Lawyers frequently quote Carl Sandburg’s advice, “If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell.” Sandburg’s sentiments regarding those on the wrong side of the law and facts are sadly relevant in today’s political world. Despite the vast amount of attention paid to the anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic protests on social media and throughout the news, the views proclaimed by the protestors are not supported by most Americans. Social media, opinion columnists, and news reports distort public perception of the protests and the events in Israel for the loudest and most common, and repeated statements dominate the narrative regardless of their veracity, leading to misinformation and misunderstanding of reality. What that nation cannot forget here is that despite the appearance of so much support for pro-Palestinian rallies and the recent protests and encampments on college campuses nationwide, Americans do not accept this dangerous behavior.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) polled a nationally representative sample of Americans for their views on the recent protests on college campuses, and Americans are unequivocal: They oppose vandalism and building occupations, and support punishing students who participated in the pro-Palestinian encampments.

The data show that Americans support political expression and dissent, but believe that the encampments and related threatening behavior went too far. Roughly 86 percent of Americans, for instance, believe that students are welcome to create a petition. About 85 percent maintain that it is acceptable to hold up a sign while protesting. Public support for protesting vanished once students began occupying buildings and vandalizing school property. About 65 percent of Americans state that establishing encampments is “rarely” or “never acceptable.” Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) believe that occupying buildings is “rarely” or “never acceptable.” Roughly 88 percent of Americans maintain that defacing and destroying school property is not acceptable. The country supports student protestors until they turn violent.

In fact, the FIRE data reveals that Americans do not believe that the recent wave of encampments and protests were even an effective form of protest. Only eight percent of the respondents think that establishing encampments is either a very or extremely effective way of getting universities to stop investing in companies affiliated with Israel; 67 percent reported that such actions were either not at all effective or not too effective. Similarly, only eight percent of Americans think that occupying buildings is an effective means of shifting policy toward Israel, and just four percent feel that defacing school property is an effective form of action.

The protests on campuses across the country did little to change how Americans viewed the Palestinians in Gaza. The majority of respondents (63 percent) maintain that protests have had no impact on their sympathy for the Palestinians. Less than a fifth of respondents (17 percent) report that the protests created less sympathy for the Palestinians. Fewer respondents, 16 percent, state that the protests helped them “sympathize more with the Palestinians.”

Harvard has walked back many of the punishments for students who participated in encampments, which were a violation of school policy. New York DA Alvin Bragg dropped charges against many students who were involved in violence at Columbia. These actions are out of step with the views of the public. Americans believe that students who violated school policy and participated in the campus encampments should be held accountable. The punishments vary, however. About 31 percent stated that the students should be expelled or punished. Another 16 percent believed that students should be put on probation. Roughly 12 percent think that students should have a written reprimand in their records. Nearly 13 percent believe that students should be required to participate in community service. Only 23 percent of Americans believe that students should not be disciplined for their behavior.

While many college and university presidents are afraid to speak up and are pandering to illiberal forces, Dartmouth President Sian Beilock has shown clarity here noting that

. . . protests can be an important form of free speech. But there’s a difference between protest and then taking over a shared space for one ideology and excluding another. That is taking over someone else’s free speech. That is not at the heart of our academic mission.

The FIRE data shows that Americans approve of protesting—a First Amendment hallmark—but not of actions that violate school rules, damage property, and threaten and limit the expression of others. As we head into July 4th, we should take comfort in knowing that the loud, media-savvy professors and various political activist groups who regularly express solidarity for the encampments and demonstrations, along with the hate-filled protestors, do not have the backing of Americans.

The post Social Media Does Not Capture Americans’ True Views appeared first on American Enterprise Institute – AEI.