More signs from our local gadfly, Mr. Fernandez.
Pwc and mans. City
stop your racism. Ag
ainst native Americans
287g, another law by
white supremacists to
get rid of people of color
stop 287g…no more chains
on working people
equality & justice 4 all
The above was dictated to me and supposedly it is color coded as shown. The sign is roughly a 7 x 10.
The paragraph below is my opinion only. M-H
I expect the good people of Manassas and its surrounding areas have long been out of patience with this type of signage and with the gentleman who is allowing it to happen. Mr. F stands in the way of any healing our community might want to transpire. He continues to throw gasoline on a fire that is trying to go out. I suspect it is because if the fire goes out, he loses the attention he so desperately seeks. His 15 minute walk of fame is growing dimmer and dimmer.
I could propose a few names :
The Battle Against Lawfulness
Triumph of the Will of the People
Squatters’ Rights
Press 1 For English, 2 For Spanish
Corey and Greg and Me
yes, Poor Richard, that is interesting.
Rick, I vote for the last one! Corey, Greg and Me. I think I want Greg’s name first though. It rolls off the tongue a little better.
I like “Squatters Rights” the best.
Drove by and observed there are two signs up, the old one championing
his Alford pleaing pal and the new much larger one strung between two
trees that features his most recent rant. This is clearly in violation of city
ordinances and trust Manassas will move as quickly as the law allows.
He must realize that he is changing nobody’s mind or creating sympathy
for his “cause” – in fact, he is doing the opposite. This is ALL about Fernandez’s
Macho Man ego and desire for attention.
Two????
I know of people who attempted to talk to him a long time ago in hopes of convincing him to change direction. It did not work. I definitely agree: Macho Man ego and desire for attention.
He will get the kind of attention he does not want at this point. Most people have zero sympathy for him. Enough with the reindeer games.
I have been away from this blog for awhile, busy on other projects, but could not help but make a comment about this ridiculus sign…
For all of those who agree this sign is racist propoganda, I entirely agree…
Ethnic groups in this counbtry need to assess why they have such a compulsive need to address issues from a racist perspective, instead of an economic perspective…They fuel the fire of revolution and revolt along racial and ethnic lines and have no concept of the principles of democracy…
What they are doing is exactly like the racial and ethnic divisions and revolutionary propoganda that led to World War I…there was revolt and revolution all around the world, but it did not become democractic….
It became socialist, facist, dictatorial and colonial, all political racist and ethnic movements that led toward the crisis of the second world war, the cold war, vietnam, bosnia, and even the wars in IRAQ and Afganistan, all have thier root in the ethnic racism of world war I, and the ethnic and racial arrogance that made it impossible to stop a war
If F. does not understand this, he needs a history lesson. This is not free speech, it is racial propaganda, with an agenda to overthrow American democracy (rule of the government by socially and ethically homogenous, nationalist supporting people who make laws for all individuals, and put the power of self rule in individuals for the common good, not the good of just one ethnic group….looking out only for its own interests…
This is the problem with illegal aliens, they have no respect for nationality, only political self-centered racism…
We should put the guy in jail for subterfuge and promoting hate crime against Americans…
Mr. F is not an illegal alien to my knowledge. We will have to have this discussion without illegal aliens involved.
Thanks for the link, that refreshes my memory about that trip.
Agreed. I’d love to see someone put up a sign nearby his property calling him out as the racist he is, just like he incorrectly called out that police officer, as an example.
Sounds like a good potential sign to me.
Thanks for the history as usual. I remember Col. Xerx White when he was in the City Council – didn’t realize he was involved in the original attempts to save that property before it got burned down, which led to the sign fiasco. I am not surprised the African-American community which I know has a strong presence on Liberty St. has strong negative feelings about their street and publicity in regards to the sign. I had a feeling that had to be the case, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen anyone confirm it.
From a marketing/catch-title point of view I can see why 9500 Liberty was picked. Otherwise it would have had to have some boring title like “Prince William County Immigration Debate” which wouldn’t obviously been as good. However, it seems to elevate that sign to the center of the debate – which maybe it was back in 2007. Anyway, now 9500 Liberty is the site of a highly racist sign, and even the last incarnation of the more permanent structure had a racist message. Not something I’d really now want to associate the title “9500 Liberty” with!
If indeed this sign is much bigger and violates the zoning laws – I hope the city moves fast and really goes for the max penalty this time. And no more “continuances” because allegedly Fernandez doesn’t have proper legal representation or whatever. Throw the book at him this time if he’s in violation of current zoning statutes! And treat him exactly the same as anyone else in violation. Last time the city bent over backward with all the delays and then even allowed him not to be fined when he finally removed the sign. No 2nd chance this time – the sign’s up and if it is in violation should be fined to the max penalty. The old “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me” saying applies here.
It is good to know people did try and talk to him and get him to change direction or the tone of his signs. It is bad (but no surprise) that he did not listen to them. He is definitely milking this for all the attention he can get – maybe another free trip to California too!
Then again a trip to the local jail would be more appropriate – but I guess zoning violation penalties don’t include jail time, unless you are found in contempt of the court or some such thing.
I thought I responded. duh!
I think he would just get fined and a lien placed on his property.
I think unfortunately all of us who have been through this tragic chapter in Manassas and PWC history remain somewhat blinded by the fog of war.
Whether it is Mr. Fernandez on one extreme or Corey Stewart, John Stirrup, and Greg Letiecq on the other, no one should be wishing or wanting something bad to happen to a person who is a father, a neighbor, and a fellow American.
Let’s criticize their point of view, but let’s not forget they have a Constitutional right to express it, whether through an poorly received banner or a poorly received blog, or a poorly received piece of legislation.
I drove past there today, I only saw one sign.
I have been in touch with the various minorty communities since the start of this controversy, and the African American community in Manassas and PWC in particular has demonstrated solidarity in support of the Hispanic community. This struggle has been looked upon by both groups (and the Muslim community as well) as involving racial profiling issues, ethnic scapegoating, and civil rights.
Since Gainesville Resident considers words posted anonymously on a blog to be “confirmation,” I assume he’ll be accepting my word on this.
Rick, there were two up this morning – the smaller older one defending his pal
and attacking the PD, on the right as you face the property from PW Street ,and
the larger new one quoted above, which is in the back of the property and strung
high between two trees.
Witness Too, I think an objective observation would indicate some tension over
the sign and the turmoil over it, especially in a historic Afro-American neigborhood.
I know for a fact local officials are getting heat from that community about it.
I don’t think any one person can speak for the African American Community or the muslim Community (or the white community or hispanic community for that matter). I know many blacks personally who are furious over that sign. They don’t speak for all blacks though.
Mr. Fernandez has the right to say whatever he wants. He has the right to write whatever he wants. He does not have the right to continually violate city code.
He also has to know that there are many people out there who will blast him for continuing to wave the bloody shirt rather than trying to heal the community. He additionally has spit in the very faces of many people who have tried to help exaccerbate the situation. I haven’t really seen him face the music. All I have seen is crocodile tears and him babbling about knowing the truth.
I agree with Rick’s suggestion for a counter sign. I tried to temper my speech on this issue for a long time. Each time he throws up another insult I try less.
The sign IS a counter sign, M-H. The sign is a counter to a wave of luntatic ignorance and hatred that swept the county and it was all directed at one minority group. If I was part of that group I’d be pretty pissed about that. Probably would be years later too.
???? I was replying to what MH wrote about the African Americans. Those are NOT anonymous words in my opinion. So it comes down to whether I should believe you or MH. Your credibility is low since you put words in my mouth and write what you think I am thinking. Actually your credibility is zero with me, given this latest nonsense about me considering words posted anonymously as fact.
It is a racist counter sign then, written by someone who is a racist. But apparently it is OK to be racist as long as it is racist against white people.
OK, well maybe WT was referring to my comments from what Poor Richard wrote. He has a lot more credibility, given his posts about Manassas history and so on. WT has no credibility with me as he/she twists and spins what I write all the time.
And it’s fine to put up a sign in protest – but do it by obeying zoning laws and not writing racist rhetoric. The last 3 signs have been way over the top – especially the one about the police officer, and now calling elected officials in Manassas and PWC “white supremacists”. Funny, everyone objects to lumping Latinos or other groups into categories, such as “illegal immigrants”, but in the eyes of some people it is OK to label a group of people as “white supremacists” when that is not true. I am hopeful it is a tiny minority of people that actually think and believe such nonsense.
If it is in back of the property – I wonder if that makes it OK from a zoning point of view. Something I read about the sign regarding the police officer – for one thing it was set far enough back from the edge of the property line – although if this new sign is near the back edge of the property maybe that will be a zoning problem. I truly hope it is in violation so the city can go after him for the new bigger sign, since there’s nothing they can do about the smaller one.
This person has repeatedly flaunted the zoning laws of the City of Manassas – starting way before his sign with his property being in poor condition. He then purposely dragged things in the courts showing up without legal representation when the case had been pending a long time. As far as I’m concerned if the city can legally throw the book at him they should do so – and I wouldn’t feel the least bit sorry for him if he gets a huge fine. And if people don’t frequent his business because of it, again it’s his freedom of speech that caused this, so why should I feel sorry for him? He has cost the City of Manassas money in pursuing this for a long time, so again if he loses some money or suffers some financial hardship – it was his choice for exercising his free speech.
Of course, if you are implying anyone here wished more on him than financial issues paying fines or such, I don’t think that’s the case at all.
If you read up a ways, Rick put up a suggestion about a sign back at Mr. F.
Justin, people who live, shop, dine, and recreate in the City simply don’t want to see that.
He has made his point, a long time ago. He was told what the regulations are. Do you think he should be allowed to disregard them?
He agreed to conform to city standards. He is abrogating his agreement.
You know, I don’t give a rat’s ass about what happened in the past. A sign isn’t going to make ignorance go away. It is time to move on. Shall I go set signs up in front of nail shops where Vietnamese people work? We were at war big time with some of them. Let’s just not get over it. Now THAT is ignorant.
Maybe it is time for the City just to go kick some major booty. Start with Fernandez and then work their way on down Sudley Road to the Right to Lifers who have about 30 signs stuck in the ground and who are continuing to interact with cars. I thought they had some new rules?
Perhaps this is the time to remember that everything the county addressed was about illegal immigrants. Mr. F is not an illegal immigrant. So if we want to be technical, nothing has been directed at him.
Another soap box moment here. I resent him trying to drag Native Americans into the mix. He doesn’t speak for all of them either. In fact I watched a show on the National geographic channel the other night that talked about how badly American Indians were being harmed by border crossings in terms of property damage, theft, and having to clean up after people.
I seriously doubt if any of these people I saw on this show would be proclaiming mr. F a hero. All he has done is given the people making the most noise about immigration a reason to shout louder. That’s really too bad.
Good points M-H. I guess I don’t shop there so I don’t have resentment enough to think of all those comebacks. I think that you should be able to understand why he feels like he is speaking up for his people, even though he is a citizen. There is no mistaking the anti-immigrant frenzy here as anything but anti-Hispanic frenzy, otherwise the hate propaganda would have had at least some variation away from Hispanic hate.
So if I were Hispanic, and people accused me and my kids of being illegal just because we are Hispanic American citizens, I’d be pissed enough to make a sign. I agree with others here that he is keeping it going partly because he wants attention.
I think that he gets a lot of flack from people who know it’s wrong to hate on Hispanics but still need some place to direct their frustration with how many have moved here.
I have ceased to understand or care. In the beginning, I had much more sympathy. I never liked the sign but I could see the other point of view.
Now I see no point of view. It has been time to move on. He is in violation of city ordinances that have been more than generous to him. He had broadbrushed and called all of us nasty names. You can’t do that and expect sympathy.
I am not sure who he thinks are ‘his people.’ The navajos? You know, the fact that we are talking about ‘his people’ makes him very little different than many of the people who have been criticized on this blog. For example, I am sure Greg was just trying to look out for his people also. He even included all legal immigrants. He rolled out the welcome mat.
Mr. F is an agitator and needs to stop doing what he is doing. Time for him to get over it. He could do a lot himself to heal bad feelings by being a postive influence on the community. he choses to scoff at the community…an incidentally, not even the community that was doing something he didn’t life.
He is a GREAT poster boy against illegal immigration, his adopted cause. He feels personally entitled to ignore the law, based on his own personal racist superiority beliefs. He spits in the face of rules. My side of the arguement couldn’t have invented a better strawman. He comes here, maybe as a result of some previous amnesty, prospers, and hates us.
I thought about coming here and making a claim that Fernandez had secretly accepted money from HSM, who were actually behind each of his signs and their progressively offensive wording.
So, thanks Fernandez. Count me in for a $10 donation towards your next sign.
And keep putting signs up. Must embarass the heck out of Byler and Park.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they rename the film soon.
I guess people gotta criticize Mr. F if they criticize Letiecq or his boy Stewart. You seem one sided if you criticize one but not the other. But my main point was that Mr. F was responding to the hate campaign against people who look like him and yeah that totally includes Navajos and all the other tribes from Alaska down to Chile. To Letiecq and his boy, it’s not the reality that matters it’s the way they look. That’s why the law was “pull them over if they look illegal,” instead of do something about it if they are. You know it’s coming at you when people start coming at you. Until that’s the case for you, you don’t really know.
I find Letiecq and Stewart more offensive because they were running afoul of the Constitution. The Constitution is on Mr. F’s side. That’s how I figure it.
I don’t think that Mr. F looks the least bit like a Navajo and I think he is pimping when he tries to drag them in to this issue. Fernandez is not Sitting Bull.
If Fernandez had stopped at his second message, he would have my support. However, he did not stop.
You know, thinking about it, Greg, or Rick, or Advocator could easily say they were responding to the abuses people who look like them were having to endure. I think it is time to move past how people look. (or what language they speak, hada yada yada) Looks can be deceiving.
Most people want things to return to normal. No one wants to keep waving the bloody shirt. The Resolution was neutralized, beaten back or whatever terms one might want to use. I cannot excuse anyone who continues to beat the war drum. We have a comprehensive immigration bill to work on. Pissing people off in the name of MY people is not going to do anything but give people a reason to throw ujp obstacles. If Fernandez really cared about HIS people he would make every attempt to fit into the community as a positve attribute.
You know that how? You looked into their hearts? God told you?
Fernandez has expressed his internal view of the world, his own racism and anti-American bias, quite clearly at this point. May I submit to you that his anger was always out of proportion. He didn’t “respond to a hate campaign”. There hasn’t been a hate campaign. There was an organized political movement that worked against illegal immigration while keeping race bias out of the arguement, that didn’t appeal to racism. On the other side there was a bunch of paranoid ranting and raving, about how this was all racism.
I was at most early HSM meetings and there was no “hate campaign”. Nothing like it. There WAS a lot of public anger. To the extent that HSM used that anger, it channelled it into more positive directions. I say again, HSM’s charter is inarguably not racist or hateful.
Who looks like the racist right now? Fernandez feels that white America doesn’t even have the right to arrest Latino people, under any circumstance. We lack the moral standing to do so.
As to the Constitution, we have some semblance of Rule of Law and if you find it unconstitutional, okay. Take it through the court system. Go make that arguement that criminal aliens have the right to be let loose. Probably, that will only work for Obama’s Aunt. But if you want, go help Fernandez to paint a sign about it.
No one named a documentary after Greg L yet, but I think he and his supporters won this fight on every level.
Despite the rather slanted view of history that Byler and Park work to present, from what I’ve seen on their youtube channel, that’s what happened.
“No one wants to keep waving the bloody shirt.”
I do. I want to refight this battle over and over. You’ve probably noticed.
“The Resolution was neutralized, beaten back or whatever terms one might want to use. I cannot excuse anyone who continues to beat the war drum. We have a comprehensive immigration bill to work on. ”
NO. No Amnesty. Enforce current law.
No “comprehensive” anything. Implement discrete measures one at a time. Stop holding the American people’s welfare hostage to special interest concerns. Lower drug prices NOW (using reimportation as a method). Enforce US Law, the ones you’re sworn to uphold, NOW. E-verify, NOW.
“Pissing people off in the name of MY people is not going to do anything but give people a reason to throw ujp obstacles. If Fernandez really cared about HIS people he would make every attempt to fit into the community as a positve attribute.”
He’s a racist p*ick. Always was. Byler, IMO, is a young man self-obsessed with his racial heritage, looking for battles to fight. Park, a similar story, a woman looking for a cause. Elena, a well-meaning idealist horrified by her impression that intolerance was being sanctioned by someone she campaigned for. Alanna, someone whose personal situation is touched by these issues. These people and a few others for their own reasons have waged a war against common-sense principles like “deport illegal aliens when they are found”, “be sure to deport illagal aliens when they commit felonies”, “don’t reward people for breaking the law”, etc. and tried to make these moderate, reasonable, very popular things into Custer’s last stand.
They use as weapons the fact that Greg L’s personal blog is nuttier than a fruitcake, that he looks goofy in interviews, the fact that Mr. Duecaster looked pretty hateful on camera at Citizen’s Time, the fact that Charlie Deane is not really on board with anything that holds him responsible (unless he can get a larger budget and shiny new cameras), and every comment made during Citizen’s time or in blogs that comes off anti-Latino or prejudiced.
But this whole arguement isn’t about any type of genocide, imminent or potential, as Fernandez or Elena might have you believe. Or about anti-Latino bias being institutionalized. It’s about what policy to proceed forward with to make our community safer and more fiscally solvent. That battle is fought and won. The vote was 9-0 as I recall.
My advice to everyone here, Latino or non-Latino, is to enjoy the safer community and the less crowded streets.
Rick, you’re the one taking this way too personally. The resolution was unconstitutional. Free speech is protected. I don’t need to know no one’s soul to know what’s in the Constitution, I just have to read it.
So what if you were on the wrong side of history? If you hid behind your moniker no one knows. Your unconstitutional law and your little hate group got snip-snipped and now everyone but Fernandez and you are happy. Just deal with it and stop being a sore loser. You’re both sore losers because you can’t accept the compromise deal.
Hey I accept it. My neighborhood’s safer.
Yeah you think so but the county ain’t. Crime was going down when you had your little panic attack. Since then it’s been going up.
Says you. My street is clearly safer.
“Little panic attack”. I don’t consider it that.
Though I’m sure it could be reduced to that in some revisionist history in someone’s “documentary”.
If you feel safer, I’m happy for you. Official crime statistics tell another story, but I guess Fernandez is the one who doesn’t accept the compromise.
I said, I accept it. It’ll do. Despite somebody’s concerted efforts in their film to paint it as something I shouldn’t accept.
It beats living in a sanctuary area.
Can you accept that I accept it?