Many people assume that Ole Miss, where I serve as Chairman of the College Republicans, is a conservative school because it is in ruby red Mississippi. However, like most colleges and universities, Ole Miss struggles with DEI, CRT, gender ideology, and all sorts of wokeness. During my freshman year, a professor told me that every child should be put on puberty blockers until the child decides he’s ready to go through the “trauma” of puberty. Unfortunately, because of the activism of many professors on campus, conservative students are regularly intimidated into silence.

Last May, Ole Miss followed the lead of Columbia, Harvard, and Yale. Anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas students called for the eradication of the only democracy in the Middle East. Counter-protesters showed up and defended the American flag in the same style as the now famous University of North Carolina frat bros. Even former President Donald Trump praised the patriotic student body, posting to his Truth Social, “Thank you Ole Miss–MAGA!” along with a video of Ole Miss students chanting, “We want Trump!” at the protestors. On behalf of the College Republicans, I condemned the protests and the Democratic Party’s efforts to appease its radical anti-Semitic wing.

Everything changed when one counter-protesting student was videoed dancing like a monkey in front of a black woman with whom he was arguing. The story got national attention, and every counter-protester was labeled a racist by default. The Left obviously took advantage of this story, but what surprised me was that many on the Right did too. Instead of keeping attention on the larger issue—the nationwide calls for the eradication of America and Jews by a sizable number of college students—I watched as fellow members of the College Republicans equated Hamas’s terror campaign with an ugly gesture by one random college kid.

The College Republicans’ executive committee released a vague statement about racism and hate being bad while failing to mention the anti-Semitic events on campus or the word “Hamas.” The statement was seemingly more concerned with convincing others of their virtue than condemning the mass genocide that was the central theme of the protests. The whole situation seemed tantamount to focusing all attention on the issue of air pollution while the Twin Towers fell on 9/11.

Because I refused to go along with the Left’s narrative, the College Republicans’ executive committee attempted to impeach me, and when that failed, they all resigned. I thought it was unfair for me to apologize for a guy I had no affiliation with while the other side felt free to praise acts of terror against Jews.

The Right must learn that when the Left says we’re racist, we should double down, not back down. The Left will call us racist for criticizing Kamala Harris. They’ll call us racist for opposing illegal immigration or, in fact, even saying the term “illegal immigration.” They will call us transphobes for believing in women-only spaces or bigoted for believing in voter ID laws.

The correct response to being called names is to recognize that the rage mob hates you and is not acting in good faith. Therefore, never apologize, back down, or bend the knee. Wear the Left’s attacks as a badge of honor. If they attack you, they know you’re effective. The conservative movement needs warriors and fighters who won’t give the Left an inch. This is how we win. As Alexander Hamilton said, “If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything.”