College protesters have finally gone home for the summer. And they’ve left a lasting mark on history. Their legacy? [RECORD SCRATCH] A destructive trend in social justice activism. It goes far beyond college campuses. It’s self-centered, it’s manipulative, and it’s terrible for America. I call them luxury beliefs. [MUSIC PLAYING] I’m the rare Ph.D. who grew up carrying everything I owned in a trash bag, starting when I was 3. I lived in 10 foster homes before I joined the Air Force. Then I went to Yale on the G.I. Bill and on to Cambridge. Along the way, I came up with the term “luxury beliefs.” They’re ideas held by privileged people that make them look good but actually harm the marginalized. It’s like virtue signaling with consequences. “Defund the police.” “Why should we defund the police?” Take defund the police. Classic luxury belief. That cause was most supported by the wealthiest Americans. It was least supported by poor Americans, who are at least twice as likely to be victims of violent crime compared to the middle class. Where I grew up, we were lucky there were police to call. Next up, decriminalizing drugs. That’s another luxury belief. “All drugs should be decriminalized.” “I want to decriminalize drug possession for personal use, and here’s why.” “Should crystal meth be legal? The answer is yes.” That movement has been most supported by well-educated Americans, less so by those without a college degree, who are more likely to experience the downsides of the drug trade. My mom once tied me to a chair with a belt while she got high. And it’s not just me. Since 2000, the number of foster kids has doubled due to parental drug use. Luxury beliefs are all over the place. Get rid of the SAT? “Four hours of my life — poof — down the drain.” SAT scores help underprivileged kids get into college. Reject marriage? “I find marriage completely pointless.” For poor kids, one of the strongest predictors of success is having married parents. As a kid, I would have done anything to have had two stable parents. There are three golden rules of luxury beliefs. Did you notice campus protesters acting like refugees? Luxury beliefs help many elites feel like they deserve what they have. After all, today’s progressive activists are twice as likely than average to make over $100,000 a year. “Why are you doing this to me?” “You suck!” By the looks of it, you would think these protesters were facing serious consequences. “This morning, police say, at least 45 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at Yale University. Police say they were later released.” But the stakes are pretty low when you’re released with no major penalties. [MUSIC PLAYING] “I got to deliver it right here to the right. How am I going to get through?” The part that bothers me the most? When the privileged claim to fight for the underdog but actually hurt them instead. Remember when an heir and his fellow vigilantes faced off with a janitor at Columbia? That was luxury beliefs in action. Privileged men wrestling a blue-collar worker, all in the name of the marginalized. “It’s just scary just thinking that you’re locked in with a bunch of crazies.” Of course, not all protesters are superprivileged. “I repeatedly said that my family has been killed and that is why I’m here. And as I was saying that through the megaphone, police officers snatched the megaphone out from my hand and threw it behind them.” And it’s great that people with privilege care about injustice. But too many of these people don’t know what they’re protesting. “Among these white, woke, pampered children from wealthy families, there’s a complete ignorance about the complexities of this issue.” Luxury belief activists turn causes into props that transfer attention to where students really want it: on themselves. “Do you want students to die of dehydration and starvation? This is, like, basic humanitarian aid we’re asking for. Like, could people please have a glass of water?” [SINGING] “We shall overcome.” Here’s what protests look like without luxury beliefs. The protesters of the ’60s had more skin in the game yet almost always practiced nonviolence. [SINGING] “Oh, we shall overcome.” Sure, no movement has been perfect. But today’s students oversimplify complex geopolitical issues into narratives of good versus evil while destroying property and harassing people along the way. So how should they protest? Amplify the stories of everyone except yourself. Amplify the stories of victims. And if taking a stand means you don’t get a degree or a job, don’t protest the consequences. Accept them. Instead, when savior theater is done for the day, campus protesters have the best luxury of all: someone else cleaning up the mess. “A quiet and mostly empty U.C.L.A. campus, except for cleanup crews after the predawn crackdown.” [MUSIC PLAYING]