Today's TOI quotes a talented NLU grad lawyer doing her LLM in the US, who is participating peacefully in the Palestine protests. Non-paywalled version below (copy-paste is disabled, so I could't paste it).

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/gaza-protests-for-indian-students-in-us-stakes-are-much-higher/ar-AA1o8LLG

The girl in question should make all Indian law students proud, because the article quotes other Indian students (from STEM/ business courses) who are staying away from the protests -- so typical of these STEM/business guys!! 😡😡

What I like about the LLM student/lawyer is that she is participating in a very peaceful and safe way and not joining the encampments. This is the smart and sensible thing to do. You are protecting yourself from any disciplinary or police action in this way, while still supporting the people of Gaza.

When I googled for her, I saw on LinkedIn that she is a graduate of an NLU, a graduate of the Young India Fellowship from Ashoka and editor of a law journal in her present US university in the field of human rights. This obviously shatters the myths being spread by trolls that the student involved in the protest are fake or don't know anything. Well, this shows it's just the reverse --- very bright and talented students are taking part.

🫡🫡 🤗🤗 💙💙🇵🇸🇵🇸

Gen Z cares more than previous generations, eh? Then how come so many clips are going around of journalists asking white American kids protesting about Palestine and the kids don't have a clue? Just privileged white kids trying to be cool, that's all. It's ridiculous to compare them with the anti-Vietnam protestors of the 1960s. Our grandparents were the real revolutionaries, not us.

haha- who told you this story? did you hear this on msnbc? or on tik tok? or ilhan omars twitter? do you know how to read polls? how does the squad winning in small congressional districts that voted blue anyway impact presidential elections? you do understand that its not the popular vote that decides the president?

Look up these numbers from any gallup surveys in the last few months- keeping in mind there is a lot of time before november- what the most important issues are for voters in america- israel and hamas dont crack the top ten of non economic issues. what are issues that americans think are important? the economy and price rise aside, immigration, poor leadership (bidens age), poverty, hunger, crime, democracy, racism, abortion, moral decline, health care, education, ukraine war, and the courts all rank above israel and hamas.

If Biden loses michigan- it wont be because college students who dont vote anyway didnt vote for him. It will be because of the auto industry and labourers within it turning their back on biden because he prioritised electric vehicles and climate activism above their interests. It will be because of labour. Labour votes. Unions vote. And Trump is catering to them.

If any effect- I think as many moderate voters would be scared off by left radicals doing this campus activism.

the last time an unpopular war swung a presidential election in america was- vietnam? and they had american boots on the ground. Maybe iraq? but not really- dubya had two whole terms after starting a stupid war over ego. There are no american boots on the ground now, theres no draft. Israel and Hamas have been killing each other since forever- american voters dont really care about a neverending conflict at the edge of the world and most have been around too long to naively think there are any good guys in the conflict. Wont swing the election at all. I wouldnt be surprised if members of the squad lost their seats in two years on.

Heres the thing- I think a good test for any kind of political prediction or argument is- can you make a strong case for why your opponents might have support? If you cannot imagine why trump won in 2016 or why trump might win again in 2024- you probably have a biased mediatised view of things. put the journalists you listen to to that test. Can they tell you- why they lost or might lose. if they resort to- oh its because america is racist or stupid or votes against their own interest and all that- consider that this person is not interested in giving you an accurate description of reality- theyre interested in telling you a story that will make you act in ways that they want.

AOC won her NY state election by a 43% margin, Ilhan is Minnesota by a sliver below 50%, and Rashida in Michigan by 46%. These radicals seem to have mainstream numbers.

You are right to say that Cornel West won't defeat or even significantly dent Biden. However, it is entirely possible that Biden's loss, if it comes, to Trump may be due to the younger voters (who do not generally vote but are still important minority) being turned off by his status quoism re: America's Middle East policy.

When I was studying in London many years ago, such protests were common: there were student protests at LSE, KCL, UCL and other reputed colleges. But these protests were largely driven by students from Pakistan, Bangladesh and other Muslim countries (or British-Muslim students whose parents were from these countries). What we are seeing in the US is that these protests are being joined in by white, non-Muslim students who identify as socialist, as well as non-Muslim African-American students. They are drawing connections between Palestine and BLM. The size of the protest group is thus much larger and more diverse. Also, whereas the London protests were limited to protest marches here the protests are a lot more disruptive, with buildings being occupied and classes being cancelled. This is the key difference.

hahaha youre in a bubble. You have no idea what america even is. Its a big big country with many more people who disagree and young people dont vote because its not cool. Cornel West has no chance at all. Biden may lose to Trump if he keeps it up. And part of it will be because hes associated with radicals in his own party like AOC, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Talib

We are lying low because the US government and cops are behaving like you would expect in a totalitarian state. The Dems and Republicans are just the same. Mark my words: the youth will ditch Biden and vote for Cornel West this time, just like most young people in India have ditched Congress and switched to AAP.

#FreePalestine

#ShameOnYouBiden

#CornelWest2024

I know a couple of Indian LLM students in the US who were active during the CAA protests in India and also stand with Gaza, but unlike the CAA protests they are not actively protesting in the US because of the risk of arrest and visa cancellations. They are even signing petitions anonymously, without using their name. It's condemnable that the US is arresting peaceful protestors.

By ”affected by” I mean cancellation of classes and possibly recruitments by law firms. By “involved with” I mean being a part of the protests, whether anti-Israel or pro-Israel. Also, any worries of visa cancellations or blacklisting by law firms?

There must be many Indian LLM students in the US right now, but we haven’t heard on social media from any of them, so very curious to know what’s going on.