We've been facing waves of accusations of free speech violation accusations from pro-Palestine people.
Look, violations of the Constitution happen all the time. I can, do, and have made it a point to call out any and all violations of free speech that I find. Yes, in a few cases, the neo-Nazi, "From the river to the sea." people have been wrongfully arrested.
Those are rare cases.
Ilhan Omar's daughter is being touted as a victim of American hypocrisy on free speech due do her opinions on the conflict.
That's a lie.
She was suspended because she was trespassing, not because of her opinions. In fact, a few Israelis were suspended much more quickly than she was.
To frame this properly, let's just compare the first two Amendments in the Bill of Rights.
I live in Arizona, which is a constitutional carry state. I have my CCW. Still, private institutions are allowed to restrict gun possession. The way the law works in states like Arizona is that, if you're entering a private business, and they don't want guns, they need to display a sign that they don't allow guns. I often still carry a gun into those places. If they ever discover that I have a gun, they're allowed to demand that I leave. Still, neither of us are breaking the law yet. If I refuse to leave, they can call the cops and have me arrested. Still, that isn't a violation of my 2A rights. In that situation, I would have been arrested for trespassing.
In many of these cases, it's the same deal with the First Amendment.
A lot of these colleges are private.
I would prefer it if every college abided by First Amendment principles. I have been, am now, and will continue to be critical of any institution that doesn't abide by First Amendment principles.
Still, First Amendment principles don't include occupying space that isn't yours, preventing students from going to class, shutting down dining halls, and engaging in active intimidation.
That's all stuff that we've seen from the "river to the sea" people over the last six months.
This is more difficult than people are acknowledging.
I maintain that the SCOTUS of these United States made the right decision in the Skokie case. I also know that the Jewish people of Skokie had a legitimate reason to feel offended, if not threatened by the demonstration.
Still, what's happening around the country right now is showing that these pro-Palestine demonstrators are worse than the fucking neo-Nazis. Maybe their rhetoric isn't worse; but, their behaviour is clearly worse.