They are not persuasive. In fact, both are desperate, dishonest and predictable.

Defense #1 is, of course, “It isn’t what it is,” Rationalization #64 and the mantra of the 21st century Left when their delusions, plans, policies and plots blow up in their faces likeone of the Coyote’s bombs intended for the Road Runner. There’s nothing anti-Semitic about supporting Hamas after the October 7 terrorist attack on Israeli civilians! There’s no reason for Jewish students to feel threatened and unwelcome on their own campus when masked protesters wearing the garb of a group that has pledged to eliminate Israel march and chant “From the river to the sea..” And heck, that ditty is completely innocent, like “Mary had a little lamb…” It doesn’t necessary mean “we’re going to wipe you Jews off the map.” You know, just like “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon” was just epicurean commentary. Besides, calling out lies about Jews (there is and has been no genocide; there is no apartheid, and there is no such thing as a “disproportional response” when a neighboring region starts a war with a surprise attack on a nation’s citizens and children) and verbally threatening them is just free speech. After all, these aren’t “true threats”—it’s not like anyone would ever actually try to do anything harmful to someone just because they are Jewish. That’s never happened. These demonstrations are just like all those campus marches with students wearing hoods and sheets, chanting “Back to Africa!” and carrying burning…okay, okay, those haven’t happened. And they would be different.

Defense #2 is “Conservatives made them do it.”

I could devote this whole website to featuring and debunking the increasingly hysterical, wildly dishonest, furiously contrived arguments of progressive pundits as they feel the metaphorical walls closing in this year. It’s tempting: I’ve written about a few, but their efforts to somehow separate themselves and their fellow travelers from the outbreak of antisemitism on campuses while simultaneously avoiding the simple statement: “This is wrong” along with the more difficult “And we’re substantially responsible” should be self-indicting.

Defense #2 is the mission of Slate propagandist Justin Peters’ essay. Despite the title, “It Was a Trap: A time-honored tactic by right-wing agitators brought on the “crisis” on American campuses. Everyone fell for it—again,” and an introduction that literally takes up about 90% of his screed, Peters never really explains how it is that Rep. Stefanik and Christopher Rufo, among others, magically made thousands of students ally themselves with Jew-haters and chase Jewish students off campus while exposing multiple college presidents as spineless appeasers. Somehow, it’s still all those Republicans and conservatives who are at fault.

Is the article worth reading? I guess it is for the same reason the unhinged and fact-mangled essays by Deke Rivers like the one shared here by commenter Steve Witherspoon can be enlightening. You tell me: I continue to be shocked at how far Slate has fallen (I once subscribed) and how airily writers like Peters state things they have to know are untrue or deliberately misleading.

Here’s one excerpt from the end of the article; I will wrestle myself to the floor to avoid the temptation of fisking the whole thing. I especially like it because the Axis is constantly accusing the Right of spinning conspiracy theories:

It’s incredibly obvious—to me, at least—that pretty much all of the relevant parties here got rolled by the American right. On the hunt for footage and storylines that they can then inflate into broader narratives of chaos, intolerance, and disorder in a critical election year, the right spun campus protests over Gaza into congressional hearings on campus antisemitism, and trusted that everyone involved would respond so ineptly that they’d be able to exploit the whole thing for months.

And, mark my words, that is exactly what right-wing politicians and media outlets will do….

Those dastardly conservatives! Decades of turning universities into Marxist indoctrination factories equating the United States and whites with persecution and “colonialism” have resulted in students embracing anti-Semitism, terrorism and the false narrative that Israel oppresses Palestinians, and Republicans diabolically associate it with all the other flaming consequences of current leftist ideology—Black Lives Matter, illegal immigration, denigration of law enforcement, discrimination against white males, and more. It’s a plot!

Peters flags his own deceit and the ethical bankruptcy of his (and progressives’) position in three words: “protests over Gaza.” “Gaza” equals “Palestinians” equals “Hamas” equals “terrorism.” Protests “over” Gaza are endorsements of terrorism when directed at Israel and Jews. Conservatives, Republicans and Americans who possess functioning ethics alarms regard large numbers of college students taking part in “protests over Gaza” as strong evidence that the progressive movement has turned fanatical, poisonous and dangerous.

And it has.