The Enduring Dehumanization of Dissent
Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian Columbia University student activist, recently recounted her "dehumanising" experience in ICE custody, including being chained to a hospital bed after a seizure. Her account, following her arrest during a protest against ongoing atrocities, paints a chilling picture of punitive detention. The state’s response to student activism, particularly when it challenges
established foreign policy narratives, appears to be increasingly harsh. This isn't a new phenomenon; it's a recycled tactic. In 1968, COINTELPRO systematically surveilled and disrupted anti-war and civil rights movements, employing tactics designed to discredit and incapacitate activists. Fast forward, and a 2003 ACLU report documented the 'harsh detention conditions and systematic abuse' faced
by post-9/11 arrestees, many held for minor immigration infractions or perceived political affiliations. The playbook remains consistent: label dissent as dangerous, then apply maximum physical and psychological pressure. One might wonder why the US, which routinely lectures other nations on human rights, so readily deploys such tactics against its own residents. The pattern extends to immigration
detention centers, where, according to a 2021 Human Rights Watch report, medical neglect and abuse are rampant. The specific targeting and severe conditions reported by Kordia, herself a Palestinian advocating for her people, underscore a double standard: protest against the Empire's foreign policy is met not with dialogue, but with the cold, hard reality of the carceral state. The message is