LETTERS: "Dissent must not lead to disorder." These were the words uttered by United States President Joe Biden when he commented on pro-Palestinian student protests at campuses around his country.
In a three-minute commentary, he kept talking about "law" and "order" — portraying himself and the state apparatus as following the rules.
How hypocritical of him — uttering those words while cracking down on peaceful protests and encampments, abandoning the US' most sacred law, The First Amendment.
I recall one US intellectual, Howard Zinn, recording a speech by a student of Harvard Law School, who said:
"The streets of our country are in turmoil. The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting. Communists are seeking to destroy our country. Russia is threatening us with her might.
"And the public is in danger. Yes! Danger from within and without. We need law and order! Without law and order, our nation cannot survive."
The audience became silent after the student revealed that it was Adolf Hitler's speech in 1932.
Maybe Biden is correct in a sense, as the protests did create disorder — a necessary one. A disorder to bring about justice.
The students, with their conscience, saw the wrongfulness of US actions in supporting Israel's genocidal actions against the Palestinians.
The US has always prided itself on the principle of liberty, yet it is ready to oppress its own citizens for speaking up about Israeli atrocities in Gaza.
What would a state be if it went against the will of its people? It will crumble. The Americans might have forgotten that launching a rebellion is what got them their independence from the British.
It is something that the Palestinians are doing, the same action as all previous struggles against occupation in history.
ALIFF NAIF MOHD FIZAM
Former president,
Student Union,
International Islamic University Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times