Cowardly bigots choose nighttime to distribute antisemitic literature in Modesto
To the person or people who distributed antisemitic fliers in at least a couple of Modesto neighborhoods:
You are pathetic cowards.
Producing copies of hate on their home printer, and stuffing them in baggies weighted with white rice? Then scurrying around under cover of darkness when no one might confront them as they flung these lame packets of ignorance onto driveways and lawns before sneaking away.
Did they purposely choose homes in the Enslen Park neighborhood, within a five-minute drive of Modesto’s Congregation Beth Shalom synagogue? (Modesto Police received reports of similar fliers at the same time in the area of Floyd and Roselle avenues, 10 minutes to the east.)
How original of them to copy exactly what’s been done by small-minded bigots in some Bay Area cities, including San Francisco, Berkeley, Palo Alto, Novato, and Danville. They didn’t need to tax what little brain matter they possess by coming up with anything different from clandestine methods also employed in Florida, Colorado, and Texas.
“Every single aspect of the media is Jewish,” read one flier. Others blamed Jewish people for “every single aspect” of “the COVID agenda,” “massive immigration” and gun control. There were blue stars of David superimposed on the images of prominent Jewish figures. Below that was a single word, all in caps: JEWISH.
This was all done over the weekend set aside for Americans everywhere to celebrate freedom and the independence of our nation. How fitting.
We are free from the bondage of colonial British rule, but not from the plague of 21st Century intolerance.
“We hope people recognize these fliers for what they are, an attempt to create conflict in our community,” police spokeswoman Sharon Bear told me. Police are investigating “to make sure a crime did not occur and no threats were made,” she added.
There is a national uptick in antisemitism right now. The Anti-Defamation League reported 2,717 such incidents in 2021, a 34% increase from the year before.
Two months ago I called out various politicians for their reluctance to acknowledge, in recent campaign interviews with The Bee’s Editorial Board, that extremism presents a credible threat to Modesto and Stanislaus County. Perhaps the thugs distributing antisemitism over the weekend were emboldened to spread hate, knowing how hard it is for so-called leaders to take a stand against bigotry, preferring instead to note, as many did, “extremists on both sides.”
Confront bigotry with vigilance
While I appreciate opposing views in my community, I don’t believe that freedom is expressed by striking fear into others. History has taught us that remaining silent in the face of bigoted aggression only encourages more aggression, which results in people losing their freedoms, their livelihoods, and their lives.
Why speak up because some idiots used the Fourth of July weekend to spread hatred in the Modesto community?
Because it happened, could keep happening, could escalate. Because we can’t pretend that our freedoms don’t have to be protected. They do.
If we don’t protect them, who will? If we accept one group of people targeting others for who they are, how they pray, or who they love, we become less free. And if that happens, we don’t have the right to be surprised when one day, the hate comes for us.
This story was originally published July 6, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
