Another possible headline was “At Morehouse, Biden says dissent should be heard because democracy is ‘still the way’” or another “Biden tells Morehouse graduates that scenes in Gaza from the Israel-Hamas war break his heart, too”
Outside of the ceremony, a small number of protestors gathered while the commencement itself did not see any major disruptions.
Last week, Morehouse College President David Thomas said he would rather halt proceedings than have students escorted away for protesting.
“If my choice is 20 people being arrested on national TV on the Morehouse campus, taken away in zip ties during our commencement, before we would reach that point, I would conclude the ceremony,” he said on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
But, none of that happened – either halting the ceremony or tackling or pepper spraying any of the people who were draped in Palestinian flags or turning their chairs around.
DeAngelo Fletcher, Morehouse College’s valedictorian, closed his address to his classmates by addressing global conflict, particularly the Israel-Hamas war.
“For the first time in our lives, we’ve heard the global community sing one harmonious song that transcends language and culture,” he said. “It is my sense as a Morehouse Man, nay – as a human being – to call for an immediate and a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”
IDK how much more pro Palestinian than that he got, and it sorta sounds like “both sides.” But whatever. Anyway apparently Biden stood up and shook his hand after. Here’s the whole video; Biden’s part starts at around 1:43:30.
I don’t actually think it matters all that much what anybody says about Gaza; Biden stopping the weapons shipments, pushing for an immediate cease fire and humanitarian aid, and issuing an ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu would be a good start. I think mostly this commencement speech is notable in that, hey look, (1) there was protest and it was ok (2) you can make things sound way different depending on which aspects you present in the media coverage.
Good for them. They’re standing up for what they believe in, and I agree with them, and I definitely think that this type of thing has some impact on Biden’s policies. Although at this rate, all the Palestinians will be dead before he works his way slowly and gradually around to the idea that maybe he’ll have to do more than a sternly worded phone call with Netanyahu in order for the killing to stop.
You’ll note that, because Biden bears little resemblance to the monstrous authoritarian caricature you try several times a day to paint him as, he and the college (who I’m sure talked with him about this exact issue, beforehand) both made no effort to “crack down” on them, and in fact he explicitly called out their protest as a good thing, during his speech.
(My point wasn’t that the headline was a direct lie, but an example of engineering a single true fact by blowing it up and warping it to create a slanted picture of reality in the reader’s mind. That’s why I sent the full unedited video, as a way of contrasting it with a single event or a single picture taken from the perfect angle. I actually can’t visit X video links since Elon fucked things up, but if you want to send me some non-X videos I’m happy to take a look at those, too.)
I know it’s hard to comprehend that there’s people that aren’t Trumpers/Republican that don’t support genocide Joe, but there’s literally millions of us.
And with regards to the photo you claim was from NYP…
Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Trumpers/Republican that don’t support genocide Joe, but there’s literally millions of us.
Disregarding the stupid “gEnOciDe jOe” comment, do you have a source for millions of people willing to switch from voting for Joe Biden in 2020 to not voting for him in 2024?
There’s literally no candidates with a better track record on this than Biden, and any candidates that could have a better Palestine policy aren’t going to win.
I don’t think you’re a Trumper/Republican because you don’t support Genocide Joe. I think you’re a Trumper/Republican because the way you don’t support him doesn’t make any fucking sense. You criticize him for things he objectively didn’t do, and you offer no particular solutions that would seem to lead to a better outcome for those of us who live in the US and want it to do less killing here and abroad, and the only solution that you seem to offer – refusing to vote for him and offering an endless drumbeat of propaganda about him – has an excellent possibility of leading to a catastrophically worse outcome for everyone. Including Palestinians. And, you’re so vocal and consistent in criticizing him – and only him – for such a big variety of things real and imagined that it’s hard for me to take away any possible conclusion than that you’re trying to make sure he doesn’t get elected.
It’s possible that you’re simply a very confused leftist. IDK. But that’s my take on it. I note, also, that the story linked to also explicitly contradicts the headline, in terms of when students left (“walked out”) from the ceremony:
Several students walked out of the graduation ceremony while Biden was presented with an honorary degree following his speech, CNN reported.
So they stayed to listen to him speak, and then walked out in protest when he was done speaking? This is impossible, to me, to read as anything other than a deliberate propaganda construction built on people leaving to go to the bathroom or something. IDK, maybe I’m missing something.
Lessons in headline engineering
Another possible headline was “At Morehouse, Biden says dissent should be heard because democracy is ‘still the way’” or another “Biden tells Morehouse graduates that scenes in Gaza from the Israel-Hamas war break his heart, too”
But, none of that happened – either halting the ceremony or tackling or pepper spraying any of the people who were draped in Palestinian flags or turning their chairs around.
IDK how much more pro Palestinian than that he got, and it sorta sounds like “both sides.” But whatever. Anyway apparently Biden stood up and shook his hand after. Here’s the whole video; Biden’s part starts at around 1:43:30.
I don’t actually think it matters all that much what anybody says about Gaza; Biden stopping the weapons shipments, pushing for an immediate cease fire and humanitarian aid, and issuing an ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu would be a good start. I think mostly this commencement speech is notable in that, hey look, (1) there was protest and it was ok (2) you can make things sound way different depending on which aspects you present in the media coverage.
Did you not see the students that stood and turned their backs during Biden’s propaganda speech? What about what was going on outside?
https://x.com/fizapirani/status/1792255493500502221-
https://x.com/p00ja_pat/status/1792247871670043119
Good for them. They’re standing up for what they believe in, and I agree with them, and I definitely think that this type of thing has some impact on Biden’s policies. Although at this rate, all the Palestinians will be dead before he works his way slowly and gradually around to the idea that maybe he’ll have to do more than a sternly worded phone call with Netanyahu in order for the killing to stop.
You’ll note that, because Biden bears little resemblance to the monstrous authoritarian caricature you try several times a day to paint him as, he and the college (who I’m sure talked with him about this exact issue, beforehand) both made no effort to “crack down” on them, and in fact he explicitly called out their protest as a good thing, during his speech.
(My point wasn’t that the headline was a direct lie, but an example of engineering a single true fact by blowing it up and warping it to create a slanted picture of reality in the reader’s mind. That’s why I sent the full unedited video, as a way of contrasting it with a single event or a single picture taken from the perfect angle. I actually can’t visit X video links since Elon fucked things up, but if you want to send me some non-X videos I’m happy to take a look at those, too.)
I know it’s hard to comprehend that there’s people that aren’t Trumpers/Republican that don’t support genocide Joe, but there’s literally millions of us.
And with regards to the photo you claim was from NYP…
Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/19/biden-morehouse-college-commencement-speech
Disregarding the stupid “gEnOciDe jOe” comment, do you have a source for millions of people willing to switch from voting for Joe Biden in 2020 to not voting for him in 2024?
There’s literally no candidates with a better track record on this than Biden, and any candidates that could have a better Palestine policy aren’t going to win.
You’re a genocide denier now?
No, this very well could be a genocide, and the Biden admin needs to work to stop it as soon as possible, in a way that creates a lasting peace.
That doesn’t answer the question of who you think is possibly better for palestine and could win.
I will be one of the millions not voting for the butcher of Palestine. There’s no way that a liberal could spin that he’s the lesser evil.
I don’t think you’re a Trumper/Republican because you don’t support Genocide Joe. I think you’re a Trumper/Republican because the way you don’t support him doesn’t make any fucking sense. You criticize him for things he objectively didn’t do, and you offer no particular solutions that would seem to lead to a better outcome for those of us who live in the US and want it to do less killing here and abroad, and the only solution that you seem to offer – refusing to vote for him and offering an endless drumbeat of propaganda about him – has an excellent possibility of leading to a catastrophically worse outcome for everyone. Including Palestinians. And, you’re so vocal and consistent in criticizing him – and only him – for such a big variety of things real and imagined that it’s hard for me to take away any possible conclusion than that you’re trying to make sure he doesn’t get elected.
It’s possible that you’re simply a very confused leftist. IDK. But that’s my take on it. I note, also, that the story linked to also explicitly contradicts the headline, in terms of when students left (“walked out”) from the ceremony:
So they stayed to listen to him speak, and then walked out in protest when he was done speaking? This is impossible, to me, to read as anything other than a deliberate propaganda construction built on people leaving to go to the bathroom or something. IDK, maybe I’m missing something.