Kudos to Cornell University’s president, Michael Kotlikoff, for refusing to let a bunch of entitled student protesters hold him hostage by blocking his car as they bullied him for not kowtowing to their cause.
Instead, he did what so many viewers of protest footage have silently urged drivers to do: maneuver his car away from the scene — and if one of his attackers suffered from it, that’s on them.
It all played out on Thursday, after Kotlikoff presided over a (peaceable) campus debate concerning Israel’s response to the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023: A pack of anti-Zionist loudmouths intercepted Kotlikoff on his way to his car, demanding he “dialog” with them then-and-there and insisting it was a free-speech violation to refuse.
The mob encircled his car, reportedly banging on the windows and hollering; Kotlikoff put the car in gear — whereupon one student leaned into the trunk and jeered, “Am I allowed to stand here?”
The back corner of the car nudged him slightly as Kotlikoff slowly pulled away; the kid claims the rear tire ran over his toe.
The activists predictably went nuts, claiming that their school’s president had tried to mow them down.
Please: Everyone’s seen such scenes play out across the country: Protesters sit in or otherwise obstruct traffic, posturing as if they’re simply exercising their constitutional rights.
These entitled radicals somehow believe any behavior is legally and morally acceptable if it’s done for the “right” reasons — and that their reasons are always right.
OK: You can’t plow into a crowd of protesters blocking the street with no regard for human life.
But obstructing someone’s movement against his or her will is unlawful imprisonment, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.
Constitutionally protected political speech and assembly covers a lot of ground, but it doesn’t extend to inhibiting anyone’s freedom of movement.
Yet prosecutors in left-leaning jurisdictions almost never charge the “right” protesters with riot or unlawful assembly, so the brats think think they’ll never face consequences to violating others’ rights.
The student gang had no right to block Kotlikoff’s car nor to implicitly threaten his well-being, no matter how passionate their feelings about Palestine or anything else.
America’s campuses need more leaders who refuse to give an inch to these self-righteous bullies.
