Exposing hate, close to home (as if acceptable anywhere)

My interest started when I was looking at my Facebook feed over the weekend and saw this post from a former coworker. Obviously, we’re Facebook friends. Otherwise, his post wouldn’t have come up. He’s a former Marine. We’d always worked well together and even though he is the most right-wing person I know, he’d never done anything to disrespect me or make me feel uncomfortable.

The post had to do with Kevin Hart withdrawing as host of the Oscar awards in late February, but it was the comments that followed that got me. I’m just going to show you what I discovered and it was nothing I’d ever seen with my own eyes, targeted toward me, right outside my own city.

I should take this opportunity to warn you about the language and more importantly, the thoughts, that follow.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Philadelphia-born and raised entertainer said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences asked Hart to apologize for anti-gay tweets and comments he made during stand-up routines nearly 10 years ago, according to Variety, or the organization would cut ties.

Hart eventually did, but apparently it was too late.

Then my former coworker and Facebook friend commented as he tends to on his Facebook page. The third comment you see below is also his, and I’d never seen him go that far. I was very disappointed, but we’re still Facebook friends. That’s Facebook’s term for connections. Instead of questioning or debating him, I decided to learn more about the person who wrote the last two comments, since he only seemed interested in Jewish people.

Do you see all the “like” and “love” reactions? That’s what we’re dealing with.

This Brad Foden character apparently lives outside Philadelphia and is a former Marine, just like my former coworker and Facebook friend, but younger.

I clicked his name and saw what he’d posted on his own Facebook page, and everything I’m showing you is public, as you’ll soon see by the “world” icon in the upper right.

Here is another picture of him, posted just over a month ago but years old.

Again, this is what I – a complete stranger – found on Foden’s Facebook page. Keep in mind, we’re certainly not friends, have never met, and this is public. I have no idea what may be on there that’s private.

Here, he managed to turn a gun law into racial hatred for absolutely no reason.

Obviously, somebody who thinks that way about one group also thinks that way about others. Nobody is immune.

Then, after that string, he continued.

But wait until I used one of those phrases of his against him!

I decided to engage and find out what makes someone such a hate-monger. He’s probably about 40 years old and lives near a large northeastern city, rather than the south or northwest, where his thinking is more likely to be prevalent.

I tried to elicit responses the best way I could, which involved some lowering me to his level. I also asked questions, but you won’t find any answered. Instead, just names thrown out that he probably saw misrepresented in hate material, either on paper or online.

What you’re about to see directly followed his comment from above, “They run much more than Hollywood.” It’s not edited. I wrote everything myself and he wrote everything himself. Unsubstantiated, like everything else from him.

At the top, about getting kicked out. I was thinking to myself:

Ferdinand and Isabella kicked the Jews and Moors out of Spain. What happened to Spain afterward? It made some folks there rich from explorers doing what they did, but the country itself was ruined. What could Spain claim for centuries, especially after the British sank the Spanish Armada in 1588?
Then, centuries later, the Holocaust. Europe killed its Jews and so many of the survivors left for overseas. Trace Europe’s downfall in world affairs through the 20th century. Then, Europe made it so easy to let Muslims in and the areas around big cities have certainly changed. How do they feel about that difference in demographics?
Now, look at Israel. It miraculously won independence, survived being severely outnumbered and boycotted, and thrives with technology and innovation.
And that lowlife had the nerve to say Jews got “removed” from so many places! Their losses!

But I kept quiet to read more of him digging his own grave.

Notice he said, “We are done here,” but that was far from the case.

Again, no answers, and this string was over but I wasn’t satisfied.

Instead, after one genius posted, probably to my former coworker and Facebook friend’s original comment, I had already started a new string by updating the original story and tagging good ‘ol Brad!

I won’t say anything in general about people who can’t spell, use proper English punctuation, etc. Lots of people can’t, but they’re smart in other ways. Even some hate leaders aren’t “stupid,” but I think I’m dealing with one of their followers, who is the lowest of the low and dispensable.

Once again, it took a few hours but he simply couldn’t resist not responding.
I thought I’d give him a chance to prove his conservative bona-fides by explaining how markets work, but he couldn’t keep up. It seems he’s just hate. That’s all there is to him.

Now, as we get into hours, you can see it took about three hours to get that last response. So much for that “We are done here” from earlier.

That’s the least of it, but it gets discussed at the end. Just wait.

By now, we’ve all seen “((()))” in his writing before. I don’t know why he’d keep trying to hide what he thinks and wanted to say at this point!

But he, himself, continued. Again, none of this was edited except for other people’s names earlier.

So shalom. He’s done. Yeah right!

In case you’re wondering, my former coworker and Facebook friend had to be fully aware of every comment that got posted, by Facebook notifications as they were happening, since it all appears on his page. He’s still my former coworker (obviously) but also Facebook friend. He didn’t unfriend me at any point, letting this continue. I wonder why but won’t ask.

As for this Brad knowing I write (but certainly not as eloquently as him), I’ll assume it’s on the top of my Facebook page. Almost everything else is set to friends-only, and that’s the default. Somehow, I doubt he got that from my former coworker and Facebook friend.

One last point here: Notice how he asked, “How close are you to reporting me now media man?” Earlier, it was “How long before you report me to your family that runs this place?” As far as I’m concerned, publicizing this was his idea.

THIS is where he really outdoes himself! Do you see the name of the newspaper? Do you see what he wrote?

This is the picture of the newspapers blown up. I still can’t see as many details as I’d like, and certainly can’t speak for the newspaper or the picture. You’ll just have to notice the similarities and differences between the two sides. Please comment below if you’re more familiar with this graphic.

So I gave him a hard time for not being able to distinguish between the newspapers or having a clue who owns The Wall Street Journal, throwing in the name of a cable channel he’s probably familiar with, just for good measure.

Then, last night, I let loose and shocked him by showing I knew more about him than he could’ve thought.

That was the last thing I wrote to him. No more. I gave him the floor after that last post.

Then, I went to bed, listening to the TV and all the rings on my phone, all different responses from him. Brad wouldn’t give up.

You’ll notice he finished the string and started new ones, so look at the time since he posted, so you can follow in order if you think he makes any sense.

Was this what he was referring to?

Or this?

I wonder if the authorities or Facebook would consider any of this threatening.

And that’s all, folks! You read every single word of our “conversation.” (I warned you, didn’t I?)

So here are a last few points from me:

And he thought he had a stalker? So many messages from him. So much nonsense. But so much he apparently believes, and he can’t be the only one, so that’s a problem for society.

No, I’m not afraid. I don’t believe in living in fear, and plenty of other journalists have faced much more when reporting. I live in a secure building and don’t have a regular schedule.

And no, he doesn’t know the journalism business, or the turmoil and turnover that goes on in newsrooms.

As for my former coworker and Facebook friend, he’s not completely innocent. Far from it. He wrote some similar things. I’m not happy about that. But I don’t plan to unfriend him, simply because I can read what he writes and he can read what I write, so unfriending is up to him. Hopefully this can be a learning experience but my hopes are very low.

Furthermore, I didn’t name any other person involved in a few of the posts you saw. I blocked off their names. The reason is simply because I had a “discussion” with one person and gave that one person plenty of opportunities to explain himself. He took me up on those opportunities, more than I ever could’ve thought, and I’m letting his words speak for themselves. Nobody else got that chance. And don’t forget he asked, “How long before you report me to your family that runs this place?” and “How close are you to reporting me now media man?”

So let me ask you this, especially for people in and around Philadelphia: If think you know Brad Foder, do you really? Has this changed your opinion of him?

If you don’t, would you want to be associated with him? Do you think he’d really like and respect you?  Would you want him working for you? Would you go as far as warning others about him?

If you do know of him, then I hope your answer to the last question would be “yes,” and you’ll forward this web link to everyone you think also knows of him, as a friendly warning.

Personally, I think I know what I’m going to do about what I perceive to be threats, but certainly won’t reveal any decisions here.

Folks, this is America, 2018. As we approach Christmas, which I don’t celebrate, I’ll end with a phrase millions of other people will be reciting:

“Peace on Earth, and goodwill toward men” (and women).

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