Employers Should Be Allowed to "Blacklist" Hamas Apologists
/There is an ongoing debate about whether it is appropriate to blacklist college-educated adults or whether we should offer them rehabilitation and redemption, so their careers aren’t completely destroyed.
Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy doesn’t think blacklisting is “productive.” He says, “Colleges are spaces for students to experiment with ideas & sometimes kids join clubs that endorse boneheadedly wrong ideas.”
Ramaswamy believes persuasion is the better method, but Megyn Kelly thinks if students need to be persuaded that murdering babies is wrong and we shouldn’t applaud their killers, they aren’t worth hiring.
Candace Owens, however, agreed with Ramaswamy and scolded Kelly. Owens herself used to be on the political Left and is “glad” she never made it on a conservative blacklist for being “radically pro-choice.” Owens also said she would “have been a disingenuous fool” if she advocated placing BLM activists on blacklists—despite black neighborhoods being burned down—because the college kids were brainwashed.
Now, before Owens made that post, I told my sister I wished there was a database for BLM. I didn’t want everyone who ever marched in a rally to make the list because many people genuinely thought the movement was about drawing attention to police brutality. Not everyone who used the hashtags and posted a black square in their profile is aware of the ideological goals or Marxist principles. But if you participated in looting, rioting, violence, arson, and even murder, I want you to not only be on a list; I want you to be in jail. And if you openly believed these tactics were justified resistance, I think it’s fair for employers to know. If you are a white retail store owner and a possible employee believes it is righteous to steal if you’ve been oppressed by systemic racism, I think they have a legitimate reason not to employ that person.
The college-educated adults in Harvard not only showed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza; they blamed the horrific acts of terror committed against the Israelis on the victims. “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” They said, “The apartheid regime is the only one to blame.”
Children were shot and burned alive. Families were gunned down in the streets. Women were raped so brutally that their pelvises were broken. Men were beheaded. Holocaust survivors and infants were kidnapped.
Even if you were “brainwashed” into a particular ideology and believe the Israelis are cruel colonizers on stolen land, to not hold Hamas responsible for their actions is evil, and evil is a choice—not merely a condition of a hardened heart.
The Harvard students are not merely stating that Hamas had their reasons for attacking Israel (and having reasons doesn’t equate to being justified). The Harvard students don’t believe Hamas should take any moral responsibility for their immoral actions. One of the worst things an employer must deal with is an employee who has no perception of accountability. It’s okay for people to make mistakes, but it’s detrimental to have employees who don’t take accountability and misassign blame.
Imagine if there was a mass lynching of black people and if Harvard students not only came together in support of the murderers but they blamed the deaths on the black community. Imagine if there was a mass raping of women and Harvard students blamed the atrocity on the women. Candace Owens and other hosts at the Daily Wire have been accused of harming the trans community. What if, God forbid, a radical activist committed an act of terror against their offices and Harvard students solely blamed the conservative organization rather than the terrorist who took lives?
This is not the same as a person posting a Trump meme online and the media chasing them down to ruin their life or digging into their text messages from five years ago to see if you can get them fired. This is not typical cancel culture. Employers—not mere trolls on the internet—are requesting the identities of these students. How can Ramaswamy, Owens, or anyone else argue they aren’t entitled to be informed about people they might integrate into their companies? If you make wise decisions and good accomplishments, those are considered when seeking a job. Why shouldn’t your moral lapse in judgments be considered as well?
Education and redemption are still possible, and that may be the route Candace Owens and Vivek Ramaswamy want to take, but employers should be afforded the option to forgive. It shouldn’t be hidden, especially after the students so proudly made a public declaration.
Donors have already begun pulling funding from these institutions, and Owens praised that. Perhaps the colleges will stop indoctrinating their students if it hurts their bottom line. But I worry it’s not enough. Another wealthy ideologue could always replace the missing checks, and that could incentivize more radical indoctrination to appease those donors. The best way to damage Harvard is to ruin its reputation, and the best way to scar the institution is to destroy the power behind the name. If being a Harvard graduate makes an employer sneer in disgust, it’s no longer a dream school. The point of going to college is to equip yourself with the skills, resources, and connections for a successful career. If attending Harvard is a blot of shame rather than a badge of honor, the institution certainly won’t be worth the price tag.
Blacklists exist and can be absolutely awful, and people can be unjustly placed on them for doing the right thing. Actors and actresses have lost their careers for not performing sexual favors. Politicians and activists have been ousted for not bending the knee to the big players in their party. Influence can be a terrible power to wield. But if there was ever a circumstance to deny someone employment, supporting genuine terrorists makes the cut.
Yes, young adults may make boneheaded ideas, but protecting them from consequences infantilizes them. Reality has to smack them in the face at some point. If it doesn’t, everyone else who encounters these individuals will suffer as they become more grounded in their unobstructed worldview. Harvard won’t be the one to put them back on the right path since they’ve assembled a task force to help them. Partially why there is such bad behavior when Riley Gaines, Michael Knowles, or other conservative commentators visit college campuses is because there is no discipline for unruly behavior. Discipline is not only about retribution or paying penance; it’s a deterrent against future bad behavior and a burden to signify the weight of the misdeed itself.
This was not merely a “boneheadedly wrong” idea. It was a choice to justify evil. So, while I appreciate repentance, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and redemption, I can’t fault employers—especially Jewish ones—for not wanting to hire Hamas sympathizers.
