It’s rare in politics to see real courage. Real courage shines through in the face of real consequences or injury. Jon Fetherston has demonstrated real courage this past week and he should be commended for it.
Jon Fetherston is a reporter for the Maine Wire, but before that he had a long track record of public service in his previous professional life. His biography is not just as a man of the people, but as a man for the people. He brings that ethos to work for the Maine Wire every day. Jon Fetherston is a decent man shining a light on stories that matter.
This week on the heels of the shooting in Biddeford involving ICE, Fetherston was first on the scene reporting. He spent the next 48 hours live reporting and conducting interviews on the street with protestors. He was the Man in the Arena.
What followed can only be described as some of the best documentation of the mind virus that plagues half the country right now. Fetherston asking simple questions and pushing back on the replies, as any real journalist would, was met with open hostility, violence, death threats and the doxing of his home address. The madness of the crowd was unacceptable, yet totally expected.
The two most egregious incidents were extremely violent and should hopefully result in the York and Cumberland County District Attorneys putting the perpetrators in prison. People need to demand that.
The first incident was well documented and occurred on the streets of Biddeford when a protester hit Jon Fetherston in the head with a skateboard knocking his phone to the ground. This attack with an improvised deadly weapon could have resulted in grievous bodily injury. A skateboard to the temple could have killed Jon Fetherston. The charges and prosecution should reflect that.
The second incident happened the next day in Scarborough with the slashing of the tires on Jon Fetherston’s vehicle. This was an escalation of force after the profanity laced temper tantrums of the day before. This took a sharp and sturdy blade and intent. The next inevitable escalation of this violence puts Fetherston’s safety in danger. It is unacceptable and should be condemned by everyone in Maine.
Instead, Jon’s colleagues in the Maine legacy media blame him, the victim. It’s a similar pattern to those defending Platner after his exit from the US Senate race. Don’t ask questions that challenge the narrative or you deserve violence; this is not how this country is supposed to function.
Yet, still Jon Fetherston persists. A decent man with courage in the face of danger. I applaud that and you should too. It is rare to see ‘The Man in the Arena’ also be a ‘Man for All Seasons’.
Maine is lucky to have Jon Fetherston and blessed to have his indispensable reporting. If we are going to get our state back it’s going to be because of men and women like Jon Fetherston. People who are willing to go into the belly of the beast and reveal its true nature for everyone to see.
The same people screaming, threatening and assaulting Jon Fetherston are not that different from the people that currently run your state government. Just look at the prominent faces using this tragedy as a campaign soapbox to win an election in November or a coronation next weekend.
It’s time for decent and courageous Mainers to take back their state. I’m thankful that we have Jon Fetherston to set an example for the rest of us.
If you see Jon out there, tell him thank you and that what he is doing matters.
State Rep. John Andrews, House District 73
