Welcome to Adulthood
You're legally an adult. You can vote. You can serve in the military. You can be prosecuted as an adult. Your decisions have real consequences now—not "call your parents" consequences, but "permanent record" and "federal charges" consequences.
College is supposed to expand your mind, teach you to think critically, expose you to new ideas. But let's be brutally honest: Some of your professors will try to indoctrinate you instead of educate you. Your job is to know the difference and push back when necessary.
Professors Are Just Human—Question Them
⚠️ The Uncomfortable Truth About Academia
Most professors are brilliant, dedicated educators who genuinely want to help you learn. But some—more than you'd think—are ideologues who see teaching as an opportunity to recruit you to their political tribe.
They're not monsters. They're human beings with biases, blind spots, and agendas. Just like everyone else. The difference is they have a captive audience and the power to grade your work.
It's Not Only OK to Disagree—It's Your Responsibility
Here's what you need to understand: A PhD doesn't make someone right. Tenure doesn't grant immunity from bias. Publishing papers doesn't mean someone's worldview is the only valid one.
How to Respectfully Challenge a Professor
DO:
- Come prepared with evidence. "I disagree" isn't enough. "According to this study/expert/data..." is.
- Use respectful language. "I see it differently" not "You're wrong."
- Ask questions. "How do you reconcile that with [counterexample]?" forces them to defend their position.
- Cite diverse sources. Show you've done your research beyond their assigned readings.
- Stay calm. Emotion undermines your argument. Logic and evidence win debates.
- Document everything. If you think you're being graded unfairly for your views, keep records.
DON'T:
- Attack them personally. "You're a [political label]" ends the conversation and makes you look immature.
- Refuse to engage. Checking out because you disagree means you waste your tuition money.
- Assume bad faith. Many professors genuinely believe what they teach. Disagreement doesn't equal malice.
- Be afraid of your grade. Yes, some professors are petty. But most respect well-argued positions even when they disagree.
If a professor retaliates against you for respectfully disagreeing—penalizes you academically for your views, not your work quality—you have recourse. Document it. Talk to the department chair. File a formal complaint. Don't suffer in silence.
Red Flags: When Professors Cross the Line
🚩 They present opinion as fact
Example: "Capitalism is inherently exploitative" or "All regulation is government overreach"
What to do: Ask for evidence. Present counterarguments. Request that they distinguish between scholarly consensus and personal opinion.
🚩 They mock or dismiss opposing views without engaging them
Example: "Only idiots believe [conservative/liberal position]" or eye-rolling at certain viewpoints
What to do: Point out that dismissing arguments isn't the same as refuting them. Ask them to steel-man the opposing position.
🚩 They assign one-sided readings
Example: All readings support one political perspective with no counterarguments presented
What to do: Find and read opposing viewpoints on your own. Cite them in your papers. Ask why alternative perspectives weren't included.
🚩 They punish intellectual dissent
Example: Lowering grades on well-argued papers that disagree with their views, excluding students who challenge them
What to do: Document everything. Save all graded work. If there's a pattern, report to department leadership or dean's office.
Understanding Law Enforcement: ICE and Police
Let's talk about something that might be unpopular on your campus: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and police officers are not the enemy. They're people doing difficult jobs that society needs done.
Why ICE Exists and What They Actually Do
What ICE does:
- Enforces immigration law — Laws passed by Congress, signed by presidents (both parties), upheld by courts
- Removes people who entered illegally — Every sovereign nation controls its borders; this isn't controversial anywhere else
- Deports criminals — Including violent offenders, drug traffickers, and gang members
- Combats human trafficking — Rescuing victims of sex trafficking and forced labor
- Investigates smuggling operations — Criminal organizations that exploit vulnerable people
Who ICE agents are:
- Many are themselves immigrants or children of immigrants
- They didn't write the laws—they enforce them
- They're doing a job most Americans don't want to do
- They see the worst consequences of illegal immigration: trafficking victims, drug overdoses, gang violence
💡 Critical Point
You can disagree with immigration policy without demonizing ICE agents. Want more pathways to citizenship? More refugees admitted? Better treatment of asylum seekers? Great—advocate for changing the laws. Vote for representatives who share your views. But attacking the people enforcing current law is shooting the messenger.
If you think ICE shouldn't exist, you're essentially arguing America shouldn't have borders. Name one other country on Earth that doesn't control who enters. We'll wait.
Why Police Do What They Do
What police actually do (that you probably don't think about):
- Respond to domestic violence — Often the most dangerous calls they get
- Deal with mental health crises — Because mental health services are underfunded
- Investigate crimes — Rape, murder, robbery, child abuse
- Testify in court — Helping prosecutors get justice for victims
- Patrol dangerous neighborhoods — The ones where crime is highest, where residents most need protection
- Make split-second life-or-death decisions — With imperfect information, while scared, with everyone second-guessing afterward
Yes, there are bad cops. Yes, the system needs reform. Yes, accountability matters. But painting all police as racist killers is not only wrong—it's dangerous.
When you chant "Defund the police," do you know who suffers most? Poor communities. Minority communities. The places that need law enforcement protection the most. Crime doesn't disappear when police do—it just goes unpunished.
Peaceful Protest vs. Fighting Law Officers
Your Rights—And Your Responsibilities
You have a constitutional right to peaceful protest. To assemble. To speak out against government policies. These rights are sacred, and generations of Americans fought and died to protect them.
But rights come with responsibilities. And crossing certain lines transforms you from protester to criminal.
What Peaceful Protest Looks Like
✓ Protected Activities
- Marching with signs — As long as you're not blocking emergency vehicles or access to buildings
- Chanting, singing, making noise — Free speech protection
- Handing out flyers — Political speech is the most protected kind
- Organized sit-ins — Even if you're arrested, it's civil disobedience with accepted consequences
- Boycotts and economic pressure — Voting with your wallet is protected
- Social media campaigns — Organizing, sharing information, raising awareness
These methods work. Civil Rights Movement. Women's suffrage. LGBT rights. Labor movement. Change happens through sustained, peaceful pressure—not violence.
What Crosses the Line—And Why You Should Never Do It
⚠️ Actions That Will Ruin Your Life
✗ Attacking or Fighting Police Officers
Why it's a terrible idea:
- You will lose. They're trained, equipped, and legally authorized to use force.
- You will be arrested. Assault on a federal officer = federal felony (up to 20 years).
- You will have a criminal record. Kiss your degree, career prospects, and freedom goodbye.
- You might get hurt or killed. Police are authorized to defend themselves.
- You destroy your cause's moral authority. Violence delegitimizes everything you claim to stand for.
The officer you're attacking is someone's parent, spouse, child. They're doing their job. Even if you think that job is unjust, violence is never the answer.
✗ Destruction of Property
What people do: Smash windows, burn buildings, loot stores, vandalize monuments
Why it's wrong:
- You're not hurting "the system"—you're hurting innocent business owners and community members
- Property destruction = felony charges (arson, vandalism, rioting)
- Insurance doesn't cover everything; businesses close, jobs disappear
- You give ammunition to your opponents ("Look at these violent thugs")
✗ Blocking Highways/Emergency Routes
The fantasy: "We'll shut down the city to get attention!"
The reality:
- Ambulances can't get to hospitals—people die
- Working people can't get to their jobs—they lose pay
- Parents can't pick up their kids
- You alienate the very people you need to persuade
- Criminal charges for obstruction, reckless endangerment
✗ Attacking Federal Buildings
Examples: Portland federal courthouse attacks, attempts to set ICE facilities on fire, breaching Capitol on January 6
Consequences:
- Federal felonies with mandatory minimum sentences
- FBI investigation (they WILL find you)
- Decades in federal prison
- No political leanings save you—left or right, federal prosecutors don't care
Real Consequences—No One's Bailing You Out
This is where we need to be blunt: You're an adult now. Adult crimes come with adult consequences. And unlike when you were a minor, these consequences can destroy your entire life.
⚖️ Criminal Consequences
If you assault a police officer or federal agent:
- Federal charges: 18 U.S.C. § 111 — Up to 20 years in federal prison
- State charges: Varies, but typically 2-15 years
- If you use a weapon: Enhanced charges, longer sentences
- If officer is injured: Aggravated assault, longer sentences
If you participate in a riot:
- Federal riot charges: Up to 5 years (18 U.S.C. § 2101)
- Property damage: Restitution (you pay for everything you broke)
- Arson: 5-20 years, depending on severity
- Conspiracy charges: If you planned it with others
If you throw objects at police:
- Assault with a deadly weapon: Bricks, frozen water bottles, Molotov cocktails = deadly weapons
- 2-10 years depending on jurisdiction and what you threw
Federal prison is not like county jail. It's not like what you see on TV. You will serve at least 85% of your sentence with no early release. Your college years will be spent in a cell, not a dorm.
🎓 Academic Consequences
- Expelled from university — Most schools have codes of conduct prohibiting criminal activity
- Lose scholarships and financial aid — Federal aid especially with felony drug charges or violence
- Can't transfer credits — Other schools won't accept you with a violent criminal record
- Student loans still due — You took out $50K? Still owe it, even without a degree
- No graduate school — Law school, med school, MBA programs all run background checks
You spent years working toward your degree. Tens of thousands in tuition. All gone in one moment of rage.
💼 Career Consequences
A felony record means:
- Can't work for government — Federal, state, or local (there go thousands of jobs)
- Can't work in finance — Banks, investment firms require clean records
- Can't work in healthcare — Nursing, pharmacy, therapy all require licenses you won't get
- Can't work in education — Schools don't hire convicted violent offenders
- Can't get security clearance — Eliminates defense, intelligence, many tech jobs
- Most employers do background checks — Your application goes in the trash
- Can't get professional licenses — Law, medicine, engineering, accounting, real estate
That degree you're working toward? Worthless if you can't use it because you have a violent felony on your record.
🏠 Life Consequences
- Can't rent an apartment — Landlords run background checks
- Can't buy a house — Mortgage companies deny felons
- Can't get loans — Car loans, personal loans, credit cards with decent rates
- Can't own firearms — Lifetime ban for violent felons
- Can't vote — Many states, at least while in prison/parole
- Can't travel internationally — Many countries won't admit convicted felons
- Child custody issues — Courts consider criminal history in custody decisions
Every major life milestone—getting a job, renting an apartment, buying a home, starting a family—becomes exponentially harder with a felony record. For the rest of your life.
The FBI Will Find You
Think you can get away with it? Think again.
- Facial recognition — They'll ID you from protest footage
- Cell phone data — Your phone was there; they know
- Social media — You or your friends posted. They screen-shotted.
- Credit card transactions — That Uber to the protest? Tracked.
- Tips from others — Someone will rat you out for leniency on their own charges
The FBI has unlimited resources and decades to find you. You have what? A bandana and the naivete to think you'll get away with assaulting federal officers?
They found people who participated in the Capitol riot a year later. They'll find you too.
Your Choice: Build or Destroy
You're at a crossroads. You can:
✓ Be Effective
Use your education to make real change. Become a lawyer who defends civil rights. A journalist who exposes injustice. A policy analyst who develops solutions. A community organizer who builds coalitions. A teacher who inspires the next generation. A business leader who creates opportunities.
Or you can throw a brick and spend 5 years in prison. Your choice.
✗ Be Destructive
Attack police. Burn buildings. Block highways. Get arrested. Get expelled. Get a felony record. Lose your degree, your career prospects, your future.
Accomplish nothing except ruining your own life. Because let's be clear: your actions won't change policy. They'll just destroy you.
The Bottom Line
Your campus might romanticize "resistance." Your professors might praise "direct action." Your peers might call you a hero for "fighting back."
But when you're arrested? When you're charged with a federal felony? When you're standing in front of a judge who doesn't care about your political beliefs?
Those professors won't be there. Those peers won't bail you out. That praise evaporates. And you're left with a destroyed future because you mistook violence for activism.
Final Words: Think Long-Term
You're in college to prepare for your future. To build skills. To develop your mind. To become someone who can make a real difference in the world.
Don't throw that away for a moment of rage. Don't let anyone—professor, activist, peer—convince you that violence is justified or that "the revolution" requires breaking laws.
You Have More Power Than You Think
Real change comes from:
- Education — Understanding problems deeply enough to solve them
- Organizing — Building coalitions, not burning bridges
- Voting — It actually matters; local elections especially
- Running for office — Be the change instead of demanding others do it
- Innovation — Creating solutions, not just identifying problems
- Patience — Real change takes time; instant gratification is for children
You want to change the world? Get your degree. Build your skills. Develop expertise. Earn credibility. Then use that platform to make change that lasts.
Don't Waste Your Education
You have an incredible opportunity. Don't throw it away for a moment of rage that you'll regret for the rest of your life.
Think critically. Question authority—respectfully. Stand up for what you believe—peacefully. And build a future you'll be proud of.