Peaceful protest, violent response—that says it all.

Human politics—from global to local—remain mixed with hatred, dominance and... well, dehumanization. We've organized ourselves across the planet around one primary principle: the existence of an enemy. The division between "us" and "them" can be based on anything: a difference in race, language, culture—or simply a difference of opinion, which is beginning to happen on campuses across the country, as peaceful, intensely determined protesters, demanding their institutions divest from the Israeli war machine, face violent resistance from police and/or counter-protesters.

Yes, the peaceful protesters are interrupting the status quo—setting up encampments, even occupying university buildings. For instance, at Columbia University, students actually renamed the occupied Hamilton Hall, declaring its new name to be Hind's Hall, after Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli armed forces, along with the rest of her family (and several aid workers), as they were fleeing their home in Gaza. The point of the protests is, indeed, to change the world: to stop U.S., including university, support of the devastating "war" (i.e., carnage). They’re not trying to eliminate an enemy but, rather, illuminate the situation—putting themselves on the line to do so.

Some of the responses to the protests are definitely illuminating. A statement from UCLA's Palestine Solidarity Encampment, for instance, noted:

Furthermore, the account continued: "Campus safety left within minutes, external security the university hired for 'backup' watched, filmed, and laughed on the side as the immediate danger inflicted upon us escalated. Law enforcement simply stood at the edge of the lawn and refused to budge as we screamed for their help. . . .

"The university would rather see us dead than divest."

In other words, those damn students are the enemy. Even when the response to the protests isn't outright violence, it's often rhetorically violent, such as GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee calling the protesters terrorists and declaring that "any student who has promoted terrorism or engaged in terrorist acts on behalf of Hamas should be immediately added to the terrorist watch list and placed on the [Transportation Security Administration] no-fly list."

This is utterly linear, minimalist thinking. Critics aren't engaging in a debate on the nature (and necessity) of war, plunging, with the protesters, into a complex discussion of global politics, military........

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