Conservatives, WWW (What Went Wrong)

While the term conservative is almost synonymous with Republican politics in the U.S., beyond our borders it also has meaning. There was a time when the word conservative didn’t equate with being inconsiderate, unyielding, xenophobic, homophobic, racist, or evil. While there may be isolated examples of these traits on the liberal side of the fence, it seems that many conservatives almost relish such identification.

There was a time when I was able to identify with many conservative values. Smaller versus larger government would be one example. A balanced budget and fiscal responsibility would also be worthwhile goals. In the past, I have voted for Republican leaders. I think that Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and both Bushes were good Americans and, even if their decisions were many times flawed, they were basically good people doing what they felt was right for our country. Our recent White House occupant called himself a conservative, but he merely gave lip-service to conservative ideals for his own selfish purposes. Now, many who identified as conservative have adopted much of the evil that was hidden within the true heart of that false god.

The whole world would now seem to be going to Hell in a (conservative) handbasket. I was never sure what that original phrase meant exactly, but I’m getting nearer to understanding it. Globalization has brought us closer together, if not physically, at least ideologically. What impacts one area reverberates around the world and creates often profound changes in other locales. Our tolerance or intolerance for one another is amplified for better or worse by our new proximity. What may have existed in microenvironments elsewhere without acknowledgment, is now a factor in life within our own sphere of existence.

When intolerance of our fellow man raises its ugly head in latitudes and longitudes far away, that hatred seems to spread faster than the goodwill we might otherwise crave. Even if a majority of us are kind and good to one another, it seems that malevolence prevails among the shockwaves that ripple across our globe with devastating effects.

Two recent and unrelated stories from around our planet recently brought this concept into better focus. The first involves the small town of Krasnik, Poland. The religious conservatives of this small town of 32,000 souls, decided that their majority religious values were more important than the rights and views of a small minority of their other inhabitants. That minority was the LGBT community who were undoubtedly in their midst. Two years ago that community decided that they needed to be “free of LGBT” and accordingly passed a resolution to that effect. The resolution had no practical value aside from announcing that homophobia was alive and well in Krasnik.

Krasnik, Poland

The religious right was relieved with their pronouncement that their sense of morality would be declared to one and all and perhaps their route to heavenly glory would be assured. The net impact of their resolution was of no consequence to most Krasnikians (I’m guessing that's who they are) except for one Cezary Nieradko, a 22-year-old student who was the only openly gay resident of Krasnik. It seems the local pharmacist decided that the new resolution meant that Mr. Nieradko no longer was deserving of his heart medication. Not wanting to risk his life in this openly hostile town, he was forced to move to nearby Lublin where, although they too had an anti-LGBT resolution, they were at least a bit more open-minded.

This otherwise meaningless resolution would not have gotten much attention outside of Krasnik and those other similar homophobic Polish towns, but Poland is part of the European Union. Now it would appear that there is a price to pay. The European Union is committed to tolerance and equality and they too passed a different resolution declaring all 27 countries to be a “Freedom Zone.” Now, the otherwise meaningless resolution passed two years ago has financial consequences. Krasnik was to have received foreign funds for the financing of electric busses and some youth programs which were particularly important as young people were leaving in large numbers. That financial support has now been pulled.

For me, this religious commitment to a homophobic resolve exemplifies a worldwide dichotomy of values. In this instance, Poland is a Catholic nation and by some accounts from within that religion, as many as 40% of its priests are gay. (This figure came from an interview I watched of an openly gay Catholic priest who confirmed that he was regularly having relations with other Catholic priests and had been for many years.) You may debate this guesstimate of homosexual priests in the Catholic church, but most would agree that the figure is certainly not zero and perhaps could be higher than the number quoted.

Whatever your feelings on this particular matter, it should be safe to say that a majority of Krasnikians are intolerant of others in their midst who might be different. Whether or not this intolerance amounts to hatred or mere distrust, we have one group of people who hold their beliefs to be more important than the rights of others. If they would only look more closely at the teachings of their declared religion, they might just find a different answer.

As I mentioned early on, this analysis involves two seemingly unrelated stories. The second article that I ran across involved another group of conservatives that are so committed to their cause as to devote financial and personal resources to conservative issues in a manner most would find abhorrent.

This example is but one of many similar incidents but tells a story of conservative values running amuck. When your belief system involves controlling and bending others to your will with no regard for the rights, ideas, and feelings of others, you are no longer an individual with a righteous cause. You are a tyrant without a soul.

Enter one Pete Hatemi, a poly-sci professor at Penn State University. He received a request from a student that he become a faculty adviser for a conservative campus group. It was Mr. Hatemi’s policy to not get involved in student groups of any affiliation. He did a bit of research before he made his reply and found that the group calling itself Young Americans for Freedom was a national group with several chapters. They were self-declared white supremacists, believed QAnon conspiracy theories, and supported the KKK and the Proud Boys.

Professor Hatemi prepared his response. After declining their request he cautiously offered some advice questioning their timing (after the January 6th Capitol riots). He suggested that they reflect on “what you and your organization stand for.” Professor Hatemi didn’t know it but he had kicked the proverbial conservative hornet's nest. His response was taken out of context, rephrased and twisted, and published on a conservative website, Campus Reform. It was also distributed in The Federalist, The Blaze, and the Post Millennial conservative publications.

This opened the floodgates for hate mail and threats of violence directed at the professor and the university administration. It turns out that Campus Reform is published by the Leadership Institute, a forty-year-old nonprofit financed by billionaires like the Koch family. Over the years, Campus Reform has targeted hundreds of college professors with online harassment campaigns calling for their removal. This group also uses "doxxing," a term with which I was unfamiliar. The term came into being to describe the activities of hackers to publish private information with malicious intent.

Koch Brothers help fund attack news Campus Reform

Stories published in Campus Reform have been picked up by mainstream media like Fox News and Breitbart which further fans the flames of conservative faux-outrage. A 2020 review of Campus Reform showed that with 1,570 articles posted, they targeted 338 individuals. This study also revealed that 40% of these targets received “threats of harm” because of these articles. As might be assumed from this groups’ goals, Black professors were disproportionately targeted for their ire.

So, as conservatives continue to express outrage for the “cancel culture” of liberals, they too practice their own version of "cancel culture" to further their conservative goals. While I think much of the far-left cancel culture is over the top, the conservatives have taken this tool to a new level of absurdity.

If this were just some natural outpouring of student protest over deeply held beliefs, it might be seen as a mere consequence of our democratic freedom of speech; except of course the threats of violence and malicious harassment. The motivations here are however suspect. This is especially true when you find out that Campus Reform began a policy change about eight years ago when they tried to realign themselves as a “news” site. It was at this time the well-financed organization began paying for dirt.

They began recruiting student correspondents and would pay them $50 per story of any perceived “liberal misconduct” and $100 if the story included video or photos. They developed a tier reward system where correspondents could rise from bronze to silver status where they would be paid $75 per article. After 15 articles they would hit gold status and get paid $100 for each story. They could earn business cards, press passes, and a “blue check” on Twitter that lets people know your account is of public interest and authentic.

With the financial backing of our monied conservative oligarchy, Campus Reform could help like-minded “correspondents” become media stars with recommendation letters, mentorship opportunities, resume help, and a chance for their stories to go viral. The best of these could get on Tucker Carlson Tonight or Fox and Friends. One of the site’s more prolific writers published over 250 articles with a potential income value of over $26,000. Not bad for a working student with a laptop and an eye and ear for “liberal missteps.”

You can just imagine how creative conservative outrage can be when there is a financial incentive. If you think this is just some college hijinks, think again. Alyssa Johnson, an Asian American, once tweeted a response to an incoming student’s racial slur and was excoriated by Campus Reform. After an onslaught of threats, she was forced to leave her home. She had to erase her social media profiles, unplug her phone, and eventually had to relocate with her husband. While the police indicated the threats amounted to criminal behavior, she decided to avoid further confrontation. The conservative intimidation tactic had worked, Mrs. Johnson was silenced.

So, what do these two stories tell us about the “new conservatives” as I will label them? I refer to them as new because they certainly don’t resemble the conservatives of my youth. I see here two seemingly unrelated stories that expose the inherent evil that may be disguised with a cloak of apparent goodwill. Religion and patriotism are inherently good but to use them as weapons for evil, I find particularly reprehensible.

Perhaps the town of Krasnik will continue with its resolve to "be free of LGBT," lose their public transportation upgrade, lose their youth programs, and lose other possible investments when businesses don't find suitable workers. All of this because their youth have left for greener pastures in Warsaw. Their town may fade into obscurity and the problem of being kept free of LGBT will resolve itself.

While these two stories were not directly related, they highlight a few of the major flaws in the current conservative movement. Demonizing minorities and using lies and twisted truths to marginalize liberal ideals may work in the short run, but karma is a dish best served cold.

It is time for true conservatives to take back their party and bring about much-needed reform. Not all conservatives are QAnon supporting, Nazi-loving, racist, white supremacists, but there are enough of them in their ranks to spoil the entire barrel of apples. Perhaps it is time to heed the words of Professor Hatemi and reflect on “what you and your organization stand for.”