Blame it on Covid.
The campus protesters roiling universities across the country are part of a generation shaped by the pandemic, who grew up feeling isolated and angry due to school closures and social distancing, and who are seeking connection, community, and voice. They’re desperate to find one, experts told the Post.
Forensic psychiatrist Carol Lieberman said pro-Palestinian causes are allowing disaffected young people to express “an anger that they’ve suppressed for years.” It gives them “an opportunity to identify the oppressed with the oppressor.”
These children are easily influenced by propaganda.
“Those who offer an escape from this chaos by promoting a direction they claim will lead to happiness and purpose are finding a hungry audience,” said Lieberman, an expert witness in the California-based trial. said.
Protests and encampments ostensibly in “solidarity” with the Palestinians have intensified over the past week, starting at Columbia University in the battleground and spreading to Texas and Atlanta. Jewish students have reported being harassed and feeling unsafe on campus as protesters chanted things like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Lieberman said the young protesters don’t seem to fully understand the movement they’ve been working with.
“The worst example of ignorance is that the protesters do not know that terrorists do not just want to destroy Israel, but want a worldwide jihad,” Lieberman added. “From the river to the sea,” the psychiatrist said of the phrase that spelled death for Israel.
A video shared by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani late Wednesday of two Columbia University students participating in an anti-Israel rally at New York University went viral. They admitted they had no idea what the protests were about and wished they were “more educated.”
Another legacy of the pandemic is masks, which have become a common sight at protests and college camps.
While much of the country is emerging from protection from the coronavirus, protesters Clinging to the fashion of the face Online news outlet Semafor pointed to the prevalence of people wearing face coverings in the current wave of demonstrations, reporting that it is a sign of fear of the virus and also an attempt to protect their identity.
“For us, it’s an optical message that we’re rejecting the Biden administration’s rhetoric about the coronavirus, which is that it’s no longer a big deal,” Democratic National Committee March 2024 Coalition Spokesman Oran Mijana said. “This is about collective safety, and it also connects this disregard for the coronavirus to the very issues we are marching on at the Democratic National Committee.”
Psychologist Jennifer Gittleman said the communal aspect of the demonstrations could also provide comfort to demonstrators who are denied socialization at key points in their lives.
“Protesters may be angry that the pandemic has robbed them of experiences that are vital to them, such as missing out on socializing or graduating from college, and are therefore looking for ways to vent their anger. “They are using protests as a way to protect themselves,” she said.
