From antisemitism to Trump’s devastation, our dark side is showing | As I See It

By Jason Victor Serinus
Posted 1/29/25

One day after Trump’s inauguration, I boarded a plane for the United Kingdom but not before I emceed Port Townsend’s deeply inspiring, hope-instilling People’s March to Pope Marine …

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From antisemitism to Trump’s devastation, our dark side is showing | As I See It

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One day after Trump’s inauguration, I boarded a plane for the United Kingdom but not before I emceed Port Townsend’s deeply inspiring, hope-instilling People’s March to Pope Marine Park. Although the march’s small group of volunteers were too overtaxed to send out press releases, the word got out via email and social media via alerts from multiple organizations. That motivated 600 freedom lovers to turn out in support of our rights. That’s a larger attendance than at Seattle’s People’s March!

The glorious afternoon began with a potent blessing and warning from Walter McQuillen, Chief of the Makah Tribe, and ended with inspiring messages from Tallulah Sebastian and Hilina Taylor-Lenz of Port Townsend High School’s Sustainability Club. The only downer that I know of happened quietly: a thoughtless antisemitic crack from one rally attendee to a Jewish woman in the crowd. Given that women’s long record of selfless service in the name of minorities and the oppressed, the remark was totally off base.

Worse, when I posted about the experience to a local activist list, one list member quoted Norman Finkelstein’s claim that the term “antisemitism” only applies to acts against Jews that negatively affect their opportunities because of their Jewish religious and/or cultural identity. Try telling that to someone whose synagogue has suffered an attack.

As if intent on adding insult to injury, she wrote, “Many ‘anti-racist and progressive’ Jews like your friend, Jason, are PEP (progressive except Israel) and become defensive and upset by criticism of Israel.” This was totally preposterous, given that she had no idea who my friend was, let alone any knowledge of her strong opposition to what Israel has done to Palestinians in Gaza and beyond.

To the poster and the two supposedly progressive activists who cheered her on, try convincing the readers of this column that calling a Black person the N word isn’t racist, or calling a gay man the F word isn’t homophobic. Why is disparaging a Jew whose identity and beliefs you do not even know any less prejudiced?

For the record, my DNA is virtually 100% Ashkenazi Jewish. Ancestral opposition to oppression is imprinted in every fiber of my being. So please don’t assume that because I (or anyone else) believes in the right of Jews to finally have a recognized homeland, I condone either the inhuman, genocidal actions of Netanyahu and his cabinet or the myriad imperialistic offenses committed during and since the creation of Israel. That’s like saying that because I’m an American who appreciates the hard-won freedoms that have finally enabled LGBTQ+ Americans like moi to marry (at least for now) and people of different classes, races, sexes and genders to work side by side and love each other as equals, I condone our nation’s centuries of genocide and forced relocation of Native peoples, let alone the theft of their land and resources.

Speaking of unjust assaults: Trump’s first slew of Executive Orders, one of which sullied the release of the first three Hamas-held hostages. Once Trump could finally move beyond his seemingly insatiable need to milk his “base” for applause and adulation, he signed an initial 78 orders. These include decrees that pardon 1,500 people involved in the Jan. 6 Trump-encouraged assault on the U.S. Congress, attempt to revoke birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, withdraw from the Paris climate accords, impose a federal binary definition of “sex” that denies the diversity of gender identity and the personal autonomy of trans people, as well as rescind former President Biden’s Executive Order 14075, which advanced protections for LGBTQ+ Americans. According to The Advocate, that order, which Biden signed in June 2022, expanded access to gender-affirming care, banned conversion therapy, and ensured safe environments for LGBTQ+ youth in schools, foster care, and homeless shelters. Throw in Trump’s decree to rescind President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Executive Order 11246, which prohibited discriminatory hiring and employment in government contracting and committed the government to affirmative action, and you see the destruction of many of the hard-won civil rights for which we marched, fought, and died over the last 75 years.

By the time I return to the U.S., several days after I submit this column, Trump’s additional heinous orders and promised deportation of America’s undocumented residents — his forced repatriation of descendants of some of the original inhabitants of the Americas — may have already initiated multiple Trails of Tears reminiscent of the forced removal of the Cherokee people from their homelands close to 200 years ago. It’s tempting to write that the scope of Trump’s devastation and inhumanity is beyond comprehension. But as someone who has visited the death camps of Dachau and Auschwitz and seen irrefutable evidence of Hitler’s genocidal war against Jews, homosexuals, Romani people, and political / religious dissidents, I harbor few illusions about we humans’ willingness to embrace our dark side.

Several things can carry us through. The first is our strong representatives in local and state government who are determined to draw the line, defend state law, and support the rights and freedoms of all in Washington state. Then there is our personal commitment to do the same.

Equally vital is our love and support for each other. In our hearts lies the answer. May they beat stronger than ever in the days, months, and years ahead.

Jason Victor Serinus is a critic of culture, music, and audio. A longtime advocate for rights, equality, and freedom, he is also a professional whistler. Column tips: jvsaisi24@gmail.com