#delegitimization

Holocaust inversion, universalization, and denial fall under the delegitimization wing of the 3D model.

Comparing the (absolutely horrific) war in Gaza to the Holocaust is also a blood libel, which falls under demonization.

Removed from Seattle Center February 2025.

A favorite tool of the delegitimizers has been the co-opted and corrupted United Nations, used as an ostensible authoritative source to constantly put to question Israel’s right to exist. Consider, for example, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ infamous New York Times opinion piece, in which he argued for “Palestine’s” admission to the U.N. as a way to “pave the way for the internationalization of the conflict as a legal matter, not only a political one.” (Don’t worry, though – the Palestinian Authority still believes in and incentivizes violence.)

The new U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) is the latest and arguably most dangerous iteration of this strategy, which is why Israel has correctly decided to refuse to cooperate with it. With an expansive and unparalleled mandate – obviously intended to engage in historical revisionism, label Israel a unique evil and absurdly accuse it of all manner of atrocities – the COI is, in the words of Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Meirav Eilon Shahar, “an effort to delegitimize and even criminalize [Israel’s] very existence.”

The purpose of delegitimization is perfectly clear. Even as Arab regimes and the Soviets manipulated and corrupted the U.N. into efforts such as declaring that Zionism was a form of racism, they were also waging military campaigns to wipe Israel off the map.

These are some delegitimizing stickers we've torn down in recent weeks. If you see a sticker like this, please tear it the fuck down. Carry a pocket knife to peel things off walls, or just a paint pen or sharpie to cover them up.

• Left: "Free Palestine, No Peace on Stolen Land," delegitimization and blood libel. (We've taken down dozens of these all over the city.)

• Middle: "Dykes for Divestment" delegitimization (and batshit self destructive cognitive dissonance ). Cal Anderson Park, March 2025

Our resident Zionist dykes - a married couple we'll call Cookie and Cream - said, "don't those idiots know that Hamas would throw them from the roof of a building?"

• "Free Palestine" with Palestinian flag and fists raised outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The October 7 Massacre was called "Al-Aqsa flood" by Hamas and other terror groups. Seattle Center, May 2025.

Don't let this garbage stand. Tear it the fuck down.

By: Peter Boghossian

Published: Sep 16, 2025

The Oxford Union

The Oxford Union is the most venerable, prestigious debate society in the world, with previous presidents including prime ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson. George Abaraonye, the Oxford student president-elect of the Oxford Union, is poised to fill those shoes. Abaraonye recently commented on the murder of Charlie Kirk, posting to Instagram: “Charlie Kirk got shot loool.”

It is difficult to imagine such heartless depravity. Indeed, even thinking in such a way is a monstrous departure from every norm of human decency. And to imagine that Abaraonye is poised to lead the Oxford Union would, in years past, be unthinkable. But we are in 2025 and Abaraonye is of African descent, making disciplinary actions more difficult due to accusations of racism.

In response to Abaraonye’s despicable post and his subsequently advocating violence, the Oxford Union stated the president-elect will be disciplined for “inappropriate remarks.” He will, however, not be dismissed from his position.

This decision fills me with rage. And yet, it is the correct decision. Not because of any high-minded appeal to free speech, or my opposition to cancel culture, but because Abaraonye is a symbol of the derangement, ideological capture, and degeneracy of the entire university system. Debating in sweatpants and a t-shirt, and expressing glee at the murder of someone with whom he disagrees, Abaraonye is the figurehead that Oxford deserves and a perfect symbol for our university system writ large.

Claudine Gay, Harvard, and Plagiarism

I’ve argued for years that serial plagiarist Claudine Gay should have been kept in her position as the President of Harvard University. (Also, see my interview with Bruce Gilley.) Gay, who even plagiarized the acknowledgements in her dissertation, was found innocent of plagiarism even before the investigation.

Like Abaraonye, Gay was a conspicuous stain on the university and its integrity. She was also a perfect symbol of endemic corruption. And like Abaraonye, she is a public disgrace. And also like Abaraonye, she was the ideal person to head one of the world’s most prestigious universities.

Just as if Gay were to have remained as president, with Abaraonye leading the Oxford Union, Oxford delegitimizes itself. When Oxford is delegitimized, its influence wanes to the degree that it is delegitimized. And if we are to have any hope of saving Western society, we must stop the source of corruption at its source: The university system. Abaraonye is a useful tool to that end.

Burn the University System to the Ground

Interviewer: “You don’t really mean burn the entire university system down, do you?” Me: Yeah, I do. Burn it to the ground.

With the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the Overton window has moved. More and more people are aware of the grave and even existential dangers posed by our academies and what must be done about them. (To understand why universities are becoming cults, see here.)

For over a decade, I’ve been arguing that the university system is irredeemably corrupt. (For more, see my letter of resignation.) It cannot be saved. Academics who have jobs for life have manufactured entire bodies of literature that are not merely untethered from reality but overtly hostile to the building blocks of civil, functioning societies. Universities, and much of the madness they launder through the peer-reviewed system, are inimical to creating good citizens, forming sane public policies, and sustaining the traditions of the West.

Here's one thing you can do to combat the madness seeping out of the universities and infecting the entire society: Explicitly support beacons of corruption and degeneracy who lead morally bankrupt institutions. There are few better ways to delegitimize academic institutions than to help them delegitimize themselves. As the ancient saying goes, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” In other words, allow opponents to fully commit to their errors. Any attempt to intervene could potentially help them correct course and avoid negative consequences of their actions. In fact, keeping Abaraonye shows not that they’ve made a mistake in judgment, but that they cannot course correct. It will herald their downfall.

Fin

In one of the last texts I received from Charlie, he told me he was lending me his adamant support. Charlie was a devout Christian and was well aware that I am an atheist. He also knew that we have strong disagreements about a range of issues, and yet he was supportive. He was a fundamentally good, decent, noble, and honorable man. And so it was fitting that an honorable man lead an honorable institution.

So too is it fitting that a dishonorable man, a morally ill man, lead a corrupt institution. In fact, it should be no other way. The world must know that moral sickness is taught and supported in Western universities, and that course correction is not possible.

There’s a kind of beauty in retaining Abaraonye; a reciprocal perfection. A deranged, morally sick young man leading a morally deranged, ideologically beholden institution. It should be no other way.

--

Peter Boghossia: Demean dialogue for long enough, the only thing people have access to is violence. There's no other option. You either have a conversation about your problems or you start killing everybody or, you know, destroying stuff.

But these are the people who have not allowed conversation. So, of course, this is going to come back to bite them. That's the snake eating its own tail. That's these lines of literature when they're teaching these kids. The whole thing is an ideology mill. All of it. All of it. 100% of it.

Their primary function and their primary function of people who teach there is to discharge some deranged ideological mission. What we have is a situation that is dr-- that is literally teaching people that the foundations of western civil society are cancerous and poisonous and that thinking has metastasized throughout the system.

So my solution is burn the whole thing down. My solution is that we need to build new things. We need to build new institutions. So this I'm going to burn a tremendous number of bridges when I say this. I'm just going to tell you because I'm just is going to be blunt.

Dave Rubin: You're in a burning mood.

Boghossian: I'm-- I'm in a burning-- I've been in a burn mood for quite a while now.

Q: Obviously by saying burn them all down, we don't we're not actually talking about physically burning them down. What is it that you suggest we do?

Boghossian: If you have an entire set of institutions that actually teach people to hate other people and to be racist, anti-racism is racism, and to destroy the meritocracy and to destroy the whole civilization, it's not clear to me why it would be a bad thing if those institutions stopped functioning at a rudimentary level. And and I will fully admit right from the get-go-- was just at Dartmouth in a talk and someone said, rightly so, and I'll admit this from the get-go. Yeah, it takes time and money to build new institutions.

Until these universities and institutions get their together, people should not go there. They're teaching them things that are simply false.

Q: So you have no hope that this problem can be corrected, that these institutions can start becoming more worthwhile again?

Boghossian: It's-- no. So, not only do I have no hope, but if you want any kind of hope, you have to burn them down.

So, I don't think they're salvageable. Um, so you have bodies of literature that are corrupt. You have the raison d'etre of the institution which has been perverted. You have individuals who are ideologues who do not teach for truth. I mean, look, think about the struggle sessions, the DEI. The whole university architecture is predicated on this idea of finding and hunting down people who don't agree with the narrative particularly on race, gender, and things with an identity level salience. These are not the institutions that you and I went to. So I do not think it can be saved. I could unequivocally no.

Q: I mean I guess in so many ways you could have stayed there and said let me try to save it but you realized there's there is no saving to be done.

🇩🇪 Über die Delegitimierung des Staates

Der Verfassungsschutz hat sich dafür ausgesprochen, der Delegitimierung des Staates auf das Entschiedendste entgegenzutreten. Was meint er damit?

‘Nimm das Recht weg – was ist dann ein Staat noch anderes als eine große Räuberbande?!’ - äußerte der Kirchenlehrer Augustinus von Hippo im vierten Jahrhundert.

Dieses in vielerlei Zusammenhängen gerne genutzte Zitat sollte sich jeder Repräsentant des Staates als oberste Maxime zu eigen machen. Denn vor jeder Delegitimierung steht die Legitimierung. Und dieser Herausforderung haben ganz besonders die Spitzenpolitiker unseres Landes Rechnung zu tragen.

Lex says:

That’s definitely not an ideal situation. I feel like I’ve said this a bunch of times in my answers, but I’m a big proponent of formalizing situations like this where you’re not getting any traction, and trying to really get your parents to actively listen and respond to your concerns. I’ve had to call some “family meetings” with my parents to sit them down and really explain my situation and concerns about their delegitimization to them, and it really did help. They really just need to be open to really hearing you and not letting their prejudices cloud their judgement of your experience or your situation. Also it’s very important that you remain calm and collected in this, so they can’t accuse you of exaggerating or (for lack of a better word) being “hysterical.”  Make a list of your symptoms, and try to be as specific as possible. Also really talk about how the way they’re responding is hurting you, and let them know that whether or not they believe that you are seriously ill, this is really affecting you and you would like to see a professional (who is not one of them). Tell them they don’t have to come with you, and in fact it may be better if they don’t so they don’t influence your doctor’s decision-making with regards to your care.

Lex says:

It’s so frustrating to be delegitimized like that, especially from someone who you’d think would actually be able to relate. Sometimes people have trouble getting outside of their own daily struggles and experience to see that someone they care about may also be going through something they experienced. I’m a big fan of being open and honest, and I really think there’s a lot of power in sitting down and really telling people the impact of how they communicate with you, and how much stress this is causing you (which can trigger more pain and fatigue). Know that no matter what, being sick absolutely does not and will never make you a failure. Struggling to walk and feeling fatigued does mean that your life may be a little different than it was before, but that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. I feel like this “sick=failure” think comes from that just-world idea, where bad things only happen to bad people and therefore it’s your own fault that you’re sick, but that’s absolutely not the case, and struggling this way isn’t a failure on your part.