Where "Freedom of Speech" isn't all that free

Get the Point!

For all of America's bombast about being "the land of the free" and the "home of the brave" and whatnot, if you conclude that the University of Southern California's decision to cancel the valedictory address of Asna Tabassum, a first-generation Muslim biomedical engineering major, over "safety concerns," reeks of political censorship and rancid cowardice, you are not alone! If you believe that the University has a responsibility to keep its students, faculty, and staff safe, well, you're not alone, either!

Asna Tabassum, the University of Southern California's 2024 valedictorian

So, if you hadn't read or heard the news yet, USC Provost Andy Guzman announced last week that the University's decision to prevent Ms. Tabassum from delivering a three to five minute speech during commencement exercises stems from yet to be named threats that the school received once the top graduating scholar for 2024 was revealed to have a Pro-Palestine link on her Instagram page. Amazingly, the supposedly offensive link features information that supports "one Palestine," a nation where "both Arabs and Jews can live together" in peace. 

The alleged offensive link on Ms. Tabassum’s IG page

As I have written in this blog before, the problem in the modern world is that far too many people lack a basic understanding of world history and politics—but these same ones who are deliberately ignorant about a great many things are QUICK to take sides without even the slightest bit of context or nuance!

As a refresher, before the modern state of Israel was created by the victorious Allies a few years after World War II, what was previously colloquially known as "British Palestine" did find Muslims and Jews living together in the so-called “Holy Land” for those two faiths and Christianity.

But from the rise of Zionism as an ideology in the late 19th Century, on through the Balfour Declaration that contemplated a new Jewish State of Israel in Muslim dominated Palestine in the early 20th Century, it was just a matter of time before the old Colonial powers decided to repatriate Jews from the Diaspora, many of whom were fortunate to survive Nazi Germany's evil Holocaust across Europe. 

Since 1946, Palestinian land ownership in what is now Israel has gradually (and greatly) declined…

Back in the 1940’s, there were few "two-state" solution calls like there are now, rather, Israel was declared a whole singular nation! As a result, over the next several decades, Palestinian Muslims found themselves living in a form of apartheid amid Israeli occupying forces—even in areas where they were the numerical majority. 

Such are the facts, not fiction, and anyone who can't understand both the political fight that Palestinians and their supporters have waged for nearly 80 years, or even intellectually understand how militant cells and so-called terror organizations could rise up in opposition to being occupied, simply is being obtuse. 

Personally, from a practical standpoint, I've always believed that the two-state solution is the best solution because like the old country saying goes, "you can't put spilled milk back into the carton." Meaning, Israel is a powerful nation in the Middle East, one that's fully nuclear armed, and will remain so in perpetuity.

But that surely doesn't mean that "New Palestine" can’t exist; the latest problem on that front is that last year's deadly Hamas attack has been used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rain down destruction that has killed and dispossessed far more Palestinian civilians than members of Hamas. And don't just take my word—there's a reason that the United Nations, Doctors without Borders, and other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) have consistently criticized Israel's overwhelming use of force since last October— while denouncing the humanitarian crisis that has yet to abate in the region!

The deaths and destruction in Palestinian owned Gaza have been catastrophic since last October…

The above facts are the real reasons why so many American students and Pro-Palestinian supporters are protesting at colleges and universities, not the pernicious lie circulating on social and traditional media that everyone who condemns the Israeli Defense Forces actions in Gaza are anti-Semites who wish to see Israel cease to exist! 

To the current issue, it is important to remember that University administrations like USC’s, from time immemorial, have always been devoted to "order"—while keeping the flow of donations and sponsored research flowing than they have been to ensuring that students can express themselves fully on campus. Such is particularly crucial for private schools like USC, ones that don't have the benefit of annual funding from their state government leaders.

Lest we forget that during the Civil Rights and Vietnam War protests of the 1960's, more than a few students found themselves kicked out of school for raising their voices for righteous causes—even at HBCU’s. I remember my late father, Charles, telling me that his football coaches at Florida A&M University warned the players that they risked getting kicked out of school if they got arrested for protesting during the early 1960’s! Years later, when I was a 19-year old student at Morehouse College when the Rodney King Riots erupted in ‘92, I ditched my Morehouse ID cards on the off chance that I got arrested, fully knowing that if I ended up in jail, that I was going to claim that I was simply in town from Florida visiting friends that week (to avoid being reported to our stern disciplinary Dean, Dr. Ramon Crawford).

AUC students (Morehouse, Clark, Spelman, Morris Brown) clashed with the police for two days in April of ‘92 after four LA police officers were acquitted of excessive force in the beating of Rodney King

Such is why my heart breaks for Ms. Tabassum, the brilliant USC valedictorian shown holding her valedictorian certificate below, who noted:

"It’s no longer about free speech. It’s no longer about me. It is about when the university silences me, they are silencing all these people (activists at USC).”  Tabassum added that she hadn't even written her speech yet, but was thinking about highlighting how we must continue to use our education as a privilege to inform ourselves and ultimately make a change in the world.”

Indeed, young lady, indeed!

In closing, when it comes to speaking freely even if it hurts feelings or comes off as insensitive, consider the irony that during this American presidential election year, that there are millions of Americans voters who cannot wait to vote for Donald John Trump this November. Many of these voters claim that what they love about Trump is that he is a "straight shooter" who "tells it like it is" no matter the subject. To them, when Trump is "shooting straight" about Black NFL players that he called "ungrateful Sons of B*tches," or “telling it like it is” about encouraging European immigration instead of "The Blacks" or “The Muslims” hailing from "sh*t hole countries in Africa and the Caribbean," he is praised for his highly offensive—albeit free—speech on a daily basis. This fact that leads me to note, once more, that in parts of mainstream America, one must have "the complexion for protection" when it comes to free speech?

And yet, lacking that complexion or protection myself, I still choose “to tell it like it is” in my blog space—and I am encouraged by students like Ms. Tabassum and countless others who are raising their voices in support of freedom, justice, and human rights for all!