Comment by grafmax
1 day ago
Thiel has explicitly advocated for the abolition of democracy and is funding contemporary efforts to do so. What privileges our students enjoy only exist because he hasn’t succeeded yet. You pose a false choice between authoritarian regimes. Claiming that Iranian protesters have it worse so we shouldn’t protect the free speech rights of our students is similarly disingenuous. It divides people using guilt around relative privilege rather than directing our efforts to solidarity in fighting the ruling class, of which Thiel is a part.
> free speech rights of our students
Based on the article, a foreigner is being denied entry to the US. Every country has the right to do this for whatever reason they see fit. Most countries don't allow foreigners to protest, see Egypt and the March to Gaza a few days ago...
Free speech is a human right not a right of citizens. You conflate several issues here under the notion of national rights: legitimate border concerns, deportation of students as retaliation of free speech (under your umbrella term foreign protest), increasing authoritarianism in the US (which this is clearly evidence of). Nor should we take cues from governments suppressing protests against genocide. Genocide is something all people and all countries should unite against. It is a crime against humanity.