http://www.thepostathens.com/multimedia/video_4ee20154-3a2c-11e4-b996-0017a43b2370.html?mode=nogs
There have been ongoing discussions about Israel, and some people still have very strong emotions when it comes to Jewish people and what they think about them. There have been recent conflicts with Israel and Palestine and people have different opinions on who to support and whether they think either party is right. One girl, who attends Ohio University, openly supported Palestine by pouring blood on her head when nominated for the popular Ice Bucket Challenge. While some students retaliated at a student meeting, they were arrested for disturbing the meeting. However, at that point in time, the meeting was open to speak publicly about an issue concerning them but the students wouldn’t let them speak and were charged with disturbing the meeting. They were even calling those students, who were trying to have their voices heard, ‘facists.’
It looked like almost everyone in the room
agreed with the Student Senate President, saying the students speaking and
voicing their opinion were not allowed to do so. After they were arrested,
people started appraising the Senate President, and they were able to speak
freely with no one interrupting them. One girl stated that she was proud of the
Senate President for being able to speak up for those who felt unsafe. Weren’t those
people speaking up for Israel allowed to have a voice? Why are people
supporting the President allowed to voice their opinion while the people trying
to support Israel were not? This is the problem with issues that concern two
parties because they don’t want to hear the other sides’ opinions. I don't think it was fair that the people talking about Israel were not given the right to speak and instead screamed at and threatened by the police.
Another instance of a hate crime
was when someone spray painted swastikas on a Jewish Fraternity House at Emory
University. It was apparently hours after Yom Kippur, which is the holiest of
holidays in Judaism. People who are Jewish and especially the people who live
in that house, would feel extremely unwelcome and unsafe in a place where it is
supposed to be your home. Especially surrounded by people who are supposed to
be a community. It even says that the act of vandalism portrayed at Emory
University is not the only incident that has happened on college campuses.
What happens when you no longer
feel safe in a community where you thought respected you and all of its
students? Especially for those students who attend Ohio University; if they do
not respect people speaking for other individuals who feel threatened and
unsafe, the Jewish community and others who support Israel are not going to
feel safe. It's also important that others feel safe, not only those from a Jewish community, but people should be able to say their own opinions. I think it’s a big issue that we have on our hands because people
are feeling more attacked on both ends, and everyone should feel safe and feel
like they have the right to be heard.
There is supposed to be freedom of speech for people in a complete community. People are able to express their feelings. But it is kind of unrealistic, because when everyone has the right of freedom of speech, then there might exist conflicts among those speech. And it is not that easy to say something that are not related to threaten, violence, or hurtful to others.
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