Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive
There are people in this wonderfully free and tolerant country – some right here in Marin – who believe the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel was overblown, a hoax or somehow justified. It is astoundingly delusional and it is a wake up call for good people to square up on this Evil in our own time.
Last week I wrote about the Marin students who marched on the Marin County building in San Rafael, carrying the sign “From The River To The Sea.” When asked, the kid carrying the sign said the slogan meant “peaceful coexistence” between Palestinians and Jews. It’s really a Hamas battlecry to exterminate Jews from the river to the sea.
Now consider what people said when the Oakland City Council voted on a cease-fire resolution between Hamas and Israel. A member of the Council tried to insert language condemning Hamas. There were a lot of speakers that night and not everyone said things that were, pardon my French, batshit crazy. But enough people did that it caught national attention. Here’s a sample:
– “Israel murdered their own people on October 7!”
– “The notion that this was a massacre of Jews was a fabricated narrative. . . . Many of those killed on October 7, including children, were killed by the IDF.”
“To hear them complain about Hamas violence is like listening to a wife beater complain when his wife finally stands up and fights back!”
This is a horrifying mindset. And, it worked. Oakland backed off of condemning Hamas. The crazies won.
While the tensions in the middle-east may seem too far removed for a local elected board like the Oakland City Council to weigh in, I beg to differ. If we can’t call Hamas’ acts on Oct. 7 Evil, can’t we at least call it “terrorism?” Apparently not in Oakland.
The silence in Marin is also disturbing. There is a big danger in giving Evil a pass. If we do, then don’t act surprised when our kids march on the county building carrying a sign that calls for the genocide of Jews.
Postscript: Gov. Gavin Newsom got it right when he said: “Hamas is a terrorist organization. They must be called out for what they are: Evil.” That, dear people of Marin County, is the way to do it.
ONE MORE THING
Until next week please remember to question authority. (If you read that last sentence and said to yourself “why,” then you have the right attitude.
“Properly Subversive” is written by Sherman R. Frederick you can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.)
Great column!