To hear the mainstream media tell it, “far-right extremists” outnumber ants. They are everywhere, ubiquitous.

And yet, I’ve never met one.

Of course, I’ve spent most of my life in the People’s Republic of Minnesota, so that may have played a part, in all honesty. More likely, however, they are simply not very numerous, tales of their dirty deeds largely apocryphal.

To test this theory, I started frequenting places at which one might expect far-right extremists to show up: gun shows, military surplus stores, Trump rallies, Alabama.

To my surprise, what I found were generally patriotic, articulate, and reasonable folks who take the Constitution, the Bill of Rights — and their freedoms, seriously. But -- contrary to popular belief and progressives’ own demeanor -- not themselves. Most believe deeply that government has gotten far too large and obtrusive, to the detriment of all. That welfare comes both far too cheaply and with too great a cost. (Meaning too many who could otherwise fend for themselves choose to become dependent on others, shedding their dignity and freedom and often damning succeeding generations to abject dependency, as well. This while devaluing the work others do, by arbitrarily taking more money from them simply because they have earned it.) 

Some believe that it is wrong to kill babies for our own convenience -- or to mutilate children’s genitalia and likely render them sterile for life on the backs of a whim, fad, or mental health issue.

Yet most said they understand how others may have differing viewpoints. Virtually all expressed some version of: “No decent person wants to harm or incarcerate anyone in the LGBTQ community. They should have the same rights as anybody else, just not more. Civil unions are fine. Some of my friends are gay.” Compare those sentiments to those of many “progressives” and leftists who exclaim, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” or “I wouldn’t ever consider dating a Trump supporter!”

No matter where I went, “far-right extremists” weren’t there.

Which got me to thinking. There have been countless instances of supposed hate crimes and alleged racist actions by far-right extremists in recent years that have been proven to be hoaxes. Why would these hoaxes be necessary if far-right extremists were actually committing racist and bigoted acts in any numbers? The simple fact is: the vast majority of these acts/hoaxes were perpetrated by “progressives” themselves.

After exhaustive—but fruitless—searches, I finally came to realize that the idea of throngs of “far-right extremists” running amok around the country was just as made up as was Hillary’s claim of a “vast right-wing conspiracy.” The truth was just the opposite, in fact. Democrats and their sycophants in academia and the Mainstream Media made it all up out of whole cloth, a la the Steele dossier. It would be much closer to the truth to speak of a “vast left-wing conspiracy.” Ironically, it turns out leftists’ lust for power leads them to accuse their opponents of being/doing exactly what they are/do. (Additionally, it should be noted that they will now label anyone to the right of Chairman Mao a “far-right extremist.”)

That said, I did—eventually—come across someone who could legitimately be given the label “far-right extremist.” By that time, the discovery was so shocking I decided to name him my “Person-of-the-Year” for 2023. Not because I approved of his views, but in the same sense that Time magazine has selected some less than savory types over the years to be its “Person of the Year” -- simply due to the outsized effect they had on those around them -- and the world at large. (For example, Time made Hitler and Stalin its “Person of the Year” for 1938 and 1939, respectively. You can look it up!)

So, meet Bob, far-right extremist.

Kudos, Bob, you somehow made leftists believe there are untold millions of you! Congratulations…you are my “Person of the Year.”

Image: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress, via Picryl // no known restrictions