Letters to the Editor: Did the UCLA protesters invite mockery, or should we take them seriously?
To the editor: Clearly, the tragedy that has befallen the people of the Gaza Strip and Israel is nothing to be mocked. It is a serious and troubling situation. But the protesters have invited mockery. (“Mocking Gaza protesters as ‘gluten-free warriors’ was fun — until a mob at UCLA attacked them,” column, May 3)
Let’s review:
- Pro-Palestinian demonstrators wore masks from the outset — and yes that is cowardly — as some were reported to have blocked Jewish students on the UCLA campus. This isn’t nonviolent protest.
- Graffiti on the walls of campus buildings with the message “from the river to the sea” is not nonviolent. This is an obvious call for the elimination of Israel and a clear genocidal statement. Those statements echo the Hamas charter calling for the elimination of Israel.
- If these protesters are so concerned about civilian casualties, why are they not calling for the dismantling of Hamas and the return of the hostages it took during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel?
How about this sign: “Return the hostages. Dismantle Hamas. Stop this war.”
Alan Rubenstein, Encino
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To the editor: Columnist Lorraine Ali mentions comments by Bill Maher and Judith Miller mocking the protesters.
Maher makes fun of the campus protests because he seems to find fodder in strange places. But really, does anyone still pay any attention to Miller, a former New York Times reporter?
In the lead-up to the Iraq war, Miller floated claims that Saddam Hussein was actively trying to build nuclear weapons. Miller also had a problem admitting her journalistic blunders, going so far as to say, “I was wrong because my sources were wrong.” Fact-checking didn’t seem to be her strong suit.
But the student protests, especially those that turned violent, should bring up memories in this country. Why did college administrators invite police onto their campuses when there wasn’t yet violence? Then at UCLA last week, counter-protesters beat people in the pro-Palestinian encampment while police took hours to respond.
Right now, “four dead in Ohio” keeps running through my head. In the 1960s and ‘70s, students were protesting an illegal war that was sending young men back to the states in body bags. In 2024, students are protesting the starvation and slaughter of people in Gaza by a corrupt official who would wipe the Palestinian territories off the map if the chains of civility were removed.
Different decade, same story — and attempting to divert from the reality of the situation with mockery isn’t funny.
Kathryn Louyse, Glendale
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To the editor: To quell potential violence, at the first sign of a protest, maybe universities could require that only individuals with university IDs, plus delivery people, be allowed on campus. All others could be excluded as trespassers.
Wendell H. Jones, Ojai
