Pro-Palestine protesters
Regarding “Why were Texas state police called to a pro-Palestinian protest at UT Austin?” (April 25): Wow, seeing the picture of troopers on horseback and rows of armored police in an overwhelming show of force says it all. This brings back memories of Kent State, when soldiers opened fire on students.
Gov. Greg Abbott keeps talking about protecting free speech — but only if he likes what is being said. He claims these are antisemitic protests and will not be tolerated. What a misrepresentation of anti-war protests. I guess any time anyone protests against Israel they are branded antisemitic. To be clear, I agree that Hamas must be stopped and hostages freed.
Stop these lies. Stop the crackdown on free speech.
G.E. Turski, League City
I am disgusted by the pro-Palestinian protesters who harass and threaten Jews. I am especially concerned about the protesters who chant, “From the river to the sea” and “Free Palestine,” which must mean they think Israel shouldn’t exist. What do those protesters think should happen to the Jews in Israel? Many of the Israeli Jews, if not most of them, were born and raised in Israel. Where should they go if they are kicked out? I would be OK with them moving to the United States. However, I don’t know that we would take them, and I doubt that many of them would want to move here anyway, especially since this country is becoming so antisemitic.
Ralph Kerr, Leander
Regarding “UT-Austin protesters released from jail, charges dropped for many after Gaza rally,” (April 25): Greg Abbott didn’t send in the militaristic response team because of any illegal actions on the part of the demonstrators; he sent them in to put a stop to the demonstration because he disagrees with the demonstrators. The judge released them because they had broken no laws.
This is part of a pattern. White supremacists carrying swastikas rarely seem to have their protests broken up by the police. Every time any protest deemed “leftist” gets any traction, the police provoke violence to rationalize ending the protest entirely.
When the Black Lives Matter protests were happening, police lined up in riot gear. Groups of people were corralled and arrested en masse at the protest while actual rioters and looters, who had nothing to do with the protests but were merely taking advantage of the police being elsewhere, were ignored. The point was to stop the protests, not to stop the violence.
Right-wing instigators create “violence” to rationalize breaking up the rally and to make the story about the “riots” rather than about the cause being protested. The right-wing media then amplify the story about the “riots” and bury the story about the cause that was being protested peacefully by most, or in most cases all, of the people present. Bruce Ellis, Houston
When will our politicians ever understand that free speech is one of our most precious rights? We should be proud that our young people are interested in the world around us and at large. People all over the world are still fighting for free speech and are willing to give their lives for it.
Don’t ever give up this fight for free speech; you and all of us will pay for it one day. I lived under fascism and communism. There was no free speech. You have no idea what that feels like to be a nobody, to feel that you don’t count.
Lindmuth Fuller, Houston
Sadly, disagreements on college campuses today are basically just shouting matches. It takes me back to the ’70s and campus disturbances over the Vietnam War. (Yes, I’m pretty old.) But, I do have one good memory from that time: a history class I taught at Texas State (then known as Southwest Texas State).
I discovered that I had a Vietnam veteran in my class. When I laid out my reasons for opposing the war, the vet’s hand shot up. I gave him free reign to argue his position. There was a lot of back and forth, which the class seemed to enjoy.
I was nervous when it was time for student reviews. Believe me, students never held back. It was revenge time, especially if they didn’t like their grades. But the best review came from the vet. I was surprised, then. Today, I would be shocked. Carl Lloyd, San Antonio
There are several ways to immediately cut the demonstrations on college campuses nationwide. Unless for strict religious or health reasons, no one should be allowed to cover their faces or in any way hide their identities. Police should have the right to request the removal of scarves, masks or any other item meant to hide identity. If the request is denied, this should be an arrestable offense.
If students are arrested for violence or for not heeding legal requests from law enforcement they should be immediately expelled without recourse. Students’ transcripts should be frozen and never sent to other universities. Since students are no longer enrolled, their student loans will come due, and these loans should never be allowed to be forgiven. The university which has been “occupied” should have an absolute policy of filing trespass charges. Al Marcus, Houston