Op-ed by Summer Lane
Division and infighting have never been so prevalent in America today. Battle lines over seemingly innocuous issues have been drawn: What is a woman? Should abortion be banned or codified? Should Americans send more aid to Ukraine? Should men be allowed to compete in women’s sports?
These are the questions that pervasively dominate mainstream media headlines, and in the past few weeks, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have garnered national attention for setting up encampments on college campuses and universities in places like Columbia University and UCLA, further stoking the flames of division.
Some demonstrators have been caught engaging in antisemitic behavior, as in the case of Columbia University (New York), where masked protestors called Jews “pigs” and “Zionists.” On Wednesday night, police began dismantling the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA (California), and online footage of the aftermath showcased mounds of tents, garbage, clothing, food, and cardboard signs.
See the aftermath here:
These widespread demonstrations have been linked to murky dark money organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace, Open Society Foundation, and IfNotNow. JVP and OSF are associated with George Soros and IfNotNow is linked to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, for example.
President Trump even suggested this week in an interview with Fox News that many of the demonstrators were likely “paid” or “professional” protestors.
Per RSBN, he said, “I really think you have a lot of paid agitators, professional agitators in here too, and I see it all over. And you know, when you see the signs and they’re all identical, that means they’re being paid by a source.”
Amidst the chaos and media fervor surrounding the pro-Palestinian movement, a group of fraternity boys on campus at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill captured the hearts of Americans everywhere this week when they took quick action to ensure that the American flag on their campus was protected. They formed a protective perimeter around the flag as the pro-Palestinian mob attempted to tear it down.
Photos of the moment flooded the internet, when the frat boys coalesced around the flagpole, holding Old Glory off the ground, while protestors screamed and threw objects at them. They did not budge, and the video of that singular moment has since gone viral.
Per NewsNation, Phi Kappa Phi fraternity member Brendan Rosenblum explained, “All of us felt that America, and the American flag — and for me, the Israeli flag — represent what we believe in. And we weren’t going to let anyone stop us from keeping those two things up.”
Following what happened at UNC, another fraternity member, Guillermo Estrada, posited his comments on what happened, and how he helped protect the flag this week.
He wrote on X, “My fraternity brother and others ran over to hold it up, in order for it not to touch the ground. People began throwing water bottles at us, rocks, sticks, calling us profane names. We stood for an hour defending the flag so many fight to protect.”
He explained that his parents “started a new life in the United States, a country that has helped them flourish and raise two kids.”
Estrada added, “I will not stand for the disrespect these ‘protestors’ cause for the sake of another country.”
Fraternity member Alex Jones further stated on X that he and his frat brothers were “humbled” to receive messages of support from around the nation. He noted that his action to protect the flag was not about “taking a stance” about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Rather, “…my decision yesterday to protect the flag of the United States was not about any other nation. It was simply about the importance of our country and the values we believe in. I believe in the right to free speech and peaceful protest.”
He continued:
“I am honored to give back to the nation that has given me and my family countless opportunities. I owe everything to the hard work of my parents and this great nation, and I am proud to be among those who stood up for it yesterday. I am proud to be an American.”
According to The Post Millennial, Daniel Stompel, a member of Phi Kappa Phi who also helped protect the flag at Chapel Hill, explained, “I was like, ‘I’d die for this flag,’ and everybody was like, ‘yeah, if they get any closer we’re gonna start throwing hands. They’re gonna have to tear me off this flag by my dead body.'”
Humorously, but also in a show of support for the bravery of the young Phi Kappa Phi men who stood in unison to protect their flag, a GoFundMe has been set up to “throw em’ a rager” in North Carolina.
So far, nearly $500,000 has been raised. A note from John Noonan, the listed organizer of the event, read:
“Commie losers across the country have invaded college campuses to make dumb demands of weak University Administrators. But amidst the chaos, the screaming, the anti-semitism, the hatred of faith and flag, stood a platoon of American heroes. Armored in Vineyard Vines and Patagonia, fueled by Zyn and White Claws, these triumphant Brohemians protected Old Glory from the unwashed Marxist horde — laughing at their shrieks and wails and shielding the Stars & Stripes from Soviet missiles. These boys… no, men, of the UNC Chapel Hill Pi Kappa Phi, gave the best to America and now they deserve the best. Help us raise funds to throw this frat the party they deserve, a party worth of the boat-shoed Broleteriat who did their country proud.”
The fraternity brothers who took a stand to protect the American flag have inspired the country with their simple but strong acts of patriotism. They did not make a brash or overbearing political statement. Instead, they simply stood firmly to protect a flag that represents the core of American freedom. In doing so, they have revealed a glimmer of blazing hope for the future of the country in a young and upcoming generation.