America is in knots over the foolishness — or worse — of its campus protesters. But it is adults who are making the biggest dunces of themselves. The role of grown-ups facing student unrest is to keep the peace without sacrificing rights. These include free speech and physical safety. The task requires principled consistency. In practice, adults from all walks — Republicans, Democrats, the media and university administrations — are exhibiting traits of hysteria and dogmatism they deplore in the young. It should come as no surprise that the protests are getting angrier.
Students have every right to protest even with speech that many of their peers find abhorrent. One person’s outrage over the killing of thousands of civilians in Gaza might be another’s call for the elimination of Jews from Israel. Some of the demonstrators consciously subscribe to a Hamas worldview that would wipe Israel off the map. At what point does anti-Zionism become antisemitism? The line is blurry. But most people — except those in charge apparently — can tell the difference between lawful protest and calls to violence.
The blame for this mess is broadly shared. Among Democrats, the protests have sparked fears of a repeat of 1968. Like then, the current unrest began at Columbia University. As in 1968, this year’s Democratic convention will be held in Chicago. But that is where the parallels end. The 1968 convention was a disaster for two reasons. First, Democrats were deeply split over Vietnam. Today’s left is angry with Joe Biden for being too soft on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. But this is nothing like Vietnam. No American troops are dying. And most of the criticisms of Biden are that he is too weak. Protesters in 1968 likened Hubert Humphrey, the Democratic nominee, to Hitler and Hirohito. Humphrey’s chief rival, Eugene McCarthy, refused to endorse him. Biden will be the unanimous choice of his party.