The former New York Times Middle East bureau chief was speaking to a protest at Princeton University on Thursday when campus police came to lead him away.
Hedges sent the following statement to Consortium News:
“Princeton University, like most universities around the country, is wildly overreacting from its surveillance of student activists to its rush to criminalize the most tepid forms of dissent. This will only fuel the fires of protest. These universities are frightened, not ultimately by the students, but by the clear moral issues these students raise that expose the moral bankruptcy and complicity in mass murder by all of our leading institutions. What these institutions and those who run them have failed to realize is that there is nothing they can do now. They have been exposed for who and what they are.”
Hedges being led away. pic.twitter.com/XSozBcXau6
— Jesse Bunch (@JesseBunch_) April 25, 2024
Chris Hedges at Princeton University on Thursday. (Jesse Bunch/from Twitter/X)
Don’t vote for Trump, Democrats tell us. He’s shown us who and what he is. Believe him. Now that the Biden administration has shown us who and what they are, is it clear who we should be voting for in the upcoming election?
Anybody but Trump and Biden, that’s for sure. Make your own choice out of the many third-party candidates who are principled against war (I would count Jill Stein and whomever the Libertarians nominate) or stay home and feel good that you aren’t playing their game.
Thank to Princeton, for showing us exactly who they and what they stand for.
No equivocation and glib talk. They have fallen in line with the empire.
This news of squashing free speech of Such a distinguished American literally hurts my heart. Set this adjacent to the new bill just passed allowing us to spy on one another and the President (as the recipient of the largest donation by AIPAC )proclaiming his indefatigable support including providing bombs, bullets, drones and AI to a settler colonial state, Israel, intent on crushing an entire people – clearly the synthesized power of the corporation as University and the obscene wealth and influence of a foreign entity via its American representatives/donors are intent on nullifying basic rights of the citizenry. Given our Bill of Rights, how is Princeton’s President not abusing her position as head of an academic institution with its inherent mission to educate and foster free speech necessary to that mission? And as fundamental, is a government – that can criminalize us for assembling together for the civic benefit and remove us from the civic public square for what we peacefully think, say, discuss, share, dialogue – a government we choose for ourselves and children? Princeton and the other Ivy League schools is the pool from which many if not most of the country’s top leadership come from. Given Princeton’s President’s decisions, can we not see the tendencies not of responsible leadership, but of authoritarianism?
The United States of America is fascist.
The preceding statement is not news. The United States has been fascist since its inception. Take a close look at the country’s history from the native genocide to the theft of the sovereign kingdom of Hawaii at gun point, it’s official 20th century antisemitism, to the political elites’ admiration for Hitler and its post war absorption of Nazi war criminals into its institutions, and of course African slavery.
Fascist fascist fascist.
That’s basically it. Far-right, authoritarian, imperialist, violent thugs.
The Ethnic Cleansing of Hawai’i continues as we speak: more Polynesian indigenous people in the islands are forced to leave because the haole oligarchy from the US has bought up the stolen land and bid up the prices to obscene levels. More native Hawaiians live off-island, than in their homeland. (Las Vegas is now called “the ninth island”). Marc Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Marc Benioff and many more have bought up thousands of acres. These folks are also right-wing Zionist imperialists, no coincidence I guess.
Time to replace the word ‘United’ in United States with a more appropriate word because united it is not – regardless of whether it applies to the states themselves or the population.
Every time I write ‘United’ in United States” I give it a lower case value to show they are NOT united! ( uSA )
The Zionists know they are losing, only fearful losers act as they do.
NOTHING FOR
AMERICA’S POOR
$27 BILLION
MORE
FOR ISRAEL’S WAR
Protesting in solidarity, for the legitimate human rights of non-Jewish Arab Palestinians is NOT Judeophobia, despite the web the ultra-nationalist, fascist Zionists are attempting to spin throughout US university systems, as a catch-all deflection for continuing its long ongoing atrocities committed, in brazen defiance against a world which still respects the values of internationally recognized law.
The main ingredient missing from the recipe for laws’ systemic resuscitation is the yeast of reality – recognizing the conscienceless people with whom we are dealing, and in order to save humanity we must begin to play by their dirty rules.
Yet that will leave us as sick as they are!
Doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results, is what has brought us down to where we are today!
I don’t know about “Judeophobia”. Under any other circumstances, looking at what is going on now in Gaza, on the West Bank, on US college campuses and in Germany, and seeing the very clear connection between all of it, one’s entirely reasonable reaction would be to say, “Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.”
Why is there such an overwhelming fear of the global Jewish population, which in real numbers accounts for less than 0.2% of the total global population (15.5 million as opposed to 8 billion).
I hope I’m not misinterpreting your comment!
Perhaps I’m not “seeing the very clear connection between all of it” as clearly as you are.
A disgrace to the human race! The UK Royal Family, The right honorable Gentlemen in Westminster, Israel, Biden & his White House! You can view them on rows 2 through to 7!
hxxps://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Banksy%20House%20of%20Commons%20Painting&form=RESTAB&first=1
Looks as if the Zionists now are in charge of ‘law and order’ all over the Anglo/Saxon world.
It’s been that way for decades: and not just Zionists. Zionists are just a part of the imperial project of “global hegemony”. Plebs are not allowed to protest on important matters like US foreign policy.
Recall that live ammo was used against Kent State protesters in 1970 and killed 4 and wounded 9 unarmed young people. These were not armed thugs, or criminals – they were college students. The police always act in the interests of the ruling class/oligarchy against the will of the people- that’s why violent coercion is so often used. The war against SE Asia had nothing to do with Zionism, for example.
“The war against SE Asia had nothing to do with Zionism.” Unless one notes how heavily invested Zionists were, and are, in the manufacture of weapons.
Chris Hedges is a rare voice of wisdom, truth and reason in a sea of government propaganda and lies. The students clearly wish to hear him speak so it’s imperative that his voice is heard, especially during this time of turmoil. What has happened to free speech and democracy and why would an “educational” institution do this? They have exposed themselves as mere businesses and nothing more.
Agree completely.
Outrageous!
The Zionists and their apologists and supporters are outed!! There is no going back; once evil is seen it cannot be unseen. The whole machinery in the US is as terrified of this as the Zionists are, and with good reason. I hope the students can do what no one else has been able to do about this horrific chapter in human history.
Chris Hedges is one of the most eloquent, well-informed, and humane journalists in the English language.
To interrupt his speech is an obscenity. Princeton is not a university: it has descended into totalitarianism.
The policies of the federal government since WWII have exposed its total failure as a democracy.
The rest of the world has seen the complete hypocrisy, selfishness, and tyranny that now control the U.S.
The Founders did not protect the government from economic power; such amendments were never made.
All branches of the federal government are controlled by political party racketeers seeking only bribes.
The mass media are controlled by money power, and say only what it pleases, as Hedges found at NYT.
The Zionists claim as always that they are hiding in fear, but the demonstrations caused no serious injuries, and the minor injuries reported were of demonstrators, or policemen attacking demonstrators. More lies.
The Zionists claim that the story starts when they were last attacked, not when they began the attacks.
The Zionists deny everything in their history of primitive tribalist tyranny against the Palestinians.
They are trained to claim that they are survivors of the Nazi death camps, of whom no survivors remain.
The Zionists claim that we must all give them all they covet, or be accused of genocide against Jews.
They make the absurd claim of land rights there due to an empire 4000 years ago, although everyone’s ancestors migrated through the Middle East since our origins in E Africa over a million years ago, so there have been thousands of empires there: every branch of humanity has the same claim.
The tragedy of Zionism is that they followed the Nazi model of elevating aggressive tyrants in self defense.
Well said. You are correct.
If you think this horrible censorship is bad now, wait until you read the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Plan for America when Trump is elected. They plan to destroy this country (whatever good may be left) in the first 180 days. All federal bureaus, gone. All federal employees fired unless they want Plan 2025 to be carried out. No free press. All families Christian, husbands heads of households consisting of a mother and father, transgendering forbidden, no rights for gays, etc. of any kind. Private equities running everything…social security, mail, unemployment. It’s truly Hitlerian. Chris will have lots to say on this, but he and the other great reporters will be shut down and we won’t be allowed to sponsor them because our money will be controlled by the government. Princeton is a symbol of the military/police state.
Chris Hedges: “What these institutions and those who run them have failed to realize is that there is nothing they can do now. They have been exposed for who and what they are.”
Clear and definite assessment, from the arrogance of Netanyahu’s lecturing America on how to behave to Biden’s confused lackey behavior–exposed, yes, ridiculous. We’re in for a season of increasing turmoil through this paucity of choice we now have for November.
Today is so reminiscent of the Vietnam years. Will Chicago 2024 be a replay of Chicago 1968? The protestors were right then and they are right now. To what avail?
I well remember 1968. I was 20 years old at the time, and had already been teargassed for protesting against the Vietnam war.
Maybe we passed on some teargas flooded street. Mine were in San Francisco and the Bay Area more generally. Hello!
There can no longer be any dispute that the US led West is a fascist empire. It must be our first priority to dismantle it before it kills us all.
What needs to be dismantled is the capitalist empire whose ends justify the means of fascism. It is capitalism and nationalism that will be the end of us all if the global working class doesn’t educate itself to it immense power to eradicate both for a socialism of human need. Either we choose the latter, or we accept the barbarism of the former.
Shame on you Princeton! Chris Hedges is the best and deserves to be heard…
Mr. Hedges has given many speeches, written many essays, reports, op-eds and analysis on ethnic cleansing, genocide, injustice and repression, but non of it as effective as the speech which he is not permitted to give.
Yanis Varoufakis in Germany, now Mr. Hedges in America, with Julian Assange in prison, there is the sick sensation that the next step is public executions.
The Empire has no clothes.
But they are still trying to sell them to the public. Fewer are buying, however.
Things are truly being exposed in this country as they truly are. Zionists have always wielded enormous, enormous power and influence in academia, Hollywood, law, finance, and of course the news media.
What we’re witnessing now is unprecedented and has the potential to effectuate serious geo-political change. There ain’t no puttin’ this genie back in the bottle! A state beholden to a foreign leader has show just how debased it can be in manhandling its own young college student fellow countrymen.
The Zionists are terrified over these massive, magnificent and burgeoning campus protests.
Netanyahu actually just gave an address to the Israeli people saying that these protests are akin to what went on at anti-Semitic German colleges in the 1930s. The guy is off the wall paranoid and unhinged.
We all must make common cause with these protests. Regardless if some of them are a bit kooky; regardless of what race, religion or ethnicity they happen to be; regardless of whether they consider themselves socialists, right-wingers, communists, libertarians, etc.
Solidarity Now.
No anti-Israel movement has ever been this big in this country, the country that foots virtually the entire bill for that arrogant, racist, sadistic, creepy land-grabbing artificial state.
History happens fast.
The pro-Israel zealots are frightened out of their skulls right now — keep up the pressure.
Palestine Legal is representing Columbia students who are suing the university administration. We can support them at: palestinelegal.org/donate