Franco Aragosta, il pescatore saggio

Brother-in-Arms

Our Own Mr. Anonymous Makes 
A Rare Appearance

by Mr. X 

September 6, 2018

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It appears I have in Washington a kindred spirit, who has discovered the tremendous power of anonymity.

In today’s New York Times, someone claiming to work at the highest levels in the White House wrote a scathing critique of his (or her) boss, President Trump, and his amorality. The writer boasts of working with others in the administration to thwart the President’s worst instincts, of which, according to the author, there are many.

“Anonymous” has become the main topic of conversation on every cable channel, talk radio show, and the Internet. I understand this, having had to hide my persona for fear of being castigated for my beliefs. Trust me, though, the anonymous writer in the White House doesn’t know what real concern for your reputation is.

Try being a conservative on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Try being someone who believes we actually need a strong military to defend ourselves against real enemies ... who believes that Bernie Sanders’ socialism would work as well — namely, as little — as socialism always has in the past ... who believes the quality of life in New York City has plunged since Bill de Blasio was elected mayor ... who respects the flag and has stopped watching NFL football because of the whole kneeling thing ... who believes that if the Palestinians really wanted peace, there would be peace tomorrow and if the Israelis gave up their arms, they would all be dead tomorrow ... who believes that America is not a racist nation, but is, in fact, one of the most open and brilliant experiments in self-government, one that has freed more people and fed more people than any other country in history.

Try believing all the above while residing between Lincoln Center and Columbia University (or in the San Francisco Bay area or in Dane County in Wisconsin ... or in Cambridge, Massachusetts). This guy or gal doesn’t know the first thing about taking risks for one’s beliefs.

Allow me to give you some history.

Back in 2004, in the midst of the presidential election between the incumbent, George W. Bush, and Senator John Kerry, I finally got fed up with everyone assuming I despised George W. Bush because of where I lived, what I looked like, and what I did to make a living. So I wrote an op-ed about the daily indignities I lived with as a conservative in my neighborhood — and how I had to keep my thoughts to myself.

So much for free speech. I talked about the hypocrisy I encountered with people who consider themselves open to all points of view, but who were, in truth, close-minded to anything that did not conform to their belief structure.

I sent it in to the New York Times. After reading it, an editor got back to me and said, sorry, the Times never accepts anonymous articles. Would I be willing to use my name? Since I thought the anonymity actually added more power to the piece, I thanked him, but said no and sent it in The New York Sun.

At the Sun, which then had a paper edition, the editors got the point immediately and ran the op-ed with a large cartoon. I got a kick out of riding the subway that morning and seeing people reading it. I tried to imagine how they’d react if they knew that the author was standing right next to them. Back in 2004, of course, people actually read newspapers on subways, instead of zoning out on iPhones.

For four days, I looked at the paper hoping to see some reaction in the letters section. There was none, and I remember saying to my wife, “Gosh, I thought there would at least be some reaction to the piece.”

The next day, I opened the paper to see something I have never seen before or since – the entire OpEd page was devoted to letters to the editor in reaction to the piece. I learned something important that day. I learned I was not alone. There are others, many others, who don’t conform to the lock-step political beliefs of the Upper West Side.

Today I woke up to Anonymous’s piece in the Times and learned something else, something I should have known all along. When the writer is a conservative and castigates the Times’ reader-base, they stick to their rules. When the writer goes after someone the Times openly detests, as it does President Trump, well, that’s another story. The rules quickly go out the window.

So, here we are, 18 years later and not much has changed in Mr. X’s neighborhood. Some things have changed with Mr. X, though. I really no longer care what others think. When I hear people lamenting the fact that Donald Trump or the evil, racist Republicans are in power, I don’t just let them drone on. I speak up.

Along the way, I have lost many friends. I have been excluded from various events. But I have also found many like-minded individuals who don’t live and die by what the Times, MSNBC, and their neighbors think.

They, and I, think for ourselves. I’d sign this piece, but Mr. X carries more weight.

________

Image: A Roman fresco from Pompeii, 1st century AD, depicting a man in a theatre mask and a woman wearing a garland while playing a lyre (a Greco-Roman stringed instrument); it is now housed in the National Archaeological Museum (Museo Archeologico Nazionale) of Naples, Italy. Via Wikipedia.

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