Gaza, police violence and the fight for the future
As members of the organizing team of the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development Special Interest Group on Futures we want to speak out against the violence Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 has allowed to be used against our students and staff.
In this moment, it is easy to feel hopeless. The world around us seems to burn, as authoritarian leaders and tech moguls hijack the future - going directly against human life and flourishing. Yet precisely now there is everything to fight for, and every reason to weigh our actions. The future is not predetermined. Instead, it emerges from the decisions, actions, and complicity of the present moment. It is a complicity we must all face. As we witness devastating violence in Gaza and authoritarian tendencies spreading globally we must recognize that every institution's response today is shaping which possible futures become reality. Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 is no different. It claims to be a protector of the rule of law and our democracy. Implicitly, it pledges resistance to authoritarianism. But when students exercise their voices against injustice, these same institutions permit police violence on their campuses. Authoritarianism doesn鈥檛 start from the top, it begins when wanton force is normalized, when leaders prioritise stability over justice and humanity.
The violence we witness in Gaza is not isolated from the violence permitted on university campuses when students speak out. It relies on similar mechanisms of unaccountability and compliance. It relies on deeming those who are undesirable different enough to ignore their humanity and suffering. It exists here where power chooses complicity over courage, where the maintenance of (our current social) order is prioritized over justice. When universities allow police to strike students who protest genocide, they are not maintaining neutrality; they are actively helping to shape a future where questioning power becomes increasingly dangerous. It breeds futures in which solidarity with the oppressed is met with force, where the spaces for critical thinking become sites of repression. In doing so, our universities are actively contributing to the future they claim to resist. This is unforgivable.
At the same time, the future is partially unwritten. What we do today matters. When we do choose courage over complicity, other paths emerge. And make no mistake, we are in a fight over our collective futures. There is no inevitability in authoritarianism, it can only exist by virtue of complicity, bolstered by numerous decisions, every day, by individuals and institutions. When we understand that the present moment is the future's foundation, we recognize the urgent responsibility to act. The university seems to rely on the premise that if we do not act in the present, the future will be like the present, or our recent past. It won't be. The world is changing. The question is how we deal with this. The students beaten by police are witnesses to our collective choice between futures. Will we inhabit a world where dissent is crushed, where solidarity is criminalized, where institutions abandon their moral responsibilities?
There is no neutral position when genocide unfolds. There is no neutral position when students are beaten for their conscience. Silence is a choice. Silence is not neutrality. The silent play their part; they choose complicity. They choose to cede to the future to authoritarian forces. It need not be so: the future should belong to those who refuse to be complicit, who understand that the seeds of tomorrow are planted in today's soil of action or inaction. The path forward requires us to hold institutions accountable not just for their stated values, but for how they embody those values when it matters most. Most importantly, it requires us to act with the understanding that we are not passive observers of an unfolding future, but we all have a role to play. Our future depends on our courage to fight for it today. We urgently ask Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 to stop the enabling of oppressive violence against its own students and staff, to take action on the ways it is complicit in supporting violence in Gaza, and to take its responsibility as a contributor to a better future for all.
For Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 colleagues seeking to support initiatives aiming to protect students and challenge the university鈥檚 position on Gaza, there are multiple signed letters to the university:
And follow the student encampment activity .
We were also inspired by the statements of other groups - the Contesting Governance Platform, and the Transforming Cities Community; and we encourage other such university groups and platforms to add their voices.
Undersigned, Abe Hendriks, Jeroen Oomen, Joost Vervoort
This statement has been issued by core team members of the Futures Special Interest Group and may not reflect the views of all of those participating in our community.