UPDATE 8/17: There's more to the story. Check out our new post, Don't hate with your food, part 2: youth garden organizer speaks up on Willmar Farmers Market, after reading the article below. [end update]
A bumper crop of vegetables and thistles prompted by heavy rains has put us behind the curve on a distressing story from Willmar, where many residents have worked hard
for years to establish their city's reputation as an inclusive place.
Joe F. Fernkes, who cursed at, then tossed a pig's foot at a young adult male Somali-American selling vegetables at a stand at Willmar's Farmers Market, let hate get the better of himself on Saturday. And we must say, those could can't bring themselves to love their neighbors should at least remember basic lessons from from childhood: don't play with your food, don't say anything if you can't say anything good, and be nice to strangers. It's not rocket science.
The hard work of changing hardened hearts from racism and bigotry is another story.
Meanwhile, Willmar has to see headlines like this one in the Washington Post: Minnesota man accused of throwing pig’s foot at Somalis.
Paul Walsh writes in Charge: Man curses Somali merchants at Willmar market, throws pig's foot at them:
A man cursed at Somalis selling goods in a farmers market in west-central Minnesota and threw a pig’s foot at them, according to authorities.
Joe F. Fernkes, 61, of Willmar, has been charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 30. . . .
Fernkes contested some of the allegations against him, telling the Star Tribune that he merely approached the table in his wheelchair, set the frozen pig’s foot down and “didn’t say one word. ... It’s something I shouldn’t have done, but I’m tired of it.”
He said other Somalis nearby started taking videos of him.
“I flipped them off and kept going,” he said.
He seems nice. Perhaps he could apologize to his victims--and to Minnesota pork farmers for turning food (recipes here) into a weapon for religious bigotry.
The West Central Tribune reports in CAIR-MN calling for hate crime charges in Willmar incident:
At approximately 11 a.m. Saturday, Willmar law enforcement were called to the farmer's market on
Lakeland Drive on a report that an individual had allegedly been cursing at a young adult male Somali-American selling vegetables at a stand. According to law enforcement reports, he then threw a pig's foot at the Somali.
The Willmar Police Department has identified the man as Joseph Fernkes, 61, of Willmar.
Now, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-MN, is asking Fernkes to be charged with a hate crime.
"If you curse a person's faith and then throw an object clearly designed to offend and intimidate, you should be charged with a hate crime," said CAIR-MN Civil Rights Director Amir Malik, in a press release.
According to a press release from the Willmar Police department, several witnesses saw and heard the incident and some provided photos of Fernkes, who left the area on a wheelchair scooter.
Willmar Police were able to locate Fernkes and issued a citation for disorderly conduct, which does require a court appearance.
Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor crime in Minnesota and if the crime was not witnessed by a licensed officer, it is not an arrestable offense, the police release said.
The release from CAIR said Fernkes had been cursing Islam's Prophet Muhammad and using anti-Muslim slurs. Also, Muslims do not consume pork products and bigots often use pigs or pork products to offend Muslim sensibilities, the CAIR press release said.
The national CAIR organization has reported a 91 percent increase in anti-Muslim incidents in the second quarter of 2017 over the same period in 2016.
The case has been forwarded to the courts, and Fernkes' first court date is still pending, according to Willmar Police.
We're inclined to agree with CAIR on this one. Religious freedom is a cherished American value--and verbally and physically harassing a vendor about his religion at that bastion of community, a farmers market, is just unacceptable and hateful. The crime was motivated by an especially rude form of bigotry.
Got pigs' feet? Go home. Bake it with beans. Use it to turn collards into delicious edible silk. Our mommas taught us better than Fernkes' behavior.
Photo: Squash religious bigotry. Photo from the Willmar Farmers Market Facebook page.
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