It was not my intention to turn this into another discussion about the current war, so I'm gonna refrain from commenting on the points you made about it other than to say yes, neither side is blameless and yes, inflammatory rhetoric is not exclusive to either.

Rather, as I poorly tried to explain, reflections upon my elderly state led me to realize the parallels between the seemingly mindless protests today and those of my youth. It boggles the mind that students would march in support of a regime that would probably throw them in prison if it didn't just shoot them. Like the meme says, Gays for Palestine is like chickens for KFC. But the same was true in my day, particularly with revolutionary heroes Fidel and Che, who were not known for their tolerance for protestors, feminists, or gays.

But then, the 60s youth were not as unique as we liked to believe. The post-World War I university students in both England and America had their own infatuation with communism in response to what they saw as a corrupt war about economic power. So maybe it's as simple as that. Each generation blames the former for what they perceive as the fucked up state of the world they will inherit. So they turn to the opposite of what their parents believe.

In this they are undoubtedly aided by tenured professors who have their own axes to grind, but that's another topic.

I dare say I was even more windy.

If brevity is the soul of wit, I suppose I lack one or the other.