NC State ROTC Building Vandalized
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James Joyner | Thursday, April 27, 2006 |
Michelle Malkin is blogging on another attack on a campus ROTC program, this time at the unlikely venue of North Carolina State University.
From the Raleigh News and Observer:
Vandals staged attacks early Wednesday on the buildings used by the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill, echoing similar assaults on three Triangle recruiting stations last month. As before, vandals sprayed anti-war slogans and profanity, splashed red paint and claimed responsibility with a mass e-mail message to area media outlets.
Lt. Col. Carol Ann Redfield of the Army ROTC program at N.C. State was caught off guard. “This is the first time I know of that anything like this has happened here,” she said. “I certainly appreciate that people have different opinions, and they should be able to express them, but I have a problem when they damage property.”
The e-mail, from someone calling himself “celest ialbeing” said, “Stop these recruitment centers that target poor people and people of color to fight to maintain the power structure that (literally and figuratively) imprisons us daily.” The vandals sprayed slogans at the base of an entrance to Reynolds Coliseum, which holds the Department of Military Science, and tossed paint onto an ROTC sign above the entrance.
Lovely. Malkin and Blackfive have more photos. Sister Toldya has a roundup of other campus lunacies.
The bizarre thing, aside from the fact that the building is not a recruitment center, that ROTC overwhelmingly draws white students from above-average income families, and is entirely voluntary–thus rendering the entire rationale of vandalizing the building moot–is that these people think they are helping their cause by criminal activity. Indeed, this is terrrorism.
Furthermore, the ROTC, and the military in general, is not the proper target for these grievances, real or perceived. We live in a representative Republic. The president and Congress decide public policy and the military and other bureaucracies carry it out.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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This bit of vandalisim is "terrorisim"?
What an insult to the memory of those who lost thier lives on 9/11 that statment is. Take a valium dude...
"the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological."
One could argue that vandalizing property with attempt to scare off people is intimidation rather than "violence." Still, this amounts to low level terrorism.
Everything doesn't have to rise to 9/11 levels to earn the label.
I gather the red stuff is what's left of the predators after the ROTC-built IED went off.
Then by this standard, the rebub nazis who tried to breach the doors of the voting precinct when the 200o recounts were going on and scared the officials badly enough for them to discontinue the count were a subtantially higher level of terrorists.
Then by this standard, the rebub nazis...
Dang it, once again I was unable to finish reading one of Roger's comments.
This is going WAAAY too far now, say I, as the daughter, granddaughter, and niece of veterans of this century's wars. Certainly you can dislike this war, but I particularly hate that red paint. What asses!
I agree the vandals are asses. McGehee, do you need new glasses, perhaps?
I am a hell of a lot more scared of the Bush admins assult on the constitution then I am of a few stupid kids with paint.
Just my opinion.
Nothing new to see here. Just more spitting in the faces of those that secure our free speech, in the name of "free speech".
No surprise that Anjin and to a lesser extent Roger, don't seem terribly bothered by the incredible stupidity it took to commit this act.
McGehee,
Too bad you couldn't finish reading Roger's comment.
He really calls it out.
LJD, I'm not quite as bothered by this as interfering with the voting process on which our democracy is based, not to mention a Pres that lies to the American people to justify an illegal war of aggression, etc.
Yes, this vandalism seems assinine, but I don't think they "spit in the face" of anyone who secures our freedoms. The target was probably the neocons and Bush.
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