Ideological activism in my department

November 20, 2024 • 9:30 am

Last spring, during all the protests, sit-ins, and encampments at my University—nearly all of them by students favoring Palestine vis-á-vis the war—the protestors decided to bring their beefs into my department. In fact, some of the protestors, given their actions, were probably members of our department (Ecology and Evolution) or undergraduate students , as putting up posters and flyers put requires a university ID card to get into the building, some of the actions were surely done in the evening, when you have to request special access to the building and have a good reason for it, and, tellingly, one of the flyers used the motif of Honey the Duck—my duck.   I am showing here just a small selection of flyers and posters that went up last spring.

It hardly requires mention that this kind of ideological propaganda, spread through the department on bulletin boards, white boards, and walls, created a chilling climate. By being posted in “official” places, it gave the imprimatur of the department to an ideological position. Such material is also banned by the University from being affixed to official boards—like the seminar-announcement board below.

But below is one of the anti-Israel posters that appeared in the spring. This one was affixed to the board above, which is supposed to be reserved for seminar announcements and other official department business. At least the poster itself says who created and disseminated it: Students for Justice in Palestine (who else?).  But this kind of political propaganda is not supposed to be put on official department boards.

Our department chair, recognizing the inappropriateness of these postings, sent out an email banning them, and he and the staff removed them. Since the beginning of this academic year the protests (save one poster) have not appeared in our department.

Here’s a whiteboard inside one of the buildings used by our department. This kind of drawing is not, I think, against University regulations, but it’s surely inappropriate. Note that it’s a Palestinian flag. Had I drawn an Israeli flag on the board, it would have lasted about an hour! (I do not, of course, parade my political views on department sites.)

The one below was almost certainly made by a member of our department or an undergraduate (I consider grad students as “department members”), and was affixed illegally because all posters must be on bulletin boards and must show the name of the group posting them. Again, Palestinian flags are used in a display of departmental affinity.

Below is the poster that I consider the most odious one. It was placed on several bulletin boards, including the official seminar board shown in the first photo. Not only is it illegally posted, but, to my shock, it used my own special duck, Honey, as an advertisement for “freeing Palestine.”

Now clearly this is aimed at me.  To their credit, the office staff, recognizing this, had removed similar posters from the department, hoping I wouldn’t see them. But I did.

My reaction was one of anger, for I loved that duck, and to use her to promote the “freeing of Palestine” (whatever that means) is a direct attack on me for being pro-Israeli. It was, I thought, like using pictures of someone’s pets to promote terrorism.

I suppose the person who put this up, whoever he or she is, calculated that this would intimidate or provoke me.  It did not. It only made me more resolute in my desire to support others who favored Israel (particularly the Jewish students), and I did so until the end of the school year.

But it did have an effect that was probably unintended, and which I suppose the posters are happy about.  It made me wonder who would do such a thing, especially in a department, where we’re all supposed to be colleagues. Now I’m sure that none of my faculty colleagues would do this, but my guess is that the perp was a graduate student or undergraduate. That is only a guess, of course. But the result is that this poster, combined with the propaganda above, has made me feel alienated from the department, something that I haven’t felt since 1986 when I began my job here, for this has always been a collegial department.  Now, when I am in a departmental group like a party or coffee hour, I wonder if someone there could have produced these hateful displays, and so I’ve largely stopped going to these groups.

As I said, this kind of mishigass has largely stopped. And the perpetrators are of course unknown, since they do this work when nobody is around. I’m sure they realize, since they clearly know my proclivities, that I think their moral compass is skewed 180°.  But they’ll never give up their anonymity, for they are cowards, like their confrères who wear masks during public demonstrations.

51 thoughts on “Ideological activism in my department”

  3. “Calculated” and “reaction” could not be more precise. I know I’ve gone on about this before so I’ll try to be brief :

    Your target’s reaction is your real action
    from Rules for Radicals

    The intention of dialectical political warfare is to create conflict. Discernment can sometimes pick up the old classic from childhood “Ha ha! I’m not touching you! I’m not touching you!” – which, coming from adults, conceals the intentional mid-level provocation.

    Also see Beautiful Trouble.

    The only “good” thing here is that it is only a game – literally, a game of provocation, with a game plan. I bet game theoretic analyses could show this. The intended reaction is getting targets to lose their cool. It is designed to escalate, but unfortunately it has to be seen how it goes.

    Honey being brought into this, in a researched way, is particularly low. The hearts are clearly provocation. Both pure emotional provocation.

    Hopefully this comment expresses support against mid-level provocation and promotes confidence in principles of free expression. And as I like to put it, Miles Davis-level cool 🕶️

    … they actually copy/pasted – appropriated – “Honey the duck”, no hiding it. Remarkably clear. I’ll remember that.

      1. Of course, it’s a personal attack, and a cowardly one at that. IMO, I’d suspect faculty, not students. Student spray paintings are hit and run, but someone put more than a cursory effort into the design.

  4. Instead of a duck which has zero to do with Palestine, this person would be better represented by the picture of a sheep. Sounds more appropriate to who this person is.

    And why do they all hide? What is that about? No ability to stand up for what you believe?

    1. They hide because they are cosplaying resistance fighters defying the Evil Empire. Like the ninja, they strike and leave without a trace.

      I consider the masks a form of persecution fetish gear.

  6. This is happening because outside of the Israel/Gaza conflict, Arabs of all stripes live peacefully with each other throughout the Middle East.

    The Israeli offensive therefore stands out like a sore thumb…I can see why students might interpret it as a “genocide”. I mean, if you go to Syria for instance it’s like a hippie colony…nobody is harming anyone and the government is like a benevolent parent.

    Just imagine if Arab Muslims were massacring each other to the tune of 100,000s. The protests over this would never stop.

    1. Sorry, but you mention the Israeli “offensive”. That is a defensive action to eliminate terrorism, in particular the terrorism caused by the Hamas offensive. Are you seriously blaming Israel’s response for the troubles on campus.

      And you are surely jesting about Syria, no?

      1. I am. I was attempting to be sarcastic…drawing attention to the gaping silence from the protestors about all of the Arab Muslim violence in the Middle East that dwarfs what is happening in Gaza.

    2. For a second, I didn’t catch your irony. But on reflection, it’s true that several Muslim Arab polities have indeed stopped massacring one another. It’s those countries that have made peace with Israel and, perforce, with each other. It would be supremely ironic if little Israel became the hegemon in the Middle East and imposed a benevolent but firm-handed Pax Israelii of the “eff around and find out” variety.

    4. After being accused of whataboutery when mentioning Syrians, Darfuris, Uyghurs, or victims of any other catastrophe, I now repeat a question similar to this:

      “Can you help me understand what it is about this conflict in particular that makes it such a focus of your attention?”

  7. Cruel fanatic using Honey in a sophomoric attack on you and your support of Jewish people and the people and state of Israel. More cowardly than clever by many a country mile.

    1. “More cowardly than clever by many a country mile.”

      Anti-semites are generally quite a dim bunch. I’ve heard anti-semitism described as the “ultimate conspiracy theory”, an unfalsifiable mishmash of blame and hate. Since people who believe in broad conspiracies tend to have lower cognitive skills, it doesn’t surprise me that all the pro-Palestinian faction can come up with is gormless cowardice.

  8. I am so sorry to see our beloved Honey, a duck of peace and goodwill, personally slandered in this manner. If you discover the scoundrel perhaps you can sue on Your minor child, Honey’s, behalf.

    You have described very well the insidious effect of this ongoing mishigass with its impact on your attendance at departmental functions. I would have had the exact same reaction I am afraid.

    I am just glad that your department chair has taken a clear leadership role to discourage these behaviors. One additional action might be to review security video of nights in question or triangulate on which ids were used for building entry on those nights to smoke out the little shits.

  9. Well, ugh. Sorry to read the post, and sorrier that I was not astonished.
    Nothing polite to say about the cowards who have posted that crap. On the basis of conversations others I know in academia I learn of this sort alienation and, yet, alienated, I expect you re not alone. My very best wishes to you — and to Honey the Duck, whose good likeness and image is besmirched by goons.

    1. Similar pamphleting on my campus. When I complained about it, I got on an email list in the university president’s office of Jewish individuals and groups. I was honoured.

      Jerry if something like that horrible duck poster happens again contact the university IT services right away. Most universities now have networked printers that briefly cache the printed image and its metadata (the user and mac address), could be used to find the person who did the deed.

      I wanted to call the perps “cowards” for not signing their work. But here I have been posting anon. So I think I’ll start signing my work too (not that it will matter to anyone else).

        1. I was going to post to add my name to those disgusted at the cowardly tactics of the Pro Palestine children but seeing this part of the thread I also wanted to thank our host for being open minded about some of us using false names, although I do use my real name I knew/know quite a few who would need to remain anonymous.

          Firstly, nothing surprises me with these creeps, I am currently on a course which I am doing just for the fun of it but am getting grief from a pro Palestine trendy lefty. To make it even more absurd, the course I am doing is to learn Welsh, a language not normally associated with Middle Eastern affairs. Typical of his sort, he is quick to brand me Islamophobic for chastising Hamas and Iran but ignores all the killing, kidnapping and rape carried out by his friends and particularly hateful from my perspective was his storming off and refusing to listen when being told about a friend murdered by the Iranian authorities.

          During my time teaching English as a foreign language I had many students from countries with bad human rights and I regularly gave a bit extra training in using the Tor Browser or TAILS operating system as these were among the best free options for trying to remain safe on the net but still communicate with others. I kept in touch with a few former students and was lucky to make some great friends from a wide variety of cultures but not all the stories had good endings and one stands out.

          There was an Iranian student on a six-month course sponsored by his work, which was basically the state. He was an apostate and was seriously considering trying to stay in England but was worried about his family should he not return so decided to return. We kept in touch via webmail on the Tor Browser for a couple of years but suddenly he went quiet. About two years later a mutual friend got in touch and was able to confirm my worst fears, my former student had been arrested and was never seen again but reports from some who were released from the gaol he was taken to confirmed his death.

          There was never a reason anyone knew for his arrest and I doubt we will ever know but to the idiot on my Welsh course I am an Islamophobe for calling the Iranian authorities murderers and also for speaking out against the atrocities of Hamas.

          PCCE, many thanks for for this wonderful website where decent people, whether we agree with each other or not, can enjoy sane and civil conversation in an otherwise insane and uncivil world.

  10. This managed to bother me in an entirely new way. I’m so so sorry. And pissed off.

    I hope that the departmental gatherings figure out how to make you honestly feel welcome again.

  11. What’s inexcusable is that this clearly targets you. You know everything you need to know about this person and his/her movement with this act.

    Creepy and threatening, even in a “collegial” way. The k ind of people you expect to be the psychologically vicious bizarre villains in movies.

    1. You’ve described my reaction to this much better than I could have. I couldn’t agree more with your description of it being like the behavior of a “psychologically vicious bizarre villain in a movie”. I feel very troubled by this. I’m sorry this was done to you, Jerry. Such a personal violation. I would very much want the culprit’s identity revealed. Do you know, Jerry, if this was documented? You say this has not occurred in the current term. If it does, I agree with Mike Hart and Jim Batterson (above) as far as possible actions to take.

  13. That’s pitiful, though well into the parameters of undergraduates that are mostly misinformed.

  14. That cuts too close to the bone. Ouch. And cowardly, too.

    Jerry, you have always supported freedom of speech against censorship by the state and you have called for private universities to conduct themselves as if they were bound by the First. However, universities (private and public) are also workplaces, as are state organs like civil service departments. There exists a category of speech which cannot be criminally prosecuted by the state (and I include “hate” speech here) but which ought not to be tolerated (and usually isn’t) by employers. (This is separate from academic freedom to enquire and publish.) I submit that this loathsome affair falls into that category. It’s not prosecutable but the university should make efforts to identify the miscreants and run them off campus. It might not be possible to identify them this time but the university should not throw up its hands and say, “Oh, there’s nothing we can do. First Amendment, you know…”

    I’m just throwing this out there as a concrete suggestion that you yourself perhaps can’t raise because it might sound like special pleading. Your colleagues need to get behind this. If they don’t, they aren’t colleagues.

    This is something I’ve been struggling with ever since the university presidents fell like dominoes over antisemitism. It is legally protected speech but it ought not to be permissible in any kind of workplace or educational community where management can insist on standards of behaviour that the state cannot. “It depends” was legally correct but the wrong standard for a university.

    1. “It’s not prosecutable”

      True, but if I were a department colleague I would find a way to make it known that, while I hadn’t the slightest suspicion that any faculty member would so misbehave, any students who did so had best keep their identity hidden like the cowards they are. While I would fulfill my teaching responsibilities for all students, I would not otherwise work with, sponsor, fund, employee, or write letters of recommendation for any miscreant who launched such personal attacks against any member of the department. It is the personalization—not the protest or the politics—that crossed the line.

  15. Sorry to go on, but wanted to underscore : the target’s reaction is the activist’s real action :

    Clearly, a researched approach was invested in the provocation, which clearly includes this here website and that includes comments.

    IMHO any little bit of reaction on the website that can be used effectively will be.

    IMHO the exposure of the structure of the game is the most effective counter measure to the provocation.

    1. Well they’ve showen what colours their feathers are and I’m pretty sure Honey doesn’t give a flying fuck what their idelogy is.
      This is children in the school yard stuff Jerry and imo should be treated and dismissed as such. Water of a ducks back treatment…

  16. So sorry you had to put up with this, it’s the psychological aspect of it in trying to give the needle that is just so nasty.

    Head up and wishing you all the best in the face of these bastards.

  17. These people are able to harass supporters of Israel because for the most part we (folks like us) are strongly in favor of free speech. However, they do their best to shut down speech when it goes against their “anti-Zionist” views because their moral code does not include the same philosophy.

    We call them cowards; these types call themselves heroes fighting against colonialism and who take the view that “free speech… has, since its inception, been integral to white supremacist settler colonialism”, but they are OK to post their own racist or hateful stuff because ““non-white” and other forms of knowledge and communication must be “recognized” to right this illiberal wrong”
    https://academic.oup.com/ips/article/16/3/olac004/6628839

    1. Do sociologists even pretend to be social “scientists” any more? Antipositivism seems to have won the day over there.

  18. The duck one is a low blow—another anonymous coward. I don’t blame Jerry for his reaction.

    Ducks forever. 🦆🦆🦆

  19. My sympathies. Even the mafia don’t touch the ducks!

    My guess is an undergrad snuck in, uni buildings are often not so well secured.
    And if the miscreant breaks the rules… well that’s “resistance” isn’t it?
    Scumbags.
    all the best,

    D.A.
    NYC

  21. Appalling. Contemptable and childish. As a comment above points out, it’s not the protest that is offensive, it is the personal attack. One would hope that if the fool who posted is discovered, that it is THEY who will feel unwelcome in your department. And to use Honey, of all things. Despicable.

    I understand that this idiocy had the opposite affect on you; they wished to shame and intimidate. They will undoubtedly read this article and know that their cowardly attack failed.

    WEIT is, as always, a refuge of science, sanity, reason and goodwill. And great photologs!. I wish you the very best.

  22. You should put up your own poster to remind people of abortion laws in Palestine and where women go when in need:

    “Because abortion is illegal under Palestinian law and highly restricted in the OPT, Palestinian women are forced to turn to Israeli hospitals, to expensive private Palestinian clinics, or to self-induced termination when seeking an abortion.”

    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6927376/#:~:text=Because%20abortion%20is%20illegal%20under,termination%20when%20seeking%20an%20abortion.

    1. The authors say that it’s all Israel’s fault. Revenge of the cradle (enforced by Muslim patriarchy) is the necessary response to occupation.

  24. Certainly targeted at you, Jerry, and aimed well below the belt. Students doing that kind of thing should be sent down.

  25. I am sorry that it happened to you, Prof. Coyne.
    At least, it (together with other similar incidents) illustrates well what sort of people support “Palestine”.

  26. Picking on a mallard instead of the man really is childish.
    Author needs to pick on someone his/her/their own size.

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