Hello, friends,
On the surface, this one isn't directly Freeport-specific. It'll also (maybe? I'm still writing it) be relatively short (about 1,000 words!). It's political, so be prepared for that. It's also not covering wholly new ground for The Weekly Freeporter: We talked a lot about Carl Paladino before. If you don't want to read two articles, just know that he's a racist, Fascistic pox upon New York State. Don't believe me? Don't like the terminology I'm using? Read that article, then let's continue.
So how's he doing?
Well, here's an AP article where Paladino oh so kindly explains that his call for U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to be murdered was just facetious. Really, it's no surprise he'd believe that a Brietbart interview was the perfect place to make such a "joke." I mean, it's not like gunmen are making attempts at attacking FBI outposts or anything. ...Right?
Oh, yeah, he literally said the United States needs a leader like Adolf Hitler. Yes, the Nazi from the 1930's-40's. That guy. Adolf Fucking Hitler. Paladino likes that guy. Yup. I don't work with the word "Fascist" lightly.
He's mainly relevant today because he's running for Congress as a Republican. Because I guess that's what depths that political party has descended to, he's gotten endorsements from the likes of Elise Stefanik, which kind of establishes the whole racism/fascism thing as a party platform, but I won't get much more partisan than that.
Follow me on this adventure for another minute. Maybe it'll give you some ideas.
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| Image courtesy of Wikipedia |
Why is this relevant to Freeport, Long Island?
We're living in an era where the rivers of Europe are drying up, along with U.S. ones like the Colorado River, upon which millions depend on. We're less than two years off of a coup attempt against our national government. Ukraine's burning cities are a smoke signal that a world war is in the air, one which is already killing uncountable, unrelated Humanity via war-fueled famine.
What is the connection between Paladino, the above paragraph' dystopian setting, and Freeport?
Let's start by recalling that Freeport, as a seaside community, has an insurmountable connection with our oceans. Climate change fuels storms like Hurricane Sandy, to say nothing of melting glaciers raising the global sea level. Incidentally, as recently as 2016, Paladino didn't believe climate change was manmade. Oh, and he's reinforced his stance on that recently - so much for eight years of clear evidence, eh?
If climate change has dramatically increased the risk of a major hurricane hitting us in the future, shouldn't we be concerned if a bloc of our state's Congress-critters are in abjectly naked denial of the reality that threatens millions of New Yorkers?
Yeah, we oughta care about this guy!
One More Plank And We're Done.
I want to point out one more thing, and then it's a wrap and you're free to go. (I mean, you're free to go at any time, but you wanna sate your curiosity, right?)
Remember the recent, hyper-contentious school board election in Freeport? Or maybe you've heard of the small issue that is the sale of Cleveland Avenue park to a private company? These are local issues that people feel very strongly about. It's their livelihood at stake - the proposed tax savings from the Cleveland sale, for example are no laughing matter; but, also, so is the value in having more open green space in our community than less. It is a cost-benefit analysis that different people feel differently about.
It's okay to have strong beliefs. I do, too!
But it's necessary that calls for the murder of the Attorney General coming from Congressional candidates be addressed as symptomatic of a larger problem, and it's a problem that adds fuel to the fire of civic unrest. It is Stochastic Terrorism.
Stochastic Terrorism is best summed up as, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" (Okay, it's usually written as "meddlesome priest.") It's when a person in power makes very clear they absolutely despise a certain person, or group, and laments that they can't do anything illegal. It's basically a call for any "lone wolf" out there to take up violence on the person in power's behalf. It's calling the FBI or the media or some other group "the enemy of the people." Like...Sure, the guy in charge isn't gonna be the one pulling the trigger, but he knows damn well that what he says might inspire someone else to pick up a gun.
See also: Tucker Carlson and other Fascist extremists inspiring the terror attack in Buffalo, this year. Among many others.
Maybe you've heard about the Anti-Semetic flyers in our community? How about the Proud Boys, a known Fascist terrorist organization linked to the January 6, 2021 attack on our government, marching around Long Island like they own the place?
People like Paladino are adding fuel to this fire, and you're a fool if you think that the Freeport community is magically immune to racist propaganda. We take pride in our multi-cultural approach, sure! But that doesn't mean that hostile elements won't try to find purchase in our town.
Perhaps worse still: Those who can't be brought into "the cause" may become targets of "the cause." Those flyers some Nazi trash sent out weren't some inert leaflets, they were a call to action - a call for people to target the individuals on the flyer. They're calling for people (mostly limited to those who look like me, by the way - peachy white folk), to join hate groups and commit atrocities against whoever they designate as "the enemy."
And that's why it's worth shouting all the way upstate to Buffalo that they should vote against Carl Paladino in the August 23rd Primary. And the General Election, if this Fascist makes it that far.
Because all we have are our voices, and we have to stand united to reject his hate.
Jesse Pohlman is an Sci-Fi/Fantasy author and avid anti-Fascist hailing from Freeport, New York. Hey! Did you know The Weekly Freeporter is over twelve years old? It's sure evolved a lot! It's no longer weekly, but it's definitely still alive when a cause calls out for it!
