Fresno’s infamous anti-masker professes to love freedom, but he’s really just a loud bully

“You are garbage.” “You’re worthless.” “The biggest hypocrite slimeball you will ever see.” “You’re a horrible f---ing person.”

Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias was at a Paso Robles pub on Sunday, hoping to enjoy some time off by having some drinks with friends on his birthday weekend.

Instead, he was accosted by Fresno’s infamous anti-masker Ben Martin and another man, Cordie Williams, who is among the statewide proponents to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.

This time, they directed their ire at Arias with the statements made above. The manner of communication? Shouting, even ranting, in plain view of the other patrons.

It got worse. Williams, a Carlsbad resident who likely did not know Arias until the chance encounter, went on in a video to speak in disgusting terms about Arias’ manhood, a non sequitur if there ever was one.

“This guy from Fresno, tough guy, he wants to keep kids out of schools, wants to keep kids away, wants to shut down schools, masking rules, he believes in the c-o-v-i-d-s-c-a-m, but here he is enjoying his tasty with his buddies and his friends, but you can’t enjoy yours,” Williams said.

In fact, Arias called on Fresno Unified to move up its school reopening plan. A parent of school-age children, Arias noted how Clovis schools were in session, but Fresno was not.

Martin accused Arias of being a “mask Nazi.” In fact, throughout the pandemic Arias has advocated for Frenans to follow CDC guidelines for safety.

Never mind the inaccuracies and falsehoods that Martin and Williams engaged in. Their hostility, even rage, was over the top and is not something anyone should have to endure, elected official or not. Arias felt threatened enough by it that he planned to talk to the authorities.

Martin’s conservatism

Creating falsehoods and repeating them while engaging in belligerent behavior is now commonplace in American politics, said a professor who specializes in the study of extremism.

“At a time when we’re seeing escalating threats against public officials, the adults in the room should say, ‘Some things are legitimate and some types of calls for violence, depictions of the governor as a Hitlarian Nazi, and use of conspiracy theories are off the table.” So says Brian Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

“But you won’t hear that,” he adds, “because unfortunately, in today’s coarse and fact-limited political world, it’s all about making waves and less and less about facts.”

Both sides of the political spectrum have engaged in outrageous behavior in recent years, but then there’s Martin and his brand of conservatism.

Face facts about COVID

Martin led mask protests earlier this year outside Fresno’s Sprouts market and Trader Joe’s. In the case of Sprouts, its manager sought a restraining order to keep Martin at bay after she said he threatened her.

After one of the protests, Martin called Mayor Jerry Dyer a “moron” because he dared to point out that Martin could be arrested for trespassing if he did not comply with a store manager’s direction. This “moron” was Fresno’s police chief for 18 years.

Martin believes personal freedoms should take precedence over a public health threat like COVID, nevermind that the highly contagious disease has killed more than 1,600 Fresno County residents and sickened more than 100,000 over the past year.

People like Martin and Williams are self-absorbed and lacking the ability to hear anyone else’s point of view. They run roughshod over those they consider opponents, and their tactics blunt whatever valid idea they may hold.

Levin is right to call on the “adults” in the public square to say enough. To that end, the City Council should consider a resolution condemning Martin’s nonsense. One who could lead that effort is Garry Bredefeld, himself a conservative.

This is a sure instance when the council should be united and make clear that outrageous antagonism, like attacking a member who just wants to have a cold one, is not OK.