Aesthetic Violence
15th May 2024
In recent weeks, a number of US college campuses have been turned into protest encampments in the name of the Palestinian cause. Activists have occupied buildings and pitched legions of identical tents in campus quads. Protestors at UCLA have built palisades out of plywood and umbrellas in expectation of violent clashes with police and/or counter-protestors; at Columbia, participants have held press conferences, performed interpretive dances, and demanded “humanitarian aid” in the form of DoorDash.
With all of this the protestors have made themselves look ridiculous, and their cause unattractive. When met with police action, they’ve been dragged to squad cars screaming like toddlers. Still, for all their absurdity, it would be an error not to take these events seriously.
No matter how comical and counterproductive their tactics may seem, every Leftist protest or rally is an act of political violence. This brand of political violence presents both an expression of power and an implicit threat to everyone who sees it. Antifa-type demonstrators are visible, angry, and loud, and therefore effective. They tell the average American that they’re in charge – that they are the street-level authority on what political expressions are acceptable, and that one defies them at one’s peril.