CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� Bearded and bespectacled, YM Masood has a quiet nature that suggests he's older than age 20. A political science major, he plans to graduate from college in December, well ahead of schedule. He鈥檚 studying for the LSAT, the entrance exam for law school.
He has another frequent role as well: protester.
Masood, a student at the University of Illinois Chicago, has taken to the city's streets in recent months for pro-Palestinian rallies, often weekly and 鈥� once 鈥� twice in the same day.
鈥淧alestine is definitely No. 1 right now,鈥� Masood says. Last spring, he also traveled by train to support pro-Palestinian encampments at the University of Chicago and Northwestern and DePaul universities.
That set the stage for this week's Democratic National Convention, where thousands gathered to raise their voices on issues from the Middle East conflict to abortion and immigrant rights. Though the cameras often focused on scraps with police, the overwhelming majority marched peacefully.
Masood was often there, volunteering as a marshal to help organizers of these larger protests keep things in line. The overarching messages to the Democratic Party and its nominee, Kamala Harris, were clear: End the war. Stop sending aid to Israel.
For Masood and other students, the war has become a lightning-rod issue for their generation, just as the Vietnam War was in the 1960s and South Africa鈥檚 apartheid system was in the 1980s.
Says Masood: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to stand by while all these people are suffering."
For this protester, the journey is personal
The death toll in Gaza . In Israel, about 1,200 people have been killed, and officials there say more than 100 , including two small children, remain in Gaza.
The national found that 60% of college students and 64% of those who already had a college degree supported a permanent cease-fire in the Middle East. Among those surveyed, ages 18-29, a little over half said they sympathized with both the Palestinian people (56%) and Israelis (52%) 鈥� though they were less supportive of each of their governments and Hamas.
These protests, however, have continued to focus on the Palestinian people, as the war has destroyed huge numbers of homes and wiped out .
鈥淏efore I got into activism, I was a lot more shy. 鈥�. But for me, this is personal,鈥� says Masood, who is a Muslim of Indian descent. His father, an IT specialist, was born in Chicago. His mom, who teaches religious education, came to this country from India in the 1990s. Like his father, Masood was born in Chicago but grew up in a Detroit suburb until his family returned.
On campus, he鈥檚 known as the guy who drapes a red or black keffiyeh scarf around his shoulders. The Middle Eastern scarves have become an increasingly displayed symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people. His own keffiyehs belonged to his father and to his late uncle, who also protested in support of Palestinians when they were young.
鈥淚 have this duty to carry on 鈥� what (my uncle) stood for and bring new meaning to it,鈥� Masood says. He jokes that he wears the scarves so often that people wonder if he washes them.
Occasionally, he says, his parents see him on TV at protests with groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine and Students for a Democratic Society. Mostly, they don鈥檛 want him to do anything 鈥渞eckless鈥� that would jeopardize his future. He promises them he won鈥檛 and walks a fine line between his activism and that future 鈥� law school and a job, for instance. It鈥檚 a valid concern, since some college students who鈥檝e gone public with views on the Hamas-Israel war or been harassed online.
鈥淢y parents 鈥� they鈥檙e kind of worried about me,鈥� Masood says. 鈥淏ut I feel like at this point, they realize that I also, like, have a duty to do. And they鈥檙e not totally against it.鈥�
If he were to get arrested, he concedes, that would likely change.
He doesn't choose confrontation
On a breezy summer day just before the DNC, Masood sat on the grass with a small group, painting protest signs at a park on Chicago鈥檚 South Side.
One recent college graduate complained about her parents鈥� 鈥渨eird liberal logic.鈥� When Democrat friends were coming over, she said, they asked her to take down a painted sheet she鈥檇 hung out her bedroom window decrying what she and many others call a genocide in Gaza. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 want it to be the focus of conversation,鈥� she sighed. During the DNC, she put the pro-Palestinian message back up with a 鈥淗arris-Walz鈥� sign near another window.
Next to her, a man in his early 30s said he planned to agitate police officers guarding the DNC, his sentiments seeming to echo anti-Vietnam riots at Chicago鈥檚 1968 DNC. He painted his hands red and pressed them onto poster board, scrawling the words, 鈥淎merica Has Its Hands Covered In Blood.鈥�
There were a few renegade groups at the DNC. One briefly breached an outer security wall, leading to 13 arrests. the second night outside the Israeli consulate.
As a volunteer marshal at the larger March on DNC protests, Masood鈥檚 role was quite the opposite of agitation. As they were trained to do by organizers, marshals work to minimize conflict with police and counterprotesters.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 usually organize disruptions,鈥� Masood says.
Why were the protesters were so focused on Democrats, even as the Biden administration continued to push a cease-fire in the Middle East? At the DNC protests, the answer was clear: Many protesters feel the president has not done enough to help Palestinians, and they fear Harris would continue to fund Israel.
鈥淚 feel like the Democratic and Republican parties are two of the same parties that just say things differently,鈥� Masood says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e controlled by corporate interests, and they won鈥檛 benefit the average person.鈥�
This is the first presidential election for which he鈥檒l be old enough to vote, but he鈥檚 not excited. He plans to vote for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein. While ending the war in Gaza is his top issue, he lists others of importance 鈥� abortion rights, immigration and climate change, among them.
But he says his generation feels overloaded.
鈥淲e would have loved to live in a world where all we would have had to worry about was us and our families and our education,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut that isn鈥檛 the world we live in at the moment."
Life among the protesters
On peace in the Middle East, Rania Batrice, a Democratic political strategist who was Bernie Sanders鈥� deputy campaign manager during his 2016 presidential bid 鈥� and who is Palestinian American 鈥� said she is 鈥渃autiously optimistic鈥� with Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
鈥淲e now have somebody at the top of the ticket who, at minimum, at least has used empathetic language,鈥� Batrice says. 鈥淪he was the first person in the administration to utter the words 鈥榗ease-fire.鈥�" The shift in rhetoric, Batrice says, "is a very, very welcome change. It鈥檚 also not enough.鈥�
For that reason, Batrice, who came to Chicago for the DNC, wholeheartedly supported the March on DNC events in which Masood participated.
鈥淚 think peaceful protest is not only a longstanding tradition in this country,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also how we鈥檝e seen 鈥� over and over and over again 鈥� policy shifts happen.鈥�
At the mass protest on the DNC鈥檚 first day, Masood was among the first to arrive to help with setup, hours before the march began. The scene morphed into a mish-mash of humanity, as pro-Palestinian protesters from across the country and journalists from around the world poured into Union Park.
A group with Israeli flags showed up at one point, circling the park as protest marshals in fluorescent vests scrambled to create a human barrier to fend off potential conflict. Nearby, a man with a guitar sang Christian music, including 鈥淎mazing Grace,鈥� for hours.
Across the street, another man with a fire-and-brimstone message used a loudspeaker to taunt the much larger group in the park. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e all terrorists!鈥� he shouted, also saying he supported Donald Trump.
Masood paid him little mind. His own faith, he says, is about love and compassion. 鈥淓ventually, you just learn to ignore them. Screaming back if they鈥檙e screaming at you, you鈥檙e only going to endanger yourself and endanger others.鈥�
As the sea of humanity, numbering thousands, walked a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) route to another park and back, people banged on drums and waved signs. Masood and fellow marshals used hand signals to keep themselves interspersed on either side of the protest route. Police marched alongside, using bicycles to create rolling barriers to help keep things contained.
Masood felt the message was heard. He pronounced himself 鈥渆nergized.鈥� He realizes Stein and the Green Party aren鈥檛 considered contenders for the presidency. But his first presidential vote is a protest, too.
Whoever wins, Masood says, 鈥淲e鈥檒l be out here in the streets, like how we were today, no matter if it鈥檚 Democrat or Republican. We will always be protesting for the people.鈥�
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Martha Irvine, an AP national writer and visual journalist, can be reached at [email protected] or at .
Martha Irvine, The Associated Press
