It was just some years ago, when in the previous Trump administration, we saw demonstrations for Black Lives Matter take over the streets to rightfully call out relentless injustices, the Women’s March crowd into D.C. and demonstrations in support of science march through hundreds of U.S. cities. But, now, as we say goodbye to 2024 and begin a new year and another Trump administration, we should not forget the lonely and persistent voices that led the movement of compassion and empathy throughout the past year. These mostly – but not all – young people spoke out against the U.S.-backed mass killings, destruction and starvation in Gaza.
We should also remember how throughout 2024 these voices had largely been smothered. Reputations had been smeared. The truth had been perverted. Those in high places of power, even in the most “liberal” cities like Boston, looked down and called the people demanding an end to the violence as radicals, anti-Semites, and terror supporters. Protesters lost their jobs, were defamed and arrested.
They took the risk, however, because they had seen too much: Photos and videos of bombed out hospitals, of starving and freezing babies, of children without legs and arms, of dead mothers and fathers, of people burnt alive, and of murdered journalists. They felt a moral – a human – obligation to speak out.
But the “adults” in the room decided any dissent was too much dissent. Words were twisted so that slogans in solidarity with the struggle of Palestinians were called anti-Semitic. This was the year when criticisms of Israel’s bombardment were called hateful and hurtful. Peaceful protesters were handcuffed, zip-tied and smashed against the pavement. They were arrested. Colleges and universities – places where freedom of thought was supposed to be promoted – turned into silencing machines. Campus police and university administrators here and all over the nation showed they had no spine and no idea of what it means to support free speech rights.
Now, as we start the new year and will see new threats to speech, don’t let these voices of dissent go unheard. Don’t forget that you might one day be the victim of an injustice and those you care about might be as well. And when you pick up a sign to rally around your cause – whether it be for immigrant rights, equality for gays and lesbians and transgender people, or justice for people displaced by luxury development projects – you may now find your words and your dissent policed, twisted and silenced. You may face arrest if you step out of an arbitrary line. And it will be too late to speak out.
(*This story was edited slightly on Jan. 6 in the lead for clarity.)
