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Berkeley, CA - Graduate student Bryan Cash lost his
final friend Tuesday, after a heated debate in which the 26-year-old
environmental studies major accused his longtime neighbor
of being a fascist.
"He also called me a hate-filled, warmongering closet
racist and blatant homophobe," said Mike Opper about
the incident. "All I did was mention I heard Rush Limbaugh
on the radio the other day. I tried to change the subject
before things got ugly, but it just escalated. Let's just
say I will no longer be calling Mr. Cash for drinks or Scrabble."
What many of Cash's former friends point to as a pattern,
is the seemingly happy-go lucky behavior, followed by many
fun-filled nights of drinking and good conversation, but always
ending with Cash accusing someone of fascism.
"He called me a fascist last year because I wouldn't
let him borrow a pair of my pants," former golf buddy
Craig Mobreth said. "I didn't let him borrow my pants
because I generally don't loan my pants out to friends."
According to former girlfriend Tina Squire, Cash first accused
her of being a fascist while she was working as a hall monitor
during high school. She spent many years afterwards fighting
that label.
"I didn't even know what it meant at the time,"
Squire said. "I spent years reading the works of Mussolini
and Hitler to get a better understanding of who I was so I
could change. That's how much I loved [Cash]. I didn't want
to be a fascist any more."
The accusations eventually caused Cash to lose most of his
friends, and instead of drinking beer at the graduate lounge
where he once spent his weekends, Cash would just sit in the
library attempting to argue politics with other students and
strangers.
"Obviously he was looking for someone to talk to and
vent his strong feelings about the Iraq War," said longtime
Berkeley librarian Susan Unger. "But then when I shushed
him and politely asked him to keep his voice down, he called
me a fascist. Just like that. I didn't even vote for Bush."
One local police officer who asked to remain anonymous admits
he was grateful when Cash accused him of fascism after he
pulled him over one day and proceed to write him a speeding
ticket.
"He called me a small-minded fascist cop and said I
was targeting him because he had long hair. I guess in a way
he was right, though it was mostly because I thought he was
Mexican. Anyway, it made me more careful about who I pull
over."
Cash, who refused to grant an interview for this article,
did provide a written statement where he agreed he may have
gone a bit overboard in his zeal to point out obvious fascists
in society.
Wrote Cash, "I only accuse people of being fascist because
I want to demonstrate how we live in a police state where
our freedoms are at stake every single day by these fascist
leaders with fascist policies, pursuing a fascist agenda."
Concluded Cash, "They should just be glad I don't call
them a Socialist. That's way worse."
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