Councilmember Toni Iseman needs a history and linguist lesson. While over 90 percent of us in City Council chambers on April 16 saw hope, love and respect for our country, Iseman saw tyranny. Unbelievable. Tyranny is defined as a cruel and oppressive government or rule. I saw people, not government, that night, speaking out passionately and overwhelmingly in favor of the American flag design on our police vehicles. Nothing cruel or oppressive about it. It was beautiful, moving and spontaneous, and heartening to hear people speaking about their love of the flag, what it stands for and those who sacrificed all to preserve it.
Iseman and other leftists started the flag debate, using terms like “too nationalistic, “ultra-right wing zealots,” “symbol of hate,” “symbol of intolerance,” “too MAGA,” “too Trumpish,” “too Republican,” “threatening and intimidating,” etc. I’ve seen the emails, outnumbered by far in favor of the flag. I’ve seen the post urging residents to “resist” the flag logo. These few politicized the flag design, making Laguna a laughing stock to the rest of the nation. They were defeated by hundreds of people, locally and nationwide, who refused to let the US’s definitive symbol be beaten down by those who can’t see past their political motives to appreciate that the flag stands for all.
Iseman knew she was on the losing end, so she attempted to twist the facts, falsify the narrative. Those who opposed the flag were victims. Free speech was being denied. She told people to stay away because it might get ugly.
Just because you have the right to free speech and an opinion, doesn’t make what you say or do right. On this issue, Iseman and her ilk were wrong. They weren’t victims, they were the agitators, and they were defeated. That’s called democracy. The only “tyranny” was by the few who tried to push their rhetoric on the rest of us. It’s been awhile, but people are finally starting to wake up and fight back for America. It’s about time.
Jennifer Zeiter, Laguna Beach
Village Laguna is the tyranny of our great city.
Iseman seems to be a walking contradiction. While agreeing with those who would characterize the move to keep the American flag on our police cars as “the dark underbelly of Laguna Beach” she said something in that City Council meeting that would not fly with her own Liberal constituency if you just replaced just one word – “hippies”.
Iseman said that this city was built on the bodies of dead hippies.
Okay, I’m not offended. There may be some truth to that. But one can equally say that this city was built on the bodies of straight white men, for example. Would that be untrue?
Straight white men also had a lot to do with the development and construction of Laguna Beach, but if anyone were to have said THAT such a person would be labeled a “bigot” by the Iseman crowd, without a doubt. Count on it.
The fact is that this city was built on the bodies of ALL kinds of people, NOT just one kind of people.
Laguna Beach prides itself in being inclusive. And Iseman, as an elected official, is supposed to represent all of us, not just the folks whom she finds acceptable within her social circles.
So then why characterize those of us who value patriotism as “the dark underbelly of Laguna Beach”? That’s ugly. That is cruel. That is unkind. That is intolerant. Does the party of tolerance and diversity not tolerate a diversity of opinions?