In spring 2014, as reported by The Cornell Review, a group of roughly one hundred students took over a Student Assembly (SA) meeting. The sheer number of activists present caused the SA to cave and suspend itself, which the Review observed as the SA’s cowardly response and “unwillingness to assert its legitimacy.” The mob then proceeded to air their numerous grievances with the SA. Then-President Skorton eventually arrived to the meeting and attempted his previously scheduled question-and-answer session, but was repeatedly interrupted, prompting his early exit.
Surely this kind of takeover can only happen on a scale as small as a university and perpetrated by students sheltered from the realities of life outside the collegiate bubble, right?
Not quite. The Los Angeles Times reports that a town-hall meeting on Oct. 19 between LA mayor Eric Garcetti and hundreds of community members “was quickly overtaken by about 50 protesters from organizations including the national activist group Black Lives Matter.” NBC Los Angeles reported that after the protestors began shouting and chanting, they soon “rushed the podium,” forcing the mayor to leave, escorted by staffers.
Reverend Kevin Sauls of the church where the meeting took place attempted to get the crowd under control after the shouting began.
“If you are interested in having a civil conversation, we are going to ask you to remain here, if not, I am going to ask you to leave,” he said, according to NBC LA.
The reverend’s request was similar to that of Skorton, who attempted to reintroduce productive discourse after the SA takeover. In both cases, the angry mobs prevented any conversation from taking place.
As the SA relinquished its own authority in order to appease and remain popular, Garcetti attempted to appease the crowd by telling them what they wanted to hear, as quoted by the LA Times:
“Let me say, you’re right, your analysis. I hate this back-and-forth we hear nationally, where people say black lives matter and politicians say all lives matter. Black lives matter in a unique way, and you and I see eye to eye on this. If you just try to say all lives matter, you write people out of history. You write slavery out of history. You write oppression and violence out of history. You write racism and lynching out of history. So I get why it is important — just hear me out for one second — you’re right.”
Garcetti even catered to the crowd by encouraging them to let out their frustrations in any way they wished: “You can boo. You can do whatever you want.” But his sycophancy was not enough to prevent the mob from forcing him to leave.
When I read the Review’s report on the SA takeover, I was fearful that the students involved would not be prepared for the current iteration of Western society, where civilized dialogue and debate trump brute force and where the will of the majority is balanced with the interests of minority groups. I am glad to see that this is not the case, and that these students will go onto gainful employment in mob rule after graduation and live productive, happy lives. These students will be prepared for and instrumental to welcoming in a new kind of civilization in which a vocal minority can silence and overpower elected government.
This is the anarchy that will lead to a REAL police state. Up until now our police forces have been very gentle. Tyrany ahead? I think so. Civil war? Could be.