On this Veterans Day, I want to express my gratitude to my classmates, the faculty and the administration here at Yale University. I am a veteran. I am also in my fourth year at Yale College and will finish in May 2024. Before my time here, I served in special operations missions in various garden spots worldwide.

When, on Oct. 7, Hamas committed atrocities on civilians, there was shock and outrage. When Israel followed those atrocities by dropping bombs on the heads of civilians to punish Hamas, that, too, was an atrocity. Yes, I am choosing sides, and before I explain myself, I need you to know that I served on multiple combat tours and participated in the accidental destruction of civilians. I write with blood on my hands. The side I am choosing is the “stop making atrocities acceptable” side. I mean that in the diplomatic and military sense, and I also mean it here at Yale. The leaders involved in this crisis should take a deep breath and define what “success” looks like after the violence. We never, not once, did that in Afghanistan or Iraq. Making decisions to kill our fellow humans should occur in a measured, respectful way, not amidst the emotions that follow atrocities. To realize this idea, we need strong leadership. We must encourage elected officials to pause and figure out how to move forward without horrors visited on civilians.

Here at Yale, we have leaders: you.

Dehumanizing the “other” and conflating your idea of what is going on in the Middle East with what is going on here at Yale is dangerous.

As a combat veteran, I feel very comfortable writing that 99 percent of you haven’t a clue what killing and maiming look, feel or smell like. Your vitriolic Instagram post is beneath you. You sneaking around the dorms and writing derisive remarks about Jews or Muslims, Israelis or Palestinians, is beneath you and this institution. 

Words lead to actions, and they create realities that facilitate violence. I am with anyone who wants to shout down atrocities. I am with anyone who wants to help those innocent people afflicted by the madmen who think atrocities are acceptable. I am with my classmates who refuse to get sucked into the sewer of rage and performance activism. On this Veterans Day, please come to the ceremony, look me in the eye and let me know you are with me in this battle against an assault on humanity. Light and Truth will show the way. They always do.

With gratitude,

James (Jimmy) Hatch

JAMES HATCH is an Eli Whitney student in Timothy Dwight College and a retired member of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Hatch can be reached at james.hatch@yale.edu.