Monday, August 20, 2018

My House, My Rules

Things that grow well in basements: Mold, mushrooms, Nazis.
That last one may seem curious, or given the company Nazis are keeping, maybe fungus that breeds best in the dark is an all-encompassing term.
Need proof? How about Jason Kessler, who organized last year's Unite The Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Mister Kessler was also responsible for the two or three dozen fascists who gathered in Washington, D.C. on the anniversary of that event, substantially outnumbered by the police officers dispatched to protect them from the crowds who gathered to taunt them. It is, however, hard to keep a good fungus down, and so last week a podcast that was originally recorded in June started making the rounds on Al Gore's Internet. It features host Patrick Little, himself a failed candidate for senate in California, sharing his hateful views about Jews and others with Kander. Just about the time that the antisemitism had reached a boiling point, a third voice can be heard.
"Hey! You get out of my room!” 
This would be the voice of reason, also known as Jason Kessler's father, Eric. The room in question is the one in which Jason was live-streaming his bile, located in the basement of his father's house. “I have somebody who supports Israeli, uh... orthodox… We are kind of at crosshairs on that right now.” 
And Jason's father persists: “I want this to stop in my room, Jason. This is my room.”
After being chided by Little for "living with an Orthodox Jew," Jason went on to complain, “And I’m stuck in this situation where, with all these lawsuits, I need to stay with my family.”
The family that wants him to knock off all that Nazi business and get a real job. His dad says they are“dismayed across the board about this situation. We’ve never identified with racial politics.” And little Jason, thirty-four, complains, “I’ve been turned into an avatar of hate.” 
Or a mushroom, maybe? 

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