I have previously written about the “radical chic” in higher education of faculty members who espouse extremist views in departments purged of conservative, libertarian, or moderate voices. While it is virtually impossible to get departments to seriously consider a mainstream conservative or libertarian, schools like Princeton eagerly hire professors such as Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, who recently delighted a Chicago audience with an unhinged rant against the United States and the concept of a nation-state.
Bill Ayers and Princeton’s Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor appeared at a July 4th event and denounced the country and its anniversary.
Taylor thrilled the crowd by recounting her disgust that a woman gave her child an American flag at the airport. She credited herself by not instantly burning it, but went on to denounce the country and credited the audience for its “F**k the U.S.” attitude.
Notably, Taylor suggested that only fools rally behind the flag or the notion of a nation-state. She clearly believes not just in open borders but rejects the very concept of borders. She repeatedly declared that “borders kill” and suggested that patriotic people are simply dupes.
Bill Ayers is a former professor and one of the founders of the domestic terrorist organization, the Weather Underground. His wife, Bernardine Dohrn, was also a member of the group, and both were fugitives for several years. Dohrn is also a professor who has taught at Northwestern University School of Law.
Taylor is a Professor in the Department of African-American Studies at Princeton University. She writes for the New Yorker.
In the Chicago event, Taylor called on others to reject “the idea of loving a nation state, which is what patriotism is.” She repeatedly returned to the theme that borders are “deadly” and “borders kill people.” She explained that we have to erase any borders because they are “a tool of death and destruction.”
Furthermore, she emphasized that the very concept of a nation-state should be the “object of political struggle.”
This reflects the level of intellectual rigor in departments like the one at Princeton. Her writings have been honored by the Marguerite Casey Foundation and Group Health Foundation, the Organization of American Historians, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (which gave her a fellowship).
On one level, the erasure of borders could be viewed as the “withering away of the state” espoused by Friedrich Engels and later by Vladimir Lenin. However, it reads more like the jargonistic narrative common in higher education, where radicals espouse such views without serious challenge from their colleagues.
Even European states that once allowed expanded undocumented migration are now struggling to reverse course due to the high social and security costs. However, academics such as Taylor tell students that we can eradicate any nation-states and live without borders. While most people would expect such views to be espoused by raving lunatics on the subway, Princeton made her a chair professor as the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies.
Her writings are celebrated for her combination of socialism and identity politics. The gushing articles even include praise for her use of emojis. (“All those cry-laughing yellow orbs betrayed a critic with a sense of humor.”).
Few colleagues or critics feel comfortable noting that views like the eradication of the nation-state or erasure of borders are little more than unsupported, jargon-saturated tripe. There is no effort to push her on what happens to an economy without borders where the country (or whatever will replace the nation-state) is responsible for supporting millions of immigrants.
When you hear young socialists in the Mamdani Administration (including Mamdani himself) speaking of “seizing the means of production,” it is the result of college classes taught by figures like Taylor, who offer little more than shallow sound bites and slogans. They have been told that socialism is a successful economic model despite its utter failure historically. It is a fable told by the uninformed to the unquestioning: unicorn economics, eagerly embraced like a bedtime story.
The alternative is what I have called the “liberty-enhancing economy” that the Framers embraced. The combination of political and economic freedom made this republic the greatest engine of prosperity and human rights in history. That does not mean that we do not have difficult economic and social problems. However, the suggestion that we should embrace socialism and erase borders is properly viewed as perfectly bonkers … outside of higher education.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
That is what makes the US such a great country. You can be an idiot and trash the country that helped you succeed. Try that in other countries and see how it works out. Like North Korea or China. Even the UK, France or Spain. It just proves the people trashing the US are total idiots.
No new wars:
Iran is an Air Weapons Range.
Such as?
You supported Trump for his promise of no new wars.
Trump has started a new war.
You still support him.
This is irrational.
He never promised no new wars. No candidate ever would. What if America was attacked? You’re ridiculous.
He promised no new forever wars. He has not broken that promise. You are a moron.
What war? The US has not been in a war since WW2. Yes some police actions, military operations and strategic bombing, but those by definition are not wars.
Tell that to the families of 58,150 dead young men…
A war is a war no matter what you call it, kind of like a woman.
How many us soldiers died at the Kabul airport as the US left Afghanistan under Biden ?
Less than half of that have died crushing Iran.
Half a dozen deaths – almost the number that die during the same period in the military during peace is not a war.
OT, the Nazi-tattooed alleged rapist and serial sexter-to-underage-girls-while-on-his-honeymoon, who was nominated by the Democrat Party to run against Senator Collins, is now refusing to drop out unless he gets to name the replacement. Break out the popcorn, this is gonna be entertaining!
If Chuck ‘the Shoe’ Schumer and the DSCC want him gone and to name his replacement .. . well, I’ve heard that song and dance before.
*they say ‘timing’ is everything in politics
Bernie’s gonna have to find another butt-boy.
Trump will fix it? What has Trump ever fixed?
Every g.d. mess made by Biden.
The southern border, the economy, inflation, the price of gas, millions of illegal immigrants – some of them criminals, some massive government waste, investment in the US, Real Jobs for real americans, a better relationship with Venezeula, the early stages of peace in Gaza, the very early stages of likely a lasting peace in the mideast.
Adn on and on
What is DOGE doing about the Reflecting Pool disaster?
That would not be DOGE’s job – but the FBI and DOJ are prosecuting the antifa members who damaged it.
My boomer boss always said, ‘That’s Biden for you,’ to EVERYTHING. Well, we had to stop ordering a few food items because of Trump’s tariffs, and I said, ‘That’s Trump for you!!’ And he hasn’t said anything else since 😂
Next Friday when you get your paycheck, look how much more you can keep….that’s Trump for ya!
You have never “had to” do anything – you chose to.
Thus far I have not seen any consequential cost to Tarriffs – I buy a fair amount from China – prices are DOWN.
But lets say that was not true and that Tarriffs had some real cost to ordinary people – Trump has substantially increased the amount of income that the poor working and middle classes do not have to pay tax on – I think we can afford a tiny bit for Tarriffs.
didn’t happen, you never left your mom’s basement and she’s your only boss.
a nice quiet border? That’s Trump for ya
criminal illegals caught? That’s Trump for ya
taxes lower? That’s Trump for ya
patriotism higher? That’s Trump for ya
leftys losing it? That’s Trump for ya
So that guy with the concealer, lifts, and a girdle is your alpha male, huh?
You cannot say that Biden did ‘nothing’ if Trump keeps repealing/undoing Biden-era legislation. So I say, ‘For a president who supposedly did nothing, Trump is undoing a LOT of that ‘nothing.’
Biden did not do “nothing” – he $hat all over the place – he nearly hit double digit inflation – the US has not seen that since Carter.
and thank Trump for it, the autopen, our first mechanized president, just did horrible things, nothing good for America. Name one?
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It has to be fought for and defended by each generation.” If you wanted to prove up that Ronald Reagan was right, you could introduce Ms. Taylor’s comments into evidence, rest you case and sit down.
It’s great how Trump has normalized men wearing makeup.
That was glam rock.
Nazism was about freedom, too…the freedom to oppress and exterminate Jews.
You’re talking about Graham Planter? Ilhan Omar? Zorhan Mamdani?
He’s talking about World War Eleven.
If you support a pedophile, then you support pedophilia.
^ Referring to Joe Biden ^
Darren, EGREGIOUS VIOLATION OF THE CIVILITY RULE BY IMPUDENT IMPERTINENCE HERE. BAN FOR LIFE!!!
F**k the USA! Yah, who needs all those social welfare programs anyway?
. . . delighted a Chicago audience with an unhinged rant against the United States . . .
Stands to reason. A few days ago the good citizens of Chicago became anxious when they thought they heard fireworks celebrating the 4th of July. They were able to relax, however, when the police announced that, no, those were just gunshots.
“These noises are nothing to be alarmed about,” said Police Chief Larry Snelling. “Chicagoans can rest easy that we have not seen any illegal fireworks, and the loud ‘bangs’ that residents are hearing are nothing but gunfire.
https://babylonbee.com/news/chicago-police-assure-residents-those-loud-popping-noises-are-just-gunshots
Taylor sounds like a rigorous well studied academic???? Um Just kidding.
A socialist arguing against the concept of a nation state is either suffering from cognitive dissonance or just being deceitful to a gullible audience. Socialism, like communism, capitalism, and monarchy defines the economic and political character of the nation state. Capitalism is economic freedom. Socialism and communism economic servitude which is why they are favored by authoritarians. In reality, I would guess that she is advocating for the dissolution of our capitalist democratic republic nation state to replace it with her preferred authoritarian socialist or communist state. Those that advocate for socialism or communism assume that will be part of the ruling class. Most belatedly learn they were just useful idiots.
And ‘vote blue no matter who’ folks are still mindlessly pulling the trigger on it. How are the rest of us supposed to take this seriously anymore? Seriously.
I agree. The ‘vote blue no matter who’ crowd is why we’re in this peck of Trump pickles.
The real question is why would ranting “F**K the USA” delight the Chicago Crowd!?
*I could understand the Chicago Crowd ranting about F**k Trump, F**k ICE, or even F**k Biden .. . plenty of that going around.
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Bill Ayers are guilty of treason “in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”
They must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and penalized proportionately.
Our freedom, enshrined in our constitution, requires that these marxist be allowed to prattle on. It doesn’t require that we believe their rubbish or even listen to it.
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Bill Ayers are guilty of treason “in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”
They must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and penalized proportionately.
While I agree that Taylor and Ayers are low-life agitators and enemies of the US, I doubt that the legal system or any jury is prepared to address a mental virus pandemic case with any degree of effectiveness.
There’s no criminal law against being stupid and expressing hatred for American while living here. 1A protects people’s right to express stupidity and hate. Better that way than in the U.K. where the government determines which social media comments are criminal based on not being aligned with the official government narrative.
Yes. That is essentially what I said.
The crime is that they are irrefutably adhering to and giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
And just as took place under Lincoln’s arbitrary suspension of habeas corpus, they may be detained until they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law…whenever that may be.