I'm in the middle of finals paper writing, so a post on the academy isn't that out of line.
A lot of people spend a lot of energy complaining about that pathetic recipe - petulant resentment as faux bravado and intellectualized banality as daring insight - that passes for liberal campus activism. I don't really mind all that much. Sure, it's kind of annoying to walk by men in greasy dreadlocks and women sporting strategically untoned bellies on my way to lunch. But then I consider that they could be doing something important - like preparing my delicious Carls Jr. Famous Star - and I'm thankful that they're safely ensconced in the cocoon of academia rather than, you know, playing with crayons or other such sharp objects. Basically, I'm just happy that they're not in any position to hurt themselves or others.
That said, I'm reminded of a high-ranking Pitt campus police officer who, watching a typical "oh look at us we're taking a stand" traffic jam marching down Forbes Ave, commented that he had no idea what "those hippies" stood for. In fairness to the hippies, this police officer has missed the memo that redefined campus activism as "making sure your friends see you when you defiantly pump your fist into the air as if you were actually, you know, defying someone". But in fairness to the police officer, the hodgepodge of anti-globalization hysterics, anti-Iraq War nutballs, pro-Islamist screechers, and identity racist lunatics aren't exactly clear about what unites them or why they march together (psst - rhymes with "anti-Semitism").
On the ground, what's mostly going on is that these people all talk to and hang out with each other (and seriously, who else is going to). They - and especially their smaller, student versions - spend not inconsiderable mental and physical energy convincing each other that they're really making a difference. Which pretty much amounts to "hey, I'm bringing a lunatic to campus this weekend - do you want to help sponsor it so that you too can feel like you've taken on the man this week? We can stand in solidarity against the man together! How sweet is that!" So it was great to get this email:

And then it gives dates, times, and places - basically: one facile, crowd pleasing diatribe on the CMU campus and then a repeat on the Pitt campus. The only thing you need to know about Jeff Halper is that just this week he was a bit player in yet another Campus Watch anti-Columbia expose (incidentally, while I'm on the subject of that expose, Campus Watch needs to hire someone who actually knows something about the Left side of the academy - or actual, real-life Leftists. Otherwise, they end up publishing asinine things like "Herbert Marcuse's... sole loyalty was to Western democracy". Or they could just hire a fact-checker who knows how to use Google).
But anyway, Jeff Halper is "the Coordinator of... a coalition of Israeli peace and human rights groups that resist the Israeli occupation on the ground" and enjoys long walks on the beach coupled with "advocacy within Israel and abroad for an approach that considers a just peace and respect for human rights". That's academic-ese for "he's a moonbat who's really glad that he's a moonbat, otherwise someone might actually try to implement one of his moonbat ideas and get people killed."
Which brings us back to our main point. Check out who's sponsoring him:

You can agree or disagree with punitive house demolitions (although you can't really disagree with the fact that they get less people dead), but that's not why most of these groups are sponsoring Halper. They're sponsoring Halper because he comes from the ideological and political community that they support. So you end up with the spectacle of an anti-death penalty coalition (and an "uncompromising" one at that - like anyone but their doting parents and their stoner friends really thinks that the government is about to open up negotiations with these little brats) sponsoring someone who would see the country with no death penalty overrun by thugs from the organization that uses it all the time. As to a woman's group supporting someone who would give these sickos leeway - there's just no way women's rights is actually the motivating factor here.
No one will take a women's rights group seriously when its obvious that they support whatever celebratory cause is chi-chi that week. No one will take a peace group supporting that cop killer group seriously... well, ever. But these people really aren't in it to be taken seriously. They just want each other to see them pretending to take each other seriously. It's activism as political exhibitionism, mixed with an anti-authoritarian high. But hey, as long as they're more concerned with that than actually getting something done, I'm all for letting them have their little diversions. Think of it as letting little kids draw on the walls with non-toxic crayons. Fine as long as they don't chew on the crayons too much and upset their stomachs.
Back to paper writing. Mere Rhetoric will be back soon…