Politicians deny extremism in Stanislaus County. But recent events show it’s here
On March 24 in Modesto, I moderated a town hall meeting on domestic terrorism whose speakers were our sheriff, police chief and an FBI agent. My opening remarks included 14 examples of hate speech and actions in recent times among our people.
They included a Black family’s wood fence set on fire in Turlock with the n-word painted nearby. And Proud Boys flashing hand signs associated with white supremacy at a Modesto City Council meeting. And a man in a podcast casually spewing the n-word over and over, who came within a whisker of achieving public office in Ceres. And an Oakdale man who exulted after a rally he helped organize turned deadly in Virginia.
In my column on March 27, The Modesto Bee published that same introduction as a warning with a clear conclusion: “Our Modesto and Stanislaus region have not escaped the stain of hate and domestic terror. If you think it can’t happen here, you’re wrong. It already has.”
A few weeks ago, someone posted multiple fliers throughout a north Modesto business park with white supremacy messages. They included “The `holocaust’ is an anti-white lie,” “Immigration is a form of class warfare” and “Antifa is an anti-white Jewish militia.”
In April, The Modesto Bee editorial board hosted a number of candidate debates, including four where this question was asked: “How significant is the threat of extremism in this district?” Two of the forums featured candidates running for the California Legislature, and the other two for Congress. All can be viewed at modbee.com/opinion/.
Frankly, I was surprised at how many candidates, one after another, downplayed the threat, or denied that there is one, or were eager to find fault among “extremists on both sides.” Most were conservative, although some were Democrats.
For example, “I’m not aware of too many threats,” said David Main, running for the Fifth Congressional District. “If extremists groups are out there, they’re not as prevalent as the media might give them credit for.” We can trust him on this, he assured us, because he married a Latina.
John Duarte, a candidate for the 13th Congressional District, steered blame toward “several leftist activists” he said were arrested for setting mountain wildfires — an untrue conspiracy theory.
For the record, the few (among 17 total) who rightly acknowledged that people of color have reason to be concerned were Jessica Self (22nd Assembly District), Phil Arballo (13th Congressional District) and Marie Alvardo-Gil and Tim Robertson (Fourth Senate District).
The hypocrisy of fear
For as long as any of us can remember, candidates have routinely made fear an important part of their campaigns — fear of rampant crime that will deface our property, destroy our neighborhoods and tear our families apart. And every candidate is the only one who stands between these hoodlums and your loved ones, with guarantees of unswerving support for public safety.
But when asked about the documented, emerging threat posed mostly by white bigots — a threat readily acknowledged by our own law enforcement authorities — politicians too often flounder. Too many are afraid of offending the conservative base that they think will help them win elections.
I’m left to wonder whether politicians in Buffalo would have hemmed and hawed about extremists, were they asked, before a hate-filled white man opened fire Saturday in a Black community grocery store, killing 10 innocent people. I wonder how politicians 208 miles away in Conklin, N.Y., where the accused gunman lived, might have answered if asked about extremists in their midst.
Don’t say, “Oh, but that’s New York. That won’t happen here.” Just don’t.
A few hours before the massacre in Buffalo, a Modesto man hurled homophobic slurs at a same-sex couple in a Turlock Denny’s, and shoved one, according to police who arrested him for a hate crime. A few days ago, someone hung a hand-made sign with a racist message on a south Modesto overpass.
Politicians hoping to capitalize on one kind of fear while denying the existence of hate among their own reek of hypocrisy.
Those who are willfully blind to the reality of racism and bigotry are ill-prepared to confront it.
