnant.

WASHINGTON — In a scathing dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned Thursday that the Supreme Court’s Idaho abortion decision is “not a victory for pregnant patients,” even though it allows emergency abortions for now.

 

“It is delay,” she wrote in her dissent, which she read from the bench. “While this court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires.”

Abortion Propaganda

by | 0647, 25 Jun 24 | | 0 Comments

What a morbid position.

Infant mortality increased by 12.9% from 2021 to 2022 in Texas after Texas’ near-total ban on abortion was enacted, according to a new study published today in JAMA Pediatrics. A total of 2243 Texas infants, or children under 1 year, died in 2022 compared to 1985 Texas infant deaths in 2021.

So what they are saying is that we should kill babies with defects before they are born so that we can keep the infant mortality rate lower? What is the infant mortality rate if you include aborted babies?

 

Court Karens Purge Name of Conservative Predecessor

by | 0638, 20 Jun 24 | , , | 0 Comments

It should worry us all that people who are this bitter and petty are making judgments about anything to do with us. These are the people you see berating the poor barista for putting too little oat milk in their latte.

The liberal partisans on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are erasing former conservative Justice David Prosser’s name from the state Law Library, a move that conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley labeled a “petty and vindictive maneuver.”

 

They are replacing his name with the name of Lavinia Goodell, “Wisconsin’s first female lawyer,” according to a press release from the Court.

 

[…]

 

In 2016, then Supreme Court Chief Justice Pat Roggensack, a conservative, announced that the law library would be named after Prosser “in light of Prosser’s upcoming retirement and many years of service.”

 

Prosser served on the court for 18 years. He was first appointed to the court by Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson in 1998 and was re-elected twice, according to his court bio.

 

A Supreme Court press release at the time the law library was named for Prosser says, “In all, Prosser spent more than 40 years in public service, including experience in all three branches of state government. He retired July 31, after 18 years on the Supreme Court. Earlier in his career, he served as a tax appeals commissioner, legislative leader, and a prosecutor.”

Summer is Here

by | 0843, 16 Jun 24 | , | 1 Comment

Oh no! Summer!

The National Weather Service warned people in the South and Midwest planning to celebrate dads outdoors on Sunday to stay cool amid a major heat risk, with high temperatures into the 90s in some areas.

The intense heat wave won’t stop there. An expansive and exceptionally strong heat dome will build Sunday over the East and stretch into the Midwest and Great Lakes over the next few days, with the heat expected to persist through the week.

Heat domes trap air in place and bake it with abundant sunshine for days on end, making each day hotter than the last.

Olympians Bringing Own ACs to Paris

by | 1109, 8 Jun 24 | , | 1 Comment

Normal people do not want to abandon modern life and modern conveniences for the sake of the climate change zealots – nor should they be forced to. And in this case, once again, it will be the poor countries who suffer most for the egotism of the rich countries.

PARIS – For all the steps Paris organizers have taken to put on the greenest Olympics ever, their boldest measure – the one they’ve touted again and again – pertains to the dorms in the Athletes’ Village. The rooms don’t have air-conditioning. Because of other cooling measures, organizers have assured, the athletes won’t need it.

 

But in a farcical turn, when the Games start next month, an Olympic Village designed to showcase sustainability will be more of an energy hog than organizers had hoped.

 

That’s because portable air-conditioning units will be everywhere. Wheeled in. Shipped in. Ordered by visiting countries that want their athletes to sleep well and perform at the highest level – even if it means a larger carbon footprint.

 

Worried about what potentially could be the world’s hottest year on record, wealthier nations have effectively undercut Paris’s marquee sustainability measure, signaling that, yes, they care about environmental aims – but not if it risks the comfort of their athletes. Some of those athletes are accustomed to temperatures cooler than what the dorms might have provided and raised concerns to their national Olympic committees.

 

“It’s a high-performance environment,” said Strath Gordon, the chief of public affairs for the Olympic committee of Australia, one of the countries opting for the ACs.

 

[…]

 

“We don’t have deep pockets,” said Donald Rukare, a lawyer who is president of the Uganda Olympic Committee. Rukare mentioned a sweltering international sports competition in Turkey a few years ago, where athletes stayed in rooms without air-conditioning. Some federations shipped in portable units; Uganda did not. “Because we didn’t have the money,” he said.

Harvard to Stop Taking Stances on Issues

by | 1938, 29 May 24 | , | 0 Comments

Good. This is the correct course of action. It may be too little, too late, to recover Harvard’s reputation. And while they may stop taking official stances, it will matter little if the bigots on their faculty continue to bleat their hate for the media.

May 29 (UPI) — Harvard University officials the institution will not make comments on public policy issues in the future as the campus remains divided over the Israeli-Hamas war.

 

The move was a step to accept a key recommendation from Harvard’s “Institutional Voice” working group, led by its faculty, that said on Tuesday Harvard should not “issue official statements about public matters that do not directly affect the university’s core function,” according to the student newspaper The Harvard Crimson.

 

“Because few, if any, world events can be entirely isolated from conflicting viewpoints, issuing official empathy statements runs the risk of alienating some members of the community by expressing implicit solidarity with others,” the working group said in its three-page report.

All university administrators, governing board members, deans, department chairs and faculty councils should avoid commenting on public issues under the policy.

 

The working group left some wiggle room for university officials to speak on specific issues along with some of its centers that advocate for specific policies. It added, though, that those individuals and the centers should avoid appearing to speak for the university.

Workers Protest Against “Confronting Hate Together” Exhibit

by | 2015, 26 May 24 | , | 0 Comments

Two thoughts… first, this looks like a set up. There’s no way that these workers hadn’t seen the exhibit before opening day. The fact that they waited until opening day to protest indicates that they don’t really want to change the exhibit. They wanted to make a stink.
Second, I’d bet you everything in my pocket against everything in your pocket that no more than 10% of the workers protesting could even come close to actually explaining the difference between antisemitism and antizionism.

The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle has been forced to close after nearly 30 staffers, about half of the museum’s workforce, walked out in protest at its new ‘Confronting Hate Together’ exhibit. The walkout meant the tourist had no other option but to close.

 

The staffers are unhappy with the type of language used in the exhibit claiming parts of it ‘conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism.’

 

The workers walked off the job on opening day of the exhibit, forcing the museum to close. They are vowing to remain on strike until their demands are met and the displays are changed.

The disgruntled staffers, who work at the only pan-Asian art and history museum in the United States, wrote, ‘Zionism has no place in our communities and being anti-Zionist goes hand in hand with our own liberation as AA/NHPI. Our solidarity with Palestine should be reflected in our AA/NHPI institutions.’

The 26 striking workers are now demanding the removal of any language from the exhibit that attempts to frame Palestinian liberation and anti-Zionism as antisemitism.

UWM Chancellor Apologizes to Jewish Community After Intense Pressure

by | 2108, 21 May 24 | , | 1 Comment

It’s difficult to believe his sincerity when it comes this late. The Gaza/Hamas issue has been roiling for decades. This specific war has been going on for eight months. He’s allegedly a highly-educated university Chancellor. We are not wrong to think that he thought about his words and actions deeply before issuing them the first time. This is a man saying what he thinks he needs to say to save his job.

The UW-Milwaukee chancellor is apologizing to the campus Jewish community after a pro-Palestinian encampment spent two weeks on the corner of Downer Avenue and Kenwood Boulevard.

 

On Tuesday, Chancellor Mark Mone shared a message with UWM students, faculty and staff. In the message, Mone said he heard from people on campus and in the Jewish community that UWM’s response to global events and the local protest “left them feeling vulnerable, unsafe and unseen.”

Mone said he also heard some students have not felt comfortable sharing their concerns.

 

“This distresses me,” Mone said. “The expressions of grief and frustration over the conflict in the Middle East must not destabilize our shared sense of humanity or be twisted into a platform to spread hatred.”

 

Mone said it is now clear to him that UWM should not have weighed in on these “deeply complex geopolitical and historical issues.” Mone apologized and said he acknowledged right now is a difficult time for many Jewish students across the U.S.

 

Mone reinforced UWM’s stance that the university continues to condemn antisemitism, Islamaphobia, and all other hatred. He said the campus must be a place that welcomes students from all backgrounds.

 

Mone said his message is not enough.

 

“But words alone cannot create the culture of inclusion we desire, which is why we must transform our words into commitment and action,” Mone said. “This work will take time, as all hard work does, and it will also take the openness of our entire community.”

Biden at Morehouse

by | 1956, 19 May 24 | , , | 0 Comments

Whatever.

The president took the opportunity on Sunday to address students’ concerns over the Israel-Hamas war.

“What’s happening in Israel and Gaza is heartbreaking,” Biden said. He acknowledged the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, who also kidnapped nearly 250 hostages that day. Biden also underscored the “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, which is on the brink of famine and in desperate need of medical supplies.

 

In his address, Biden called for an immediate ceasefire and said his administration is working on a deal “as we speak” so that Israelis taken hostage can be returned home and more humanitarian aid can get into war-torn Gaza. Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is in Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend to talk with top leaders.

I watched this speech in its entirety and encourage you to do so too. It’s enlightening to watch Biden speak in long form. Yes, there were the mumbles, mispronounced words, lies, and weird shouting, but I finished this speech with two overriding impressions.

First, Biden talks about himself a lot. A LOT. The first 10 minutes of the 27 minute speech was about him. His past. His stories. I. I. I. The remaining 17 minutes had more of the same, but not exclusively. It reminded me a lot about how Obama spoke. Biden rarely references his administration or the government or America. It’s all about him.

Second, Biden’s race-baiting is crude and belongs in the previous century. He acts like America in 2024 is still 1958 Jim Crow Mississippi. We have come a long way since then and he gives no credit for the progress. He’s still telling Black men graduating from a prestigious university like Morehouse that America doesn’t love them and that they are being oppressed. Biden’s low opinion of America and Americans is nauseating. I don’t want to live in the America in his mind either.

Dublin-NYC Portal Shut Down

by | 2219, 14 May 24 | | 3 Comments

Ope

That didn’t take long. Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, “inappropriate behavior” in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.

The two sculptures, “The Portals,” are round, lens-like installations with a 24/7 video link to allow residents and visitors in the two cities to interact with each other. Social media videos have shown people flashing body parts to people on the other side. The installation does not include audio.

Virginian School Board Reinstates Historic School Names

by | 0757, 10 May 24 | | 0 Comments

This is an interesting push back.

The school board in Shenandoah County, Virginia, early Friday approved a proposal that will restore the names of Confederate military leaders to two public schools.

 

The measure, which passed 5-1, reverses a previous board’s decision in 2020 to change the names of schools that had been linked to Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Turner Ashby, three men who led the pro-slavery Southern states during the Civil War.

 

Mountain View High School will go back to the name Stonewall Jackson High School. Honey Run Elementary School will go back to the name Ashby-Lee Elementary School.

Trans Activists Thwart Efforts to Enforce Law

by | 2013, 7 May 24 | , | 2 Comments

This is a pretty effective bit of civil disobedience.

In the week since it launched, the online tip line already has received more than 10,000 submissions, none of which seem legitimate, he said. The form asks people to report public school employees who knowingly allow someone to use a facility designated for the opposite sex.

 

Utah residents and visitors are required by law to use bathrooms and changing rooms in government-owned buildings that correspond with their birth sex. As of last Wednesday, schools and agencies found not enforcing the new restrictions can be fined up to $10,000 per day for each violation.

 

Although their advocacy efforts failed to stop Republican lawmakers in many states from passing restrictions for trans people, the community has found success in interfering with the often ill-conceived enforcement plans attached to those laws.

 

Within hours of its publication Wednesday night, trans activists and community members from across the U.S. already had spread the Utah tip line widely on social media. Many shared the spam they had submitted and encouraged others to follow suit.

 

Their efforts mark the latest attempt by advocates to shut down or render unusable a government tip line that they argue sows division by encouraging residents to snitch on each other. Similar portals in at least five other states also have been inundated with hoax reports, leading state officials to shut some down.

Boy Scouts Embrace History of Being Safe Space for Sex Offenders

by | 2001, 7 May 24 | | 1 Comment

Another great institution destroyed.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America announced after 114 years that it will change its name and will become Scouting America in an effort to emphasize inclusion as it works to move past the turmoil of bankruptcy and a flood of sexual abuse claims.

 

The rebrand is another seismic shift for an organization steeped in tradition that did not allow gay youths or girls to begin joining its ranks until relatively recently. Seeking to boost flagging membership numbers, the Irving, Texas-based organization announced the name change Tuesday at its annual meeting in Florida.

They Seemed so Normal

by | 0736, 7 May 24 | , | 3 Comments

TBF, I think this about Biden supporters nowadays.

A former CNN reporter took to social media Sunday to talk about how she is  ‘haunted’ by a dinner with several Donald Trump supporters who, at first glance, seemed ‘normal.’

 

‘All were well-educated and successful in careers,’ Michelle Kosinski recalled of the recent dinner party that she described on X.

 

‘They seemed great! On the surface. For like an hour ‘ the one-time NBC News correspondent continued, categorizing the Trump-leaning guests as ‘closeted.’

 

‘But slowly, over a few drinks, they began to let slip their true MAGA natures.’

 

The 50-year-old who served as CNN’s White House Correspondent until 2020 went on to add how  she was surprised by the revelation – marveling at how a ‘normal’ a group of people could support a politician she does not approve of.

Outside Agitators Join Protests

by | 2112, 4 May 24 | , | 0 Comments

Meh.

Large, drawn-out protests like the one at Columbia have a tendency to attract people with a diffuse set of ideologies and motivations, experts say. Roughly 30% of those arrested at Hamilton Hall on Tuesday had no affiliation with the school, according to university officials.

 

But while there is no doubt that the occupation of the building amounted to a dramatic escalation in tactics, it remains unclear how large an influence outsiders like Carlson have had on the overall student protest movement at Columbia and nearby colleges, which began more than two weeks ago.

 

Some of the student protesters think the narrative pushed by city and university officials — of dangerous outsiders co-opting the demonstrations — is fueled by ulterior motives.

 

“I really struggle a lot with the whole narrative of outside agitators because I see it as a means through which to justify violence,” Soph Askanse, a junior at the neighboring Barnard College, said in an interview. “And to claim that because individuals are not students, they are thus deserving of police brutality.”

The entitlement dripping off of the students is ridiculous. The underlying assumption is that students are a special class of adults who should be immune from consequences for their actions. I don’t care if they are a student or a 42-year-old anarchist from Oregon… if they are breaking the law, they should be arrested.

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