The comment thread on yesterday's post about the NYU protests raised some interesting points. I think my favorite was NaG's:

Before anyone gets smug about the fact that these dolts are leftists, I found it quite common in college that students who were searching for a self-image were quick to go whole-hog nutso for whatever ideology had an initial surface attraction. Some kids that liked the individual rights aspect of libertarianism quickly became raving anarchists. Those that liked Tucker Carlson's bow-tie quickly became conservative clones. The leftists tend to stick out more because protests are part of their history, but there are weak-minded wackadoos in all parts of the spectrum. And again, it's what happens when immature kids are looking for an identity and there are no real consequences to acting like a fool.

  I also enjoyed this complaint about the protests from a pro-protest poster over at NYULocal on what the protesters did wrong:

The University made a calculating and highly intelligent decision on the first night that completely undermined the entire effort. By publicly announcing that they were allowing Take Back NYU to occupy that space and giving bathroom access, they created a public image that they were helping their students express themselves, therefore creating more sympathy for the very authorities Take Back NYU was protesting. There is no real effective way I can think of at the moment to counteract such a calculated PR move as this other than to try and protest again at a place in which the University is not as likely to accommodate you.

Yeah, when you're trying to create the impression that you're fighting oppression, there's nothing worse than people being nice to you.