To the editor:
The recent brouhaha about whether the Current should have published Mark Ferrante’s letters made me curious, so I went back and read them all. They were well written, and he is clearly a fervent supporter of the Trump administration (and loathes “the left”).
Although I disagreed with many of his characterizations, I finished the exercise feeling optimistic that Mr. Ferrante should now be willing to follow his own advice … apologizing for being wrong!
In his Aug. 19 letter, after belittling “the left” for not knowing what fascism really looks like, he proceeded to explain the components of fascism, and stated that, “These fascist actions have all been committed by liberal/progressive Democrats. Not Trump, not MAGA, not Republicans.”
He correctly listed many of the attributes of a fascist regime, including:
Attacks on the 1st Amendment: What Mr. Ferrante didn’t realize would come since he wrote his letter is that the Trump administration has arrested reporters (Don Lemon), seized electronic devices of reporters (Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson) and terrorized citizens for exercising their 1st amendment right to protest and speak out against the administration. Further, Trump aligned social media companies (X and TikTok) have restricted the use of the word “Epstein” from posts, and pro-democracy creators and investigative journalists have had their accounts suspended. It appears that the first steps of Mr. Ferrante’s definition of fascism are underway.
Attacks on the 2nd Amendment: Since Mr. Ferrante wrote his letter, President Trump has said “You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns,” speaking about a U.S. citizen killed, essentially for legally carrying a gun. The FBI director and DHS secretary made similar statements. The NRA and GOAL (Gun Owners Action League) responded with harsh words and concern. Clearly, this attack on the 2nd amendment must represent fascism in Mr. Ferrante’s definition?
Arresting/retaliating against your political opposition: In terms of retaliatory use of arrests, prosecutions and investigations, may I present: Mark Kelly, Jerome Powell, John Bolton, Lisa Cook, Adam Schiff, James Comey, John Brennan, Alex Padilla, Letitia James, Chris Krebs, Miles Taylor (and MANY more). All are experiencing retaliatory actions by the Trump administration because they opposed his policies, lies and/or actions. This, as Mr. Ferrante pointed out, is a trademark of fascism.
Classifying citizens who object to government policies as “domestic terrorists.” Honestly … Mr. Ferrante actually brought up this point. You don’t need to look very far to see the administration using the term “domestic terrorists” to describe all sorts of everyday citizens invoking their right to free speech and other rights.
The administration lying about the president’s health: Is there anyone who believes the Trump administration has been open and transparent about the president’s health struggles (three cognitive tests in 12 months, rapidly advancing forgetfulness, numerous signs of cognitive decline, etc.)? This is yet another of the examples of fascism Mr. Ferrante specifically pointed to.
Attempted control of the media: The Trump administration has sued reporters & networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, BBC, too many to list here), in order to squash views in opposition to his. He has used the power of his office to have shows he is threatened by removed from the air (Jimmy Kimmel). Attempted control of the media is, indeed, an integral component of fascism.
Weaponizing government agencies against American citizens: ICE is just one of the agencies being weaponized against American citizens. ProPublica found that more than 170 U.S. citizens have recently been held by immigration agents. They have been kicked, dragged, and detained for days. Mr. Ferrante clearly stated that this is another hallmark of fascism.
So it turns out that Mr. Ferrante was quite astute when outlining the components of a fascist regime, and all of his components are currently unfolding. The silver lining in all of this is that in his May 10 letter, Mr. Ferrante made it very clear that it was OK to be wrong and to apologize … “apologizing doesn’t represent some awful character flaw inside of you.” He went on to say “Apologize. Apologize because you’re wrong. Apologize for the violence, chaos, hypocrisy and lies. Denounce your leaders” and that you could “join us to make the foundation of our country so strong it can never be infected … ever again.”
So, it is with baited breath that I wait to see if Mr. Ferrante has the courage to live by his words and apologize for being wrong.
Randy Sigler
Peabody Lane
