Hope vs. Hate

[I had wanted to say something about the horrible smear campaign Glenn Beck launched against the bright and talented Yosi Sergant. But my buddy Luke Wahl, who's lucky enough to call Sergant a friend, sums the story up better than I could. - John]

Hey, Glenn Beck. I hope you die in a fire, you unbelievable douche.

I used to dismiss Beck's mindless ranting as merely the moronic stammering of someone with the mental capacity of a badger on 'ludes. I didn't realize how dangerous, and maybe, powerful he was until his most recent bullshit attack took down a friend of mine.
Yosi Sergant was the man who essentially made Shepard Fairey's "Hope" poster happen. The iconic image of a campaign rooted in a movement for change and progressive thinking was born when Yosi got Shepard on board in January of 2008. They made the posters and handed them out at a rally at UCLA, and history was made. Yosi was without a doubt the ringleader of Obama's West Coast youth movement. A passionate, dedicated, thoughtful, energetic, articulate guy, Yosi rallied us all together and packed us on the Hope Express, non-stop to Washington. He was the movement.

After the election, Yosi got his dream job, working at the National Endowment for the Arts as a spokesman. It's the work he was born to do. A talented publicist, Yosi could take his passion for art and music and spread the gospel of not only the relevance of these things, but the necessity. He brought graf artists into the White House, he showed rappers around the rose garden. Yosi is the epitome of the administration's cool, educated vibe.

All of this went poof yesterday for Yos. A dream was clouded, and an innocence that belief and dedication is all that one needs to make change was lost. Maybe forever. This is because Glenn Beck called the NEA's "United We Serve" plan Nazi propaganda, and Yosi, who spoke on behalf of the initiative, a chief exporter of the goods. He called my friend out by name, and in order to stifle the story, Yosi was asked to resign.

I find this Nazi shit to be especially amusing because Yosi, who is as jewy as Schlomo McJewberggreengoldstein, has also been an inspiring force for Israel-Palestine peace. He is a dedicated, peaceful lover of Israel, and a man smart enough to see what needs to happen to ensure happiness in the country he loves. To call Yosi a Nazi is like calling Glenn Beck an American Hero. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Yosi remains at the NEA now, but the dream has been sullied. Hopefully Obama was the cause for his not being dismissed. I have to hope that he stepped in to save him. Frankly, if Barack let this man fall because of Glenn Beck, no matter how much outcry there may be from the right, then he is not the man I voted for.

I hope that something great comes out of this for Yosi. He is a truly wonderful American, and Glenn Beck should be ashamed for what he has done. Then again, shame is an emotion exclusive to humans, and I am not so sure Glenn is one. If you see him on the street, punch him in the balls for me.

Fuck you, Glenn.

[Image via Arrested Motion]