Pro-Palestine Protesters Crash Guv’s Speech

I'm a free speech devotee. This is classless and useless. Like the BLM protests, shutting down roadways, interrupting public meetings - cops should start arresting them and fines should start at $500. They should hand them out like candy. No trial. Just tickets. Appeals are held administratively - defenses are limited to "I was or wasn't there." Herd, corral and ticket. A couple of $500 tickets would end this crap.

The Governor is right. They have a right to protest. But Ill tell you something else. Nobodys going to listen to them unless they lead off with the fact that they acknowledge and condemn the brutal sadistic genocidal attack of Oct. 7 and what it did to all those innocent civilians.
Their chants will get them nowhere. They are badly organized and losing their fight every day despite the interruptions at gatherings, blocking highways, bridges, roads, tunnels and even getting onto a tarmac in TX when Pres. Biden was their for a memorial service. That last tactic will probably get them arrested on Federal charges.

Andi and company, if you truly want to contribute something meaningful to the peace effort, chant at your Hamas comrades and encourage them to surrender. The people of Gaza will appreciate that more than these silly protests.

"The protesters identified themselves as members of CT Democratic Socialists of America, CT Dissenters, and the SCSU student group Owls for Justice in Palestine."

CT Democratic Socialists of America, the people who were celebrating the October 7th massacre the literal next day

"CT Dissenters", wonder what their mission statement is.
From their Instagram, "We are a new wave of young people dedicated to taking back our resources from elites, and their violent wars, prisons, police, weapons and walls"
Great, more angry socialists, they must be fun at parties.

"Owls for Justice in Palestine", I'm guessing that's SCSU's own Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, the organization that keeps calling for the globalization of the intifada.

I know that in New Haven there are a bunch of old breed non violent Socialists, typically upwards of at least 40 years old and that never gave up on Socialist ideals, what I would call Noam Chomsky types. Legitimate question to you, how do you feel about the new breed?

The protestors got what they wanted, news coverage. But the Governor said he was willing to meet with the protestors, they could have had a constructive dialogue about the issues, but instead they care more about protesting and getting attention for themselves from the media than actual dialog with our states leadership.
Hamas is Gazas leadership, they invaded Israel, kidnapped and killed innocent Israelis and other nationalities, and hold hostage Israelis and other nationalities civilians as well,(including Americans,) who were in Israel. What happened and what is happening there to innocent civilians from Israel and also in Gaza as a result of this terrorist governments actions is a terrible thing for innocent human beings.
There was a ceasefire, which Hamas violated. And yet the protestors say nothing about the actions of the Hamas terrorist government in Gaza that started this war, the innocent civilians harmed by their actions, and the breaking of the ceasefire from Hamas, and the stated goal of Hamas to eradicate Israel and its people, and their calls for targeting Jewish people across the world.
Shame on the protestors for calling for a ceasefire that does not take into account these actions by the Hamas government that makes a ceasefire impossible under these conditions.
The war can not end until Hamas and their supporters take responsibility for the actions of the terrorist government of Hamas, and acknowledge the right of Israel to exist, release all the hostages and the bodies of people they kidnapped and who were murdered or killed, and to productively and positively work towards a two state solution, where human beings on both sides are valued, appreciated and protected.
The more protestors ignore the facts, dont tell the full truth, and protest at events, the less people will want to listen to their legitimate complaints about the humanitarian crisis and the horrific civilian casualty numbers as a result of the war.

"Ill tell you something else. Nobodys going to listen to them unless they lead off with the fact that they acknowledge and condemn the brutal sadistic genocidal attack of Oct. 7"

What a facile thing for a leader to say.

No, in fact it's actually okay to limit yourself to protesting the mass murders that your government is actively funding. You don't have to preface your protest with acknowledging X, praising Y, saluting the flag, etc.

Can I tell you something? the governor responded. You cant tell us anything! a man responded from the back of the room.
Tells you all you need to know about these "protesters."

In an attempt to better understand enthusiastic pro-Palestine supporters, I've been reaching out on Facebook to some of my old college associates who are very openly outspoken in their support for Palestine with a set of hypothetical questions as follows.

Lamont is complicit in closing businesses and supporting vaccine and mask mandates. He never once questioned those rules even though they negatively affected state citizens.

He has little control over international relations though. Stupid protest

President Biden might, possibly, be able to prevent the number of Palestinian civilians killed in the war from growing dramatically higher. While I support Governor Lamont, his views and statements on the war, plus a couple of bucks, will buy you a small coffee.

Who doesnt love a peace protestor?

But last I knew, governors were pretty far away from making foreign policy. Why not go after Senator Blumenthal or Senator Murphy instead?

What is going on in Gaza is horrible, and is passing any sense of proportionality in Israels response. Beyond hunting down every last Hamas fighter, there is no stated end game as the death and destruction continues. At what point does this war end? What will the future be like for the several million Palestinians, and is there any remaining hope of a two-state solution?

Would Andi agree to point a finger at yell at the elected leadership in Gaza to protest that "From The River to The Sea" is a plan for eliminating a group through genocide? And would Andi be surprised if the response from The Elected Leaders of Gaza be a bit harsher than being escorted to the hallway.

These protesters aren't too bright. A state governor cannot control foreign policy. Calling for a ceasefire is mere Unconstitutional virtue signaling. These students need an education. Sad. If they had heckled me and asked me to violate the Constitution, I might request they see a tutor. These are not the sharpest tools in the shed.

The comments regarding this protest seem to completely ignore the devastation in Gaza. The loss of life, the destruction of property, the lack of water, electricity and other infrastructure. It is as if the lives of 23,000+ Palestinian civilians are meaningless. It is as if we can just ignore that 70% of the civilian deaths are women and children. How can these children be part of Hamas? What is going on now is genocide. Israel has been bombing Gazans in a fishbowl, and the world has watched in horror. And yet it continues. I applaud those protesting this genocide. The US must stand against genocide, while still acting against Hamas. It is possible to do both.

It seems never to fail that the people who disagree with protesters or what they are protesting have advice (sometimes demands) on how they should protest. Of course, the anti-protest advice/demands are not about how the protesters engage in protest but about controlling people with whom they adamantly disagree.

Advising people with whom you disagree that they should (must) repeat your well-worn but fallacious mantra will not make you more amenable to their voices or causes. It will, however, allow you to control any conversation you have about their protest based on their humiliating submission to your will.

The narrative about the Israeli war that abjectly starts with "Oct 7, 2023," might as well begin a conversation about slavery with Nat Turner's revolt in Southhampton, VA, as if no motivating factors occurred before either incident.

If the lives of so many people were not destroyed in a war and willing American politicians were not supporting it, perhaps a quiet, calm, sit-down conversation would be appropriate. As the war and the deaths are ongoing with no end in sight, more direct, disruptive, and loud protests are necessary.

No one ever said the Peace Makers should be quiet or well-mannered. Clearly, the War Makers are not.

sadly, they're just wannabe ideologue disrupters, rather than bona fide protesters. they know, as does everyone else, their disruptions have little to do with Lamont, Israel, & Hamas. Safe to say had Lamont acquiesced and stated "I unequivocally call for a cease fire", the protest would not have ended, it would have gotten worse. fact. These non-taxpaying tik-tok watchers have no clue what they want, other than to disrupt everyday lives.

BLM protests were very useful and full of class . These protest demanding a ceasefire in Gaza are also very useful and full of class. People need to understand what the protesters are fighting for what they are demanding and usually only if people disagree with what these protesters are fighting for and what theyre demanding then they will view these protest as classless and useless. Black people in the US have been dealing with direct racism and prejudice for many many decades and police brutality for many years and brutality in hate crimes etc. Black people being mistreated and at times killed just for being Black is more than enough reason for BLM protesters to demand change. Now with Gaza Israel is knowingly slaughtering innocent unarmed civilians and destroying homes, schools, hospitals, mosque, businesses etc all with the purpose of genocide. Hamas only did what they did on October 7th out of frustration with the Israel occupying Gaza and killing Palestians and this had been going on for 75 years . 75 years of occupation aggressive violent occupation at that . Hamas just like BLM formed out of frustration of oppression , racism and prejudice that so often resulted in people ,Palestinians in Gaza and Black people in the U.S losing their lives and being treated as if their lives dont matter. Killing innocent people is wrong but when comparing the numbers Palestinians lost their lives in a greater number than Israeli people . Both innocent Israeli civilians and Palestinian civilians who were killed deserved live their lives . Look at the numbers .

I know that Israel doesnt look like Gaza right now.I know that innocent civilians in a Israel arent starving like people in Gaza right now. I know that Israel didnt have their electricity shut off or water holes filled with cement like Gaza did. Ok.

Good Afternoon all, I didn't have time or wanted to read all the comments, but I really would like to know from the people protesting, WHAT CAN THE GOVERNOR DO ABOUT THE WAR THERE? Really, do they think that he's going to tell them, STOP FIGHTING AND THEY'LL LISTEN? In my eyes,( and I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt it) protesting about something that's happening on the other side of the world, in which we have NO CONTROL OVER IT, is just A BIG WASTE OF TIME, because it will accomplish NOTHING other than getting yourself arrested. So if you (the people protesting) really, want to help them, send food supplies and medicine to those that needed over there. It had to be said.

"You can't tell us anything!" they yell, proud not to allow a dissenting view to be heard. God forbid they learn something, they're already certain.

I am a liberal Democrat but the "socialist" Left is just as pro-censorship and anti-free speech as are the crazy Trumpers.

Please stop screaming free speech to defend riotous behavior. Refer to Brandenburg vs. Ohio, read it, read what the interpretation is and maybe understand that there are limits to where and when and how. Your ignorance of your own Constitution and it's interpretation is staggering. While there is no right or wrong to your opinion and you have every right to express it, you do not have a right to interfere with someone else's. Remember, next time you may be on the other end of it.
I wish everyone on all sides peace and happiness.

@Mark Twains Revenge I only compared the two in response to One City Dumps statement where he said that these protest are useless and classless just like the BLM ones .In no way am I saying that Black people in the U.S are experiencing the same situations as the people in Gaza right now but Im some ways some things have been similar for example how the People in Gaza live in apartheid like conditions similar to the segregation in the south . The Palestinians are treated as though their lives dont matter and the Ive been following instagram very closely and I seen much more than what the U.S news like CNN would show and tell Ive seen up close experiences of the people of Gaza and follow a lot of the press in Gaza who are doing their best to show the world the truth .I can say that there are similarities and differences in the experiences of the people of Gaza and Black people in the U.S but the biggest difference is that the Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing a genocide a war against innocent civilians killing thousands and though this has been going on for 75 years it has never been on this level thousands of innocent civilians have died and thousands injured and displaced .

Many years ago, when the U.S.A. became aware that Cuba, by way of the then-USSR, had nuclear missiles, we referred to this situation as an existential threat to our country. This was a threat so serious as to raise the question of the safety and even the existence of our way of life. This threat was met head-on with a strong declaration of force against Cuba/USSR to pull back or suffer the consequences. The world would have changed dramatically and forever had the USSR not removed its missiles. Israel is in a somewhat similar situation, knowing quite well that Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran (not the Palestinian people) poses an existential threat to its people/country. One huge difference, unlike Cuba/USSR, Hamas/Iran did launch its "missiles" on 10/07, and Israel declared war. There can be no "peace" until Hamas is neutralized militarily and politically.

I have been involved in protest movements on and off for the past 63 years. I picketed Woolworths in Greensboro North Carolina in 1960 when African-American college students were not allowed to sit at their all-white lunch counters; I was almost thrown out of college for a sit-in protesting the Vietnam War; I was thrown in jail for integrating a swimming pool in Memphis, Tennessee in 1965. But I would never even think of disrupting Governor Lamont's talk that had nothing to do with the horrendous Israel-Gaza conflict.

Such a protest accomplishes nothing and only evokes hostility towards those people who have justifiable concerns about what is transpiring in the Middle East. The devastation in Gaza is horrific, but was brought on by a terrorist attack led by Hamas against innocent civilians in Israel. Hamas is a terrorist at organization bent on the destruction of Israel, and although they claim to represent the Palestinian people, they most certainly do not. I support a cease-fire in Gaza, accompanied by the release of all hostages and a two-state solution to the conflict. Heather C has commented extensively on this event and expresses my point of view, so I will not repeat those comments at this point. But I say to the protesters, there are far better and more constructive and appropriate ways to express your opposition to a policy that you oppose.