‘Even-toned, Educated Voice’ of Nazi Still Offensive
‘Even-toned, Educated Voice’ of Nazi Still Offensive
Editor,
Kelly Savio used poor judgment in the tone and perspective in her story about the Nazis in the Community Life section of the Free Lance on Aug. 25. Her point of view that, “you may be, as I was, shocked to find you agree with some of their stances,” was offensive to me as a person of Mexican/Native-American descent.
Savio gives them credit as having an “even toned, educated voice,” which implies that Nazis are capable of overcoming their ideological, white supremacist and hate-filled rhetoric and be objective at the same time. The starting point of Nazis is that, no matter what Nazis want the general public to hear about the Nazi point of view, they are committed to their racist, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant and hate-based beliefs.
I would say that there is nothing that I agree with when it comes to Nazis. Savio pointed out that these Nazis claim to use non-violent tactics, but failed to clarify that Nazi rhetoric is so venomous, mean-natured and provocative that it will inspire people to act on their beliefs. Historically Nazis have demonstrated their willingness to use brutal violence against people and have employed fascism as a means of imposing their viewpoints on society.
Reporting on Nazis is one thing, but making them appear as having a rational side and a legitimate voice is wrong. Nazis are not a benign group of complainers. They would prefer to scapegoat non-white, non-European people for all the social ills of society, elevate the status of white people over everyone else and deny the human and democratic rights of people based on race and ethnicity. How can you empathize or sympathize with that?
Joe Navarro,
Hollister
Let’s Remedy Mismanagement
of the Biker Rally
Editor,
First off let me say that I am a transplant to Hollister. Like many in the community I found this to be a beautiful community with the added bonus of affordable housing, a low crime rate and for a lack of a better cliche “This is Mayberry USA.”
I was never a proponent of the Fourth of July or Freedom Motorcycle Rally in Hollister until I moved to this community. I will be honest, I do ride a motorcycle and am a club member of a law enforcement motorcycle club but my beliefs go beyond the motorcycle or the reputation of Hollister.
The 2006 Freedom Rally, the Rally that did not exist, struck me as a missed opportunity. My family, my friends and my club did attend the rally in some type of fashion, whether it was driving through to look at the bikes or buying the T-shirt. I was approached from every direction with the typical “where are you from” and the second follow-up question “So if you live here how do you feel” along with “There are more cops than the bikers.”
First let me comment, I live in this community. I patronize a good portion of the business in the city and, yes, when I was attending the event I did purchase the customary T-shirt, a couple of Diet Cokes from a restaurant, a cold coffee from Starbucks, breakfast at a local restaurant, along with gas. My point is I am spending money in our community. The people that I spoke to were doing the same, whether it was at the local grocery store, the gasoline station or downtown.
So the rally has passed and the question you might be asking yourself is why address the issue now. Approximately two weeks ago I returned from a bike event, some of you may have heard of it. It’s a little town in the middle of nowhere: Sturgis. I saw thousands upon thousands of motorcycles in the small community. Everywhere I looked I saw motorcycles and more importantly I saw people, some of us call them tourists. I was approached a great deal and when I told them I was from Hollister the question surfaced “Why did they shut the Rally down?” along with “I was going to go this year.” A quick explanation and we moved on.
I will be upfront and tell everyone that I stayed for approximately four hours in town and then left. I did the customary T-shirt purchase, lunch, Diet cokes, and small-shop shopping for souvenirs which put a dent in my wallet by a couple hundred dollars. I stayed a short distance away from the area and yes, every night we ate out at restaurants, bought souvenirs and used a local hotel for lodging. I saw every walk of life in the area and every where I looked wallets, purses and credit cards were being used. I saw millions of dollars being generated in a small community.
I look back on the events of Sturgis and the past history of Hollister. I will be very up-front when I say the Rally has been mismanaged in the past. The City of Hollister has a duty to the citizens who live here 365 days a year. As a community do we have an obligation to the city? Are we letting a golden opportunity pass us by each year? Would it be worth a slight inconvenience one week a year to be able to build new parks, new schools, assist local law enforcement, assist local fire departments and emergency medical personnel as well as bring new business to Hollister? Or do we complain and drive out to Gilroy to the malls and give them our hard-earned dollars?
As a community we all voice our opinions. I urge every member of our community to look into the issue. Look into the opportunity that is passing us by and more importantly fix the problem of mismanagement. Mismanagement is a strong word but look at the issues. What would happen if, as a community, we promoted the Rally? What if, as a community, we allowed only a few select vendors into the Rally? What would happen if we gave the restaurants and food vendors priority that lived, worked and did business in the community? As a community we can dictate the Rally to our advantage to ensure all the money that flows into this community stays in this community.
R. Hernandez,
Hollister
