Throwing rocks is generally a bad thing.
A certain partisan student organization put up flyers recently which implied that my identity group, white Christianity, is inherently bad. Naturally, this was offensive. They were “throwing rocks.”
I really wanted to throw a rock back. I have chosen not to do so.
Rather, I’d like to bring back the memory of the Blackshirts, the paramilitary wing of the Italian Fascist Party. In 1919, the fascists felt that they were getting pelted with rocks by the Socialist Party, so they established the Blackshirts to throw rocks back.
As the fascists’ power grew, the once-small Blackshirt group became more and more powerful, until they eventually marched on Rome and overthrew the government. In the time between their establishment and the March on Rome, however, most of the Blackshirts’ everyday activities consisted of throwing rocks at local opponents of the fascists: using dog whistles against Jews and Roma people, indoctrinating the public, and harassing opposition leaders.
Swarthmore is an incredibly blue institution politically. Prior to Biden’s exit from the race, a Phoenix poll found that 81% of voting Swatties intended to vote for the Democratic ticket. I went to an event recently where a poll was issued as to who people were voting for, and over 90% said Kamala.
This year, a small group of students dared to speak out in favor of a different vote. Not even a vote for the opposition, but a third-party vote. In response, not one but two student organizations formed for what seems to be the sole purpose of throwing rocks at those students.
More concerning, a supposedly nonpartisan student organization has backed these rock throwers by liking the aforementioned controversial flyer on Instagram.
A democracy can only function when people are allowed to vote freely, without coercion. It is coercion when you scare people into voting by telling them whether they vote or not is public information. It is coercion when you tell people that you will shun them if they don’t vote for your candidate. It is coercion when you fear-monger on a dishonest basis. It is coercion when you throw rocks at everyone who disagrees with you and paint them with a false and negative narrative, even falsely accusing them of crimes.
Each one of us needs to reflect on our behavior and think before we act, lest we become Blackshirts. The health and safety of all our community depends on it.
In the words of Kamala Harris, “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for … I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not.”
