I had it brought to my attention that there were some who felt that I harbored fascist sympathies due to a blog post that I wrote a couple of years ago, involving issues of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the noxious crime of pedophilia involving a controversial arrest in the United Kingdom of a highly controversial person named Tommy Robinson, following his reporting outside the courtroom on a court case involving a large grooming gang (a stage involved in the process of organized pedophilia, a crime among the most abhorrent to me). The particular grooming gang was affiliated with those of an extremist view in the Islamic faith, which also brought that issue into the discussion.
I knew nothing about Tommy previously. I simply heard about an independent citizen journalist who had been arrested and imprisoned in the same day for reporting publicly available information outside a courthouse and it deeply bothered me.
Nothing could be further from reality and the truth than the claim that I harbor fascist sympathies. As anyone that knows me or has read any of my work knows, I have always been focused on themes involving freedom and natural rights, which are the bedrock of civil rights and the antithesis of fascism/authoritarianism/totalitarianism.
I have always been the kind of person who will defend rights of free expression and freedom of press, even in situations where the speech may be offensive in nature, or the messenger may be highly unpopular, offensive, or intensely disliked in the mainstream public.
In this particular post, I had believed that I had made it clear in stating that the issue of the UK government’s arrest and imprisonment in the same day of someone for exercising the natural right of free expression (and by extension free press activity) is something that everyone should be revolted by, whether you are of a liberal, centrist, or conservative persuasion. That certainly is not a pro-fascist statement position to take, just a matter of principle.
At the time I made the post, I saw that many various labels had been applied to Tommy, and from what I saw at the time of the writing, I could see that he was on the political right, a strident nationalist (but I didn’t see any ethnic nature to that at the time), and that he had undertaken a very specific focus on Islamic extremists and the pedophilia/grooming gang issue. I did not see anything in his reporting regarding that case that were of a racial nature and I did not know about any support of white nationalism, something that I reject as an advocate of individual freedom. I just knew he was very controversial and deemed offensive by many in the UK, but I still felt this situation involved a clear violation of individual rights.
I wrote the post in that light. My motivation involved the issue of free speech and freedom of the press, the danger of labels, and defending citizen journalism. It was not ever intended to be an advocacy of any particular political ideology or organization, and certainly not fascism or white nationalism. When I wrote the post, I had thought that a few of the labels did not appear to fit Tommy Robinson based on what I saw involving the courtroom incident.
I did have some additional criticism intending to focus on religious extremism involved with the grooming gangs, as I have always had a problem with that, whether of an Islamic nature, Christian, or otherwise, due to the violations of women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, and many other rights that always come with extremist religious positions. That is consistent with the principles I have always upheld and again, is another form of opposition to fascist-style behavior. It was not intended to be a commentary on all practitioners of Islam, just the radical end of the spectrum that advocates violence, strict imposition of Sharia Law, and things of that nature.
I am very sorry if I did not get that across clearly in the post, but I was very upset about the grooming gang issue when I wrote it. To be clear, I find Islamophobia repugnant and I have always embraced the freedom of religion within my core principles.
At that time, I saw that many others in the world were very bothered by this arrest incident as well, including the pop icon Morrissey, who is anything but a supporter of fascism. Like myself, he was bothered at the egregious use of government authority in this matter. Seeing figures like Morrissey also bothered by it reinforced my perception reflected in the blog post.
As it was a matter of principle in my eyes, I had tweeted criticism of a conservative political figure (known for Brexit) named Nigel Farage in which I had called Tommy the “greater man” of the two. Nigel is white, so it was certainly not any kind of white supremacy statement in any way, but a reaction at the time what I thought was cowardice on the part of Nigel to not address the authoritarian-style arrest and imprisonment/incarceration in a single day of Robinson for relaying publicly available information outside a courthouse. That was always the source of my anger with that incident.
After a few months, I removed the blog post upon learning more about Tommy Robinson’s past association with a more extreme group, the EDL, precisely because I did NOT want people to misconstrue or misinterpret what I was seeking to discuss in that post, and to ever think I was championing anything beyond a defense of free expression, a free press, and a condemnation of misuse of government authority, religious extremism, and grooming gangs.
I am deeply saddened that anyone would think otherwise of me.
As someone who has indigenous (Native American) heritage (Blackfeet Nation), along with my other heritages, I am certainly not one to ever support a racist ideology, like those of the KKK or Neo-nazi organizations, or white nationalist groups.
All of my lifelong creative work and my actions bear this out.
The Imaginarium Convention has always been a tolerant, welcoming, and wholly inclusive event, a safe and nurturing environment for all people that was intentionally developed, protected, and emphasized since the beginning. Our press has supported and created opportunities for members of the LGBTQ community and individuals of various ethnic backgrounds, several of whom have been cherished parts of our core family for years with both the convention and the press. My record in this area stands clear.
Anyone that has worked with me or spent time in person with me, and knows my history, knows that I was brought up by a mother and father who were scientists that always had friendships with people of all backgrounds, ever since the earliest days I can remember.
Racism and fascism are both things that I categorically reject and have never been a part of. They are both things that I have always opposed.
I am very sorry that this blog post I that I retracted long ago, which lingered in a Google-cache and showed still on a feed despite being taken down from my blog site, has been taken in a light in which it was never intended. To be clear and reiterate, it was only a condemnation of what I saw as authoritarian (and genuinely fascist) behavior on the part of a government to suppress an individual’s right to free expression and defense of freedom of the press, along with some criticism of grooming gangs and extremist religious ideology. Again, at the time, I did not know the full history of Tommy Robinson and some of his past associations.
I also had it brought to my attention that my recent absence online, in light of the events now happening nationally, has also been seen as some kind of tacit support of fascism.
To that I can only say that I have been extremely ill for the past two weeks, I had a comprehensive blood test that revealed a serious medical situation, and that my activity has been greatly affected by that as I have had to get expedited doctor appointments and treatments going. I have greatly reduced my time spent online as a result as all those I interact with regularly know and can testify to.
I was not in any kind of condition to be continuing with my livestreams, making extensive posts, or anything of a more significant nature, period. It has been a great struggle for me to simply be a co-host on our weekly podcast and I almost had to cancel last week. I have chosen not to talk in detail about that blood test as I did not want anyone to worry too much as most know I had a month and a half bout with Covid-19 covering March and much of April.
I absolutely stand against racism and fascism, and like everyone I was utterly saddened, angered, and disgusted with the tragedies involving George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others. I have ALWAYS been a person for whom black lives matter, as that is who I am. My reduced presence online was merely a matter of battling an illness, and nothing more.
I am also a very accessible and approachable person, and I would hope that anyone that had any questions or concerns about anything that I ever wrote would know they can reach out to me to discuss any matter. I do not have any problem addressing concerns and would have been glad to take the time to explain what I have here, to a group or to individuals.
I hope that in the future those having concerns would reach out to me rather than have come to a conclusion such as this.
It is my sincere hope that this response will be received in the spirit of goodwill that it is intended to be, and that it explains the situation in full.
Most sincerely,
-Stephen Zimmer
