No, I'm Not Anti-Semitic!

I’m back from my whirlwind trip to our nation’s capital. As my supporters know, I was invited to visit the White House to join my peers, otherwise known as ‘influencers’ on the Internet and discuss the ongoing and increased censorship of conservative voices. Then I got censored from the summit on censorship.

Some have said I brought it on myself by announcing the invitation I received from the president. I can’t disagree with that assessment now, but at the time we at GrrrGraphics were bursting with excitement. We wanted to share the news with those who have helped us. After all, our supporters were the ones who would make such a trip possible. There would have been no way I could afford to go without them, and it was an expensive trip. 

My old suit was 20 years old and I could no longer fit in it. So I bought a nice new suit and new shoes. I had to buy plane tickets and since they weren’t purchased well in advance they weren’t cheap—even though I got the cheapest, ‘basic economy’ tickets I could find. (It would also mean that later I could not cancel and get my money back). I was going to stay at the cheapest hotel I could find too, but my wife correctly stated that if I’m going to see the president I needed to stay at his hotel. So I did. It cost well over $300 per night. At the end, it cost us a small fortune. The taxi fare to and from Dulles Airport was very expensive. After I arrived at the hotel I was hungry and so got myself a steak dinner. Along with one martini added in, the tab came to $88. Plus tip. On my final night there I decided to scrimp and just eat an appetizer. That came to $28 for a shrimp cocktail containing four shrimp, but at least it was artfully presented.

The expense would have been worth it had I been able to see the president in person as planned. Alas, it was not to be. The ADL made sure of that. The Anti Defamation League is an organization designed to thwart bigotry and hate toward Jewish people. They try to punish anyone who might express sentiments by means of public condemnation and shame. In other words, their mission to end ‘hate speech’ is brought about by controlling free speech. They’re now an official censor. How in the hell did that happen?

Out of all the cartoons I’ve drawn over the last ten years, the ADL focussed on a single cartoon drawn by me. It was commissioned by Mike Cernovich, who helped us out a lot during a time when we needed help the most. After he published the cartoon, he immediately received flak and as a result he cropped out the controlling hand at the top. Since it was his cartoon it was his prerogative, but the uncropped version remains on our website. I will not apologize for it, because there’s nothing to apologize for. It’s also featured in my latest coffee table book, which will be sent out later this summer to all those who bought it in advance.

The cartoon was used by the ADL as ‘proof’ of my ‘blatant anti-Semitism.’ Since I was going to the White House the biased corporate media soon piled on and breathlessly repeated the smear, and the word ‘blatant.’ It wasn’t blatant and it wasn’t anti-Semitic. It was anti-central banking and globalism. Regardless, Jake Tapper did a gleeful tap dance as he played the ‘Gotcha!’ game. The fake news media made a huge something out of literally nothing.

As a result, a White House representative called me. They were wondering if my presence would be too much of a ‘distraction.' I didn’t pick up on their cue at first. “Oh no, don’t worry about it, it’s just a tempest in a teapot—I’m still happy to be coming.” Silly me. I didn’t pick up their real intent. I was being asked to voluntarily withdraw so the president wouldn’t be seen as the one who kicked me out. They wanted me to kick myself out for the good of the summit and so I did. My only proviso to them was that it all be kept silent. I would not tell anyone and the White House wouldn’t mention I wasn’t going to be there either. The media could all twist in their collectivist wind. 

But that’s not what happened. Instead they quickly caught wind that I wasn’t going and gleefully howled about their victory. Did they find out from someone at the White House? That’s what I thought at first and I felt betrayed and angry. I was on CNN International News. It was said Trump was doing the right thing by banning an ‘obvious’ anti-Semitic person such as me. Later the White House denied they leaked the story and that they were engaged in ‘fake news’ speculation. Really? What an obfuscated mess! My reputation was trampled upon mercilessly. Like that scene played by Al Pacino in “Scarface,” I was the ‘bad guy.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW37AGZ0Pj0&fbclid=IwAR2RFOYQ_Hcz2x-Y8ZmrTBZ7JRXaG8TEt2I7zN0Xyv_6vBaqaE8lqwp-gQ8

"What you lookin' at? You're all a bunch of fuckin' assholes. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be. You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fuckin' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy.”

The ADL needs people like me. They need to point a hectoring finger of attention to someone who they can claim is an anti-Semitic monster. Someone who is a purveyor of hate and potential harm to Jewish people. They capitalize on that fear to draw in millions of dollars in donations, which helps bring them power and more influence. I was held up as their ‘bad guy.’ Their evidence? I labeled a sinister hand with the word, “Rothschilds.”

I put that same word on another cartoon. The ‘R’s were featured in a vast swamp that also showed President Trump, who was just starting to drain it. Why didn’t they focus on that cartoon? Because it portrayed Trump in a positive light. Instead, they riveted attention toward the classic puppet/string metaphor, which they claimed in and of itself was anti-Semitic. This link will show you their take on it:

https://www.adl.org/blog/anti-semitism-used-in-attack-against-national-security-adviser-h-r-mcmaster

This is the supposed evidence that made me into their ‘bad guy.’ They’re wrong. If I were really anti-Semitic, I would have written the word “Jews” on the hand. I didn’t. I don’t go after people based on their race or religion. I criticize people for what they do. What did the Rothschilds do? For centuries, they’ve dominated global finance. It’s a family that pushed a globalist agenda while manipulating countries and currencies. They’ve urged countries to go to war with each other, while profiting on both sides. The Rothschilds virtually invented central and fractional reserve banking and were instrumental in the formation of the Federal Reserve debt money system. JP Morgan did their bidding. 

They say the ‘R' family today has dissipated their wealth and are no longer a factor. If that’s the case, why all the fuss? It is said we know who is really running the show when we find out whom we cannot discuss. We can’t talk about the Rothschilds. They are protected by a red shield—their ‘anti-Semitism’ accusation shield. 

It’s hard to find out what the Rothschilds are currently worth. An internet search would show that the ‘R’ family has little wealth today. They’ve fallen on hard times! Stop attacking those poor people! In actuality, a small number of families control 40 percent of the world’s wealth. You can’t mention these families without getting attacked. I suspect the ‘R’s’ are still trillionaires, but their wealth is hidden by trust funds and such. Regardless, the cartoon represents the globalist central bankers that pull the strings of Soros and it’s getting to the point now where you can no longer mention George’s last name in a negative light without getting called anti-you-know-who. 

I’m not anti-Semitic and I’ve never drawn a single anti-Semitic cartoon. The Rothschilds are public and historical figures that should not be immune to criticism. Their debt money system hurts us all—including average and hard working Jews! If the ADL wants to imagine sinister things about me and claim my cartoons are dogwhistles for anti-Semitism, then they should state that as opinion, not fact. Unfortunately their opinion is treated as fact by the mainstream media. As a result, I was viciously libeled. It has cost me my reputation and a lot of money. It also cost me a chance to see the president.

—Ben Garrison

Hate Speech is (mostly) Free Speech

I was disturbed by Apple CEO Tim Cook's speech as he accepted an award from the ADL for his 'courage' against 'hate.' Here is an excerpt:
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Apple CEO Tim Cook this afternoon accepted the Anti-Defamation League's inaugural Courage Against Hate Award at the Never is Now Summit on Anti-Semitism and Hate, where he gave a keynote speech that had a strong message for those seeking to spread hate on Apple's platform.

"We only have one message for those who seek to push hate, division, and violence, Cook said. "You have no place on our platform. You have no home here."

Cook went on to say that this is a longtime view of Apple's, and he pointed out the company's removal of Infowars content earlier this year. Apple, he said, is not afraid to say that its values drive its curation decisions.

From the earliest days of iTunes to Apple Music today, we have always prohibited music with a message of white supremacy. Why? Because it's the right thing to do.

And as we showed this year, we won't give a platform to violent conspiracy theorists on the App Store. Why? Because it's the right thing to do.

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https://www.macrumors.com/2018/12/03/tim-cook-adl-keynote-speech/

Infowars never called for violence. I've personally met Alex Jones and I can assure everyone that he's neither racist nor a 'white supremacist.'

I'm not anti-Semitic and I have Jewish friends who are libertarians. They LIKE Alex Jones and are against the Federal Reserve. It's not anti-Semitic to call out a warning against the ADL who have set themselves up as the arbiter of what's 'free speech' and what's 'hate speech.' I'm on their list because I criticized the Rothschilds in one of my cartoons. WHAT? We're not allowed to criticize the corrupt central banking system without being assigned the 'hate speech' label, which leads to social media bans and maybe even getting banned from Patreon and PayPal? This is a dangerous and slippery slope, folks.

So now 'conspiracy theorists' are lumped in with 'white supremacists' and 'haters' and must be banned from all Silicon Valley platforms. This is how they're going to end up banning all conservatives in order to have a monopoly on what can be said and not said. The power-mad PC lefties will FORCE us to behave and accept their agenda, which includes the silencing of Christians, the forced acceptance of 'climate change' and a carbon tax, the forced relinquishment of our guns and Second Amendment while forcing us into a Chinese-style social credit system. This must be stopped. NOW. Who says the ADL has the exclusive right to determine what is and what is not hate speech? Tim Cook is leading Apple toward the very dystopian society that the first Apple commercial in 1984 warned us about.

I know what real hate speech is--trolls used my name and face and altered cartoons to call for the murder of blacks, gays and the far left. Hate speech was not free speech for me. It was very costly. It cost me my reputation and lost work from my commercial art business. It cost me peace of mind.

At one desperate point to make it stop I said "hate speech is not free speech.' Well, sometimes it isn't.  Hate speech in the form of death threats, defamation, libel, and slander is actionable in a court of law. Andrew Anglin is finding that out when he sent his troll army to target a jewish woman and her family. She slapped a lawsuit on him, and rightfully so.

I could not afford such lawsuits. There was nothing I could do about it except sit and take it. Hate speech to me still meant having my reputation and ability to make a living destroyed due to copyright infringement, slander and libel.  Now, however, 'hate speech' is whatever the ADL says it is. 

Suspicious about Sandy Hook and want to point out the weird anomalies that took place? SHUT UP!--that's HATE SPEECH! Question the veracity of the moon landings? SHUT UP!--that's HATE SPEECH! Question Al Gore's 'Global Warming?" SHUT UP--that's HATE SPEECH! To protect free speech we must tolerate hate speech up to a certain point, even though I still say libel, death threats, and defamation still cross the line. That's actionable. But mostly, we can counter hate speech with free speech. Banning hate speech will only cause it to fester.

And that's my tirade for today.--BG

The Demonization of Alex Jones

In a shameful article from the left-leaning CNBC, we read about the 'dark side of untrammeled discourse' (they want censorship and trammeling) as well as the dangerous 'conspiracy theorist' Alex Jones, whom they smear as a 'right-wing provocateur.'

What they're doing is excusing Silicon Valley for blatantly censoring the free speech of a patriot and journalist who informed of us real conspiracies--not conspiracy 'theories.' The Deep State, the Bilderbergs, and fluoride in our water are only a few examples of such 'theories.' They're now established facts.

The fact of the matter is the Deep State and the oligarchs that run things continue to lose control of the dialogue and people are dismissing their narrative of globalism. It's their game and they want to keep their private monopoly and control of minds.

Since they're LOSING the argument they're now resorting to gross censorship. Lefty media outlets such as CNN, "The Washington Post" and CNBC are applauding this assault on our First Amendment. The latter published piece that refers to Jones, which can be read here:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/10/the-associated-press-tech-giants-still-stumbling-in-the-social-world-they-created.html

Notice how they added insults into their story---as if to suggests conservatives are violent 'Nazis,' murderers and rapists. This is despicable and a disgusting example of editorial reporting.

That all got dicier once the election of President Donald Trump focused new attention on fake news and organized misinformation campaigns — not to mention the fact that some of the people grabbing these new social-media megaphones were wild conspiracy theories who falsely call mass shootings a hoax, white nationalists who organize violent rallies and men who threaten women with rape and murder.

Shame on all the censors from Silicon Valley and the legacy media who want to control what used to be free speech on social media.

--Ben Garrison

Hillary Bans Pepe The Frog:

Hillary was annoyed by a cartoon frog and so she has had him banned. 

We had been selling coffee mugs using a service called ‘Zazzle.’ I drew a cigar-smoking Pepé frog with the words, “Welcome to Montana.” We made small amount from each mug sold. Tina handles most of the marketing and sales and informed me that the coffee mug was canceled. Here’s the message she received:

How could an innocuous cartoon frog violate their content guideline? Because Pepé was just listed as a ‘hate symbol’ by the Anti-Defamation League. Apparently, Hillary and the left get to decide what is ‘hateful’ and what is not. This is how tyranny gets established. We know Hillary is a control freak. She wants everything rigged, choreographed and planned. In her favor, of course. She’s a Stalin-like sociopath who wants to edit the Internet. She wants to control the dialogue and free speech. Her ownership of the mainstream media isn’t enough. She wants to control the dialogue on the Internet, too.

Since Pepé was used in conjunction with pro-Trump posts on the Web, Hillary’s feelings were hurt. Something had to be done. Feelings are paramount, after all…not facts. Trump being smeared as 'Hitler' wasn't enough. Pro-Trump memes must also be stopped in their tracks. So now Pepé is being banned and that’s that. Nobody voted on it. The people have no say. It's the ruling clique that decides.

The green frog, originally created by Matt Furie, was utilized to convey emotional states. “Feels good, man!” is how he got started. There are hundreds if not thousands of images out there featuring Pepé in various incarnations. Sure, some Nazis added a swastika armband on him, but such instances amounted to only a tiny percentage. Hillary has focused on this tiny percentage to imply that all Pepé images are hateful. Even Furie himself blames ‘fringe’ elements and Trump. http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a49057/pepe-frog-creator-voting-hillary/

It’s all ridiculous, but also very dangerous. Hillary and her leftist ilk already control the media. They get to decide what’s a hate symbol and what’s not—not We The People. They want to decide what reality is. They run Barter Town. They tell us how it’s gonna be.

Hillary pulled a similar stunt regarding Obama’s fraudulent birth certificate. It was proven to be 100 percent bogus. Facts don’t seem to matter, though. Apparently, facts are now racist, too. The left quickly smeared anyone speaking the truth as ‘birthers.’ Birthers were then held up as ‘racists.’ We saw Hillary doing her finest virtue signaling during the debate. She loudly denounced Trump as a birther and racist. It's racist to hurt Obama’s feelings!

We’ve now reached a new and contemptible low level. Our First Amendment faces great peril from these tyrants. They are setting precedents about what hate speech is and their pronouncements can’t easily be ignored even though hate speech is legal in the U.S. That doesn't matter. There are Facebook bans. Google could pull the plug, too--my blog could disappear suddenly. They've already done that to others such as Milo Yiannopoulos. He was recently banned from Twitter because someone's feelings were hurt.

Soon, one might wake up and find that PayPal has pulled their plug—they will no longer be able to use it because something they blogged was deemed hateful. Think it can’t happen? It already has. It happened to Andrew Anglin. I despise that trolling manlet, but PayPal should not have banned him simply because he was using his free speech. Increasingly Twitter is also shutting down the voices who call out the left for their police state tactics.

If we keep going in this direction—and we will if Hillary is elected—expect more Americans to lose their jobs over perceived ‘hateful’ comments and symbols. The 1st Amendment may still be there, but too many will be rendered quiescent by fear. Hillary is willing to silence others by breaking their rice bowls. Why? More money, power and control for her, of course. Yes, she’s that evil.

Ben Garrison