Fighting the JDL at CSUN

Finkelstein, California State University Northridge
from Hey, Hollywood

No Apology

First off, I want to say happy Darwin Day to everyone!

Second, I have the best story ever. Okay, so Norm Finkelstein came to talk in the CSUN library. He's this rad author who writes about the Middle East and war and all that. So I show up wearing a pretty dress, a peace sign T-shirt over it, and my keffiyeh to show support. Things go pretty calmly until three members of the Jewish-Defense League show up. Now, I have no problem with Jewish people as a whole (I'm part Ashkenazi Jew, by the way), but the JDL, geez, they are zionist trash. Literally, zionist trash. This one fat bitch sitting in the front row wouldn't shut up. So the audience gets annoyed and they move her to the back. Prof. Finkelstein keeps talking. Soon, she's shouting from the back calling Finkelstein a cretin, a holocaust denier, and whatever else. So I, being annoyed as hell, turn around, shout back at her, and tell her to shut up. She charges right at me and screams her head off. Out of nowhere, this man who's covered in Ron Paul '08 buttons stands in front of me. The trashy woman keeps yelling at me, telling me to hang myself with the keffiyeh around my neck (classic). I shout at her and tell her to leave if she's going to disrupt Prof. Finkelstein. She shouts somemore. Prof. Finkelstein signals at me to calm myself. More insanity. Soon, they have to sit her down because by now she's apsolutely nuts. Well, I felt pretty bad about shouting and I apologize to Prof. Finkelstein right afterwards. He shruggs it off and continutes. Later on in the presentation I'm getting worried that trash is going to come back and start harassing me some more. The Ron Paul supporter sees me and tells me that they're all gone. Thank God!

After the presentation was over I felt I had to go up to Prof. Finkelstein and apologize again for my actions. As I'm waiting in line a bunch of other audience members, including a journalism professor, shook my hand and started talking to me. I finally go up to Prof. Finkelstein and tell him I'm sorry for the outburst. He then touches me on the shoulder and tells me I shouldn't apologize at all. He said the only reason why he wanted me to calm down was because he's dealt with those types of people before and they're just asking for the presentation to turn into the WWE. He tells me he did the same thing when he was in college, and that I should never apologize for speaking out - ever. I felt so much better! I got a picture with him and I'll put it up on Facebook this afternoon. But wow, just being told by Norm Finkelstein that I should always stand up - that made my whole semester!

I can't wait to see how the Sundial is going to deal with this...

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