There was a natural inclination, when colleagues and others at Cornell Law School twisted and distorted my words to try to isolate me and damage my reputation, to think it was about me.
Alinsky Rule 13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.
Once I went public with what was happening, and the isolation ended, it didn’t take long for me to realize that it’s not about me.
It’s about the dozens of students and many hundreds of others who have written to me, thanking me for speaking up because they can’t. And it’s for the millions of others who have followed these events on TV, radio, social media, and websites, and for whom the fear of a career-ending false accusation of racism is too great, so they are bullied into silence.
A consistent theme is that they are grateful for the people who are able to give voice to what so many are thinking, but can’t say out loud given the current political climate. I was shocked by the outpouring. Yes, I expected support in the comment section from readers, but nothing approaching the groundswell that occurred. Something is happening below the media radar.
This evolution in my thinking was captured in an email from a Combat Tactics Instructor Pilot, accompanied by the iconic image from Tiananmen Square. He heard about what what happening and sent his email of support, followed up with this note:
Heard you on Ben Shapiro’s show last night, and was so hurt and angry by your shared experience; a little voice inside me told me I had to write you, encourage you. The words wrote themselves as I started to type. It was like I wasn’t doing the typing.Only today did I realize you are “THAT” William Jacobson, “That” Legal Insurrection. I listen to Mark Levin (my hero) when driving home from work. Mark Levin has mentioned you a few times in the past. Didn’t make the connection until today, I simply thought you were a fellow Instructor; being attacked and on the ropes, and hoped to encourage you.
Here is his email to me (personally identifying information removed).
Don’t cave to them.
You are not alone.
You can make a profound difference.
Sir,
When you are in Combat; far from the target; there is rarely a shot fired against you.
When you are (Air Force term ) “on the Run In, to the OA” (Objective Area) that is when you know you are in the right area… SAM shots, AAA gunfire…everything the Adversary has, comes at you. Not solely to destroy, but often, simply attempt to distract you off target.
Distraction can lead to mission failure, as much as Destruction.
But, you are a warrior, you have trained your whole life for this moment, and you are on the Run In.
You are on the Run In, and you have Top Cover. People, Prayers, Angels, the Earth itself is a witness to your Courage. You will not die 1000 deaths; you will taste of death but once. The Top Cover overhead are like F15 Strike Eagles. You can’t see them, can’t hear them at 45,000ft; but the Eagles are there, and they will “Cry ‘Havok’ and loose the Dogs of War;” not now, but at the right time. To defeat the adversary when their tools, at their disposal, are the most effective. Not on your desires, not on your timing; but on moment when they know their weapons are the most effective; to protect you. ‘For the weapons of our warfare are divinely powered, for the destruction of fortresses.’
The spines of thousands are being strengthened, by hearing of your fight.
You are NOT ALONE.
Before tonight, I never heard of you. If you had equivocated prior to this point, you would have still been destroyed by the people who want you to pander to them; and you would have dissolved into obscurity.
But, you fought for righteousness. The rule of law, the Constitution and Bill of Rights. For the Ethos of Dr Martin L King, … you fight for Content of Character.
You stood, seemingly alone, in the breach.
But you are not alone. We are with you.
I am with you – Fangs Out and Full Speed, I am coming; and with you even now.
Bow, kneel, grovel… you will dissolve into obscurity.
Make them seemingly kill you; and the eggs and smears and brutality they throw at you, will be a mantle of Honor you wear into eternity.
Use their leaders and their words to defeat them. Fight like Sun Tzu, fight with asymmetric warfare; expose the rot they expound, with Frédéric Bastiat – the Law…. show their decayed ideas and words are NOT NEW: decaying and failing for the last 200 years; and being renamed, rehashed and repacked: Orwellian; Gestapo; Tribal and Animal Farm-brutal.
You stand, seemingly alone, in the breach. But you are not alone.
I am with you – Fangs Out and Full Speed. Dropping my external tanks; so I can gain extra speed, extra maneuverability; unguarding the Weapons Release switches. I am coming, a Warrior Poet, with an army of angels and prayers. Reaching Mach1, and the turbine blades in my engines glow cherry red, while the Tach gauge red-lines at 103%
I am coming. I am the prayers of strangers. I am the Almighty; who sees all and judges the Heart.
I put Daniel’s heart in the scales, to see if he would kneel to images of gold; but he chose lions; and therefore I was with him. I put David’s heart in the scales; to see if he would kneel to a giant. Three small stones. Smooth and round. Symmetric, and elegant in their simplicity. The sword was too heavy, the armor too clumsy. David fought his fight, he won because he fought on his terms and didn’t fight the way the others wanted him to: friends and foe alike. I was with him. Three smooth stones. He didn’t kneel; so I was with him. I Am with you.
…and I’m with you as well.
Fangs Out and Full Speed,
LtCol X.
Combat Tactics Instructor Pilot; and your friend.
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