I’m fond of pointing out that America has a lot in common with Iran these days. The fetishes and fascinations of our ruling lunatics are different from those of the Iranian lunatics, but the underlying motivations are the same. A group of fanatics is trying to force the rest of us into their fanaticism. Here’s a good example.

Local police received a complaint when a shopper discovered Nazi and Confederate merchandise at a popular flea market last weekend, according to Chief William Wright.

An officer responded to the Redwood Flea Market on South Turnpike Road Sunday to investigate the report and found Nazi and Confederate memorabilia for sale. He told the complainant, who is Jewish, there was nothing police could do because the merchandise was on private property.

“There was a table set up with this material,” Wright said, unsure of the exact amount, but speculating several showcases. “It’s not criminally illegal, but obviously it offended this person. It causes some people a sense of being uncomfortable. Certainly the owner could preclude this merchandise.”

The complainant, a town resident, feared possible backlash and asked to remain anonymous. He told the Record-Journal that in addition to several showcases there was Nazi merchandise, including German helmets with swastikas, images of Hitler, and Jewish stars of David, in a truck.

“I was shaking and almost vomiting,” he said. “I had to run. My grandmother had numbers,” he said, referring to the Nazi system of tattooing numbers on prisoners.

I doubt that this man’s grandmother had such a tattoo. The tattoo that looms so large in modern lore was not common. It was just not terribly practical. But, inter-generational transitive post-traumatic stress is still a big deal for many Jews. It’s an excuse to make a scene in public trying to get some grace on the cheap.

Ken Dubar, who owns and manages the flea market, disputed the man’s account of how much anti-semitic and Confederate merchandise is at the weekend venue.

“There may be some of those items, some collectibles and some might be counterfeit,” he said.

Dubar also emphasized police found no evidence of any crime.

Jason Teal, president of the Meriden-Wallingford NAACP, said he was not familiar with the flea market and had not heard any complaints about the merchandise being sold there.

“It’s difficult because it’s on private property and it’s considered free speech,” Teal said.

The man also contacted Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr., who immediately asked Wright to determine if any laws were broken.

“I had to check with the chief over what is actionable and what isn’t,” Dickinson said. “Unless something violates state or federal law, there’s no jurisdiction for government to do anything. We had to ask, is it something controlled by law?”

Unremarked here is the fact the local cop was not sure if there was a crime. That’s how far down the fascist hell hole we have fallen as a society. I’m old enough to remember when “this is a free country” was the default response to this stuff. Even lunatics like the guy making the complaint would have been tempered by it.

Today, it is just assumed that the lunatics have the whip hand. Everyone, including the cops, figured it is best to ask permission than to run afoul of the religious authorities. This is no different than what you would see in Iran or Saudi Arabia. People are more worried about the fanatics than the cops.

The irony here is the lunatic who made the scene not only will not be charged, but he is now pretending to be the victim. The newspaper is hiding his identity as if he has something to fear, when he’s the one making a nuisance of himself. That  is the real danger we face. These nuts are convinced they are defending themselves as they try to pull the roof down on all of us.