1. United States
2. Letter

Dr. King said in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” that white moderates are “more devoted to ‘order’ than justice” and that they prefer “a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.” In light of your comments on May 2 about the pro-Palestinian protests across our nation’s college campuses, I find that all too true. Your remarks were disgraceful. Not only have you shown an unwillingness to listen to the demonstrators’ point of view, you gaslit the American people by spreading easily refutable lies about who caused the violence (Spoiler alert: it was pro-Israel agitators and police), sullied your party’s place as the de facto home of American progressive politics by saying order is more important than fighting injustice, and insulted the sensibilities of a large swath of your electorate by implying that the correct response to mass camps & building occupations is riot squads & rubber bullets. In every social struggle of the 20th century – women’s suffrage, civil rights, disability rights, antiwar, and LGBTQIA+ rights to name a few – dissent has required provoking “disorder” because, as Dr. King said in that same “Letter,” “[F]reedom is never given voluntarily by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” If anyone embodies the spirit of Dr. King’s nonviolence, it is the pro-Palestinian demonstrators. I implore you to look into the mountains of footage of the demonstrators and ask yourself who are the ones throwing the first punches. Property can be repaired and replaced; lives cannot. The response & justification by police, the news media, & politicians (including you, Mr. President) pushes all of my injustice buttons. It runs parallel to the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster in Sheffield, UK. I would advise you to research it and learn the main lessons. One of the few comforts I’ve had over the past decade is knowing that “the kids are alright.” Gen-Z has such a strong sense of justice & empathy that I know that the future is better with their inclusion in politics. Dismissing these concerns is a sure-fire way to ensure that there will be riots at the DNC this year like in 1968 (as if these demonstrations aren’t a parallel of ‘68 already). The resentment and subsequent protest votes & apathy abstentions caused will do terminal damage to the Democratic Party’s efforts to govern. If the result of 2020 is any indicator, you NEED as much support as you can muster. You can’t afford to lose the support of both Arab-Americans & college-educated voters. But no, the beatings will continue until morale improves. Sometimes I wonder if Democrats are TRYING to lose. I voted for you in the Michigan primary. Right now, I wish I hadn’t. I know I won’t be voting for the Republican nominee in the general election butI can’t say that I will commit to voting for you, either. At least there’s 6 months until November. You still have time to do the right thing, but you better not waste it.