Politeness
is
a
one-way
street.
You
can
openly
mock
some
of
the
most
prominent
jurists
in
the
nation
if
you’re
on
the
right
team,
but
playing
for
the
other
side
opens
you
up
to
all
sorts
of
nitpicking
about
the
proper
way
to
do
things.
It
is
a
nonsense
rule
that
explains
a
lot
once
you’re
wise
to
it,
like
how
Sotomayor’s
comments
on
Kavanaugh
required
an
apology
but
his
“your
fault
for
looking
Mexican”
concurrence
was
no
biggie.
Similar
things
are
happening
with
campus
speech.
If
you
advocate
for
anything
to
the
left
of
Palantir’s
recent
manifesto,
you
should
expect
public
scrutiny.
Protestors
are
getting
cast
as
villains
for
opposing
the
normalization
of
right-wing
power
grabs
at
law
school
events.
New
York
Post
has
coverage:
A
speaking
event
at
UCLA’s
law
school
erupted
into
turmoil
Tuesday
night
when
a
Department
of
Homeland
Security
attorney
faced
loud
disruptions
from
student
protesters
and
activists.James
Percival,
general
counsel
for
DHS,
was
invited
by
the
Federalist
Society’s
UCLA
chapter
to
address
law
students
on
campus.But
the
appearance
quickly
turned
contentious
as
more
than
150
demonstrators
gathered
outside,
chanting
slogans
targeting
the
Trump
administration,
including
“No
ICE,
No
KKK,
No
Fascist
USA.”
No
reporting
suggests
Green
Day
was
present,
but
I’m
sure
they
were
there
in
spirit:
Not
sure
if
its
uplifting
or
a
telling
weakness
of
protest’s
efficacy
that
a
decade-old
chant
is
just
as
prescient
now.
As
far
as
the
article’s
“eruption
into
turmoil”
characterization
of
the
event
goes,
it
couldn’t
have
been
that
disruptive
if
the
UCLA
admin’s
response
was
“Yup,
that
stuff
just
kinda
happens
and
we
move
along”:
“UCLA
Law
is
committed
to
free
speech
and
academic
freedom,
including
perspectives
that
may
be
controversial
or
deeply
contested,”
the
school
said
in
a
statement
to
Fox
News.
“This
student-organized
event,
which
proceeded
to
its
conclusion,
was
one
instance
of
those
principles
in
practice.”
For
all
of
the
complaining
about
the
protest,
Percival
was
able
to
give
his
talk.
Before
the
framing
of
this
as
a
bunch
of
out-of-control
leftists
piling
on
the
little
old
lawyer
of
the
deportation
branch
gets
blown
out
of
proportion,
remember:
While
we’re
here,
let’s
talk
about
the
students.
They
may
have
dropped
a
couple
of
F
bombs
and
called
DHS
a
bunch
of
Nazis,
but
let’s
keep
a
clear
head
about
how
much
weight
that
tier
of
name
calling
carries.
The
DHS
knows
what
they’re
doing
—
it
isn’t
like
they
used
a
neo-Nazi
song
for
ICE
recruitment
or
looked
like
they’ve
brushed
off
the
vintage
Hugo
Boss
to
the
point
that
the
Germans
stepped
in
because
they
want
to
shy
away
from
the
Nazi
comparisons.
What’s
next?
Trying
to
anger
Darth
Sidious
by
calling
him
a
Sith
Lord?
They
know
what
they
are
and
are
shameless
about
it.
The
only
silver
lining
would
be
that
calling
them
what
they
are
is
meant
to
provoke
observers
in
to
recognition,
but
between
the
COVID
brain
damage
and
AI
overuse
frying
people’s
comparative
thinking,
that
ship
has
sailed.
The
people
who
aren’t
looking
and
seeing
the
obvious
are
the
same
ones
that
didn’t
realize
Homelander
was
there
to
make
fun
of
them
until
season
4.
The
real
story
is
that
the
things
done
in
protest
are
nowhere
near
as
newsworthy
as
the
things
being
protested:
Justice
Kavanaugh
greenlighting
racial
profiling;
the
administration’s
abdication
of
the
rule
of
law
in
deportation
proceedings;
a
poorly
trained
militia
acting
as
judge,
jury,
and
executioners
in
broad
daylight;
and
the
list
goes
on.
Don’t
be
swayed
by
framings
that
suggest
protestors’
discontent
in
and
of
itself
is
a
threat
to
speakers
—
the
real
threats
are
the
men
with
guns
openly
stating
that
they
will
erase
your
voice
if
you
raise
it.
Lefty
Students
Hijack
UCLA
Event
From
Homeland
Security’s
Top
Lawyer
[New
York
Post]
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boat
builder
who
is
learning
to
swim
and
is
interested
in
rhetoric,
Spinozists
and
humor.
Getting
back
in
to
cycling
wouldn’t
hurt
either.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at
[email protected]
and
by
Tweet/Bluesky
at @WritesForRent.