I’ve recently seen a few social media posts / comments giving voice to something that’s been on my mind for a while, but which I’ve been having trouble articulating.
“How come y’all did not support southern students during the riots of 2020? Why is YAF selective?” asked one comment on this Instagram post from YAF (Young America’s Foundation) showing a pro-Israel flag display at Columbia University.
Entrepreneur and activist Ian Smith made the same point more bluntly in a couple of posts. Here is one example:
“For years, college campuses have been staging grounds for anti-White protests, demonstrations, and propaganda – even so far as being a part of the curriculum. No problem. One anti-Israel demonstration and the whole government and media mobilize against it and roll in the cops to clean it up. Interesting.”
“Anti-White? Free speech! Anti-Zionism? Hate speech! Conservatives. Explain!”
And here is another:
“I’m seeing Fox, Newsmax, and most of Conservative social media cheer along watching cops tackle and arrest anti-Israel protestors. Same coping nerds who said, ‘oh they are being forced to do their jobs,’ when they were closing businesses and kneeling for anti-White BLM riots had White people ACTUALLY being attacked in the streets.”
I agree 100% with these sentiments. The inconsistency demonstrated by conservatives (including organizations like YAF, politicians, people on social media, and right-leaning media outlets) is disturbing and angering.
These conservatives are speaking out so strongly in support of Israel… but they did not do the same for White people, Southern people, and Autistic people whose special interest is history, when we were being brutally attacked, condemned, hurt, harmed, and victimized.
What happened in the spring and summer of 2020 harmed us every bit as badly as the events since October 2023 have harmed Jewish people. And we continue to suffer the effects of what happened in 2020, and will for the entirety of our lives, because the statues and monuments that allow us to feel included, and that we need in order to have lives that are worth living, are still gone and will likely never be put back.
It hurts to see people rallying to demonstrate their support for, and solidarity with, Israel and Jewish people, given that they did not do anything similar for us when we needed it. And given that we still need it, because our statues, monuments, flags, place names, and holidays are still either under attack (at best) or gone entirely.
Why didn’t YAF (or anyone, for that matter) create a Confederate flag display to demonstrate support for White people, Southern people, and Autistic people, when we were under relentless attack? (We are still under relentless attack, so it’s not too late.)
In our society, anti-Israel protests are responded to forcefully by police and unequivocally condemned, while anti-White, anti-Southern, and anti-Autistic riots are considered completely fine and allowed to happen with impunity (at best) or praised as moral and honorable (at worst).
Even among conservatives, the condemnation of the current protests, and the demonstrations of solidarity with their victims, are noticeably stronger than they were in 2020, when people like me were targeted by violent protests.
This inconsistency hurts.
My message to conservative organizations, politicians, individuals, and media is as follows:
I have been hurt. I have been harmed. I have been victimized. I am still hurting, and still suffering, every bit as much as Jewish people are hurting and suffering due to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. I deserve your support and solidarity just as much as Jewish people do.
