1. El "Estado Mafioso": Centralización de Poder y Control.
Las publicaciones comparan repetidamente a la administración con una mafia, donde Trump actúa como un "Don" que distribuye dinero y poder. El objetivo, según los textos, es destruir la independencia de las universidades como centros de poder intelectual y político, centralizando el control bajo una sola figura.
- Trump is building a mafia state, in which the don distributes both money and power. Universities are independent centers of intellectual and, to some extent, political power. He is trying to destroy that independence.
- A mafia state is an absolutely centralized system in which one person, … the don, distributes money & power.
- “you could still, under mafia rule, get the trash picked up or buy construction materials. But the point of those industries had become the preservation and expansion of the mafia’s power and wealth. This is what trump is doing to the government.”.
- Companies and universities cow tow to trump. It’s as though we have a mafia don running the country.
2. Tácticas de Extorsión y "Shakedown".
Se describe un patrón de tácticas de extorsión. La frase "Nice university you got there. Shame if something happened to it" se cita con frecuencia para ilustrar la amenaza implícita. Las acciones incluyen la retención de miles de millones en fondos federales para investigación a instituciones como Harvard y Columbia, exigiéndoles pagos o cambios en sus políticas a cambio de la liberación de los fondos.
- Welcome to trump’s mafia state. “nice university you got there. Shame if something happened to it.”.
- This is another trump shakedown. Nice university ya got there it would be a shame to lose it. Mafia shit.
- The mafia makes money extorting protection payments of 5%-10% (or more) of legit businesses’ revenues, paid under trumped-up pretexts. Exactly what trump’s doing with universities: pay us 50m-221m-500m brown, columbia, harvard (because antisemitism) or we 86 your research grant billions.
- In other words, this administration is shaking down educational institutions for "protection money" like an old school mafia racket.
- Cancellation of 400 million in grants and contracts to columbia is classic mafia/gangster/racketeer tactics designed to clamp down on dissent in education.
3. Motivaciones y Llamados a la Resistencia.
Los textos argumentan que los pretextos utilizados, como las políticas de DEI (Diversidad, Equidad e Inclusión) y el antisemitismo, ocultan las verdaderas motivaciones: el anti-intelectualismo y la codicia. Ante esto, surgen numerosos llamados a las universidades para que se resistan, se unan, y actúen como instituciones de conocimiento en lugar de ceder a las demandas de un "jefe mafioso".
- “the pretexts that the administration is using [to attack universities] have to do with d.e.i. And antisemitism. The real reasons, i think, are anti-intellectualism and greed, and the fact that trump is building a mafia state.”.
- When you comply with the mafia they will always come back and demand more. The only way to fight fascism is to stand up to it and hit back as hard as you can.
- “spend your endowments. Accept more, not fewer students. Open up your campuses and expand your reach by bringing education to communities. Create a base. Become a movement. Or else grovel before a mafia boss.”.
- Harvard sues trump administration to stop the freeze of more than 2 billion in grants all of the universities trump has threatened should do what harvard is doing. He’s trying to act like a wannabe mafia boss, and it does no good to yield to his demands. He will be back with more.
- Columbia screwed all universities by setting a truly immoral precedent of paying off a mafia level threat. Hope the other universities are joining forces to sue trump.