This mayor won’t stop posting racist memes. He won’t resign, either.

[Aldebaran]

The first amendment protects speech.

It does not protect from consequences.

What consequences? He doesn't choose to resign. So what?

 

[Aldebaran]

The fact people are commenting on this man's right to say racist, borderline threatening things instead of criticizing the content of his actions says all a foreigner needs to know about American culture.

This is only a matter of opinion. Not everyone will share the same opinions.

 

[Aldebaran]

Defending this mayor and saying his statements and online posts are not racist only make you look racist. This is like a Holocaust denier pretending they're not anti-Semitic.

So we have no choice but to agree with people who like to yell "RACIST" whenever they don't like what someone says? I think that would make you look like a Saul Alinsky follower.

 

[iluvatar5150]

So we have no choice but to agree with people who like to yell "RACIST" whenever they don't like what someone says? I think that would make you look like a Saul Alinsky follower.

No, it doesn't make you a "Saul Alinsky follower", but taking this tack does make you an apologist for and a defender of racists.

 

[Aldebaran]

No, it doesn't make you a "Saul Alinsky follower", but taking this tack does make you an apologist for and a defender of racists.

That, of course, is assuming he's a racist. Calling him one doesn't make it so.

 

[tatteredsoul]

What consequences? He doesn't choose to resign. So what?

Consequences are literally what follows. They could be good or bad.

In this case, the mayor looks like a gigantic, childish racist. Those qualifications also come with consequences.

It doesn't mean he has to be physically attacked, or fired. He could be publicly shamed, or his FAMILY may be targets of disdain.

 

[tatteredsoul]

This is only a matter of opinion. Not everyone will share the same opinions.

Clearly it is a mtater of opinion for people like the Mayor in the OP.

Usually, a measure of integrity erases those gray areas. There should be no gray area about how racist it is to call the president of the United states a monkey, and his family, while suggesting a lyachting and distributing memes about them as apes leaving the white house.

Some people have the incredible ability to ignore the racism in such activity, but most of us do not have those powers of ignorance.

 

[civilwarbuff]

No, it doesn't make you a "Saul Alinsky follower", but taking this tack does make you an apologist for and a defender of racists.

You do know that an apologist and defender are the same things, right?
a·pol·o·gist
əˈpäləjəst/
noun
a person who offers an argument in defense of something controversial.
"an enthusiastic apologist for fascism in the 1920s"
synonyms: defender, supporter, upholder, advocate, proponent, exponent, propagandist, champion, campaigner; informalcheerleader
"one of Eisenhower's better-known apologists"

 

[civilwarbuff]

No, it doesn't make you a "Saul Alinsky follower", but taking this tack does make you an apologist for and a defender of racists.

I would say he has defended the right of people to say offensive (in some peoples opinion) things but I don't see where he has defended racism. Maybe you can point it out......

 

[Aldebaran]

Consequences are literally what follows. They could be good or bad.

In this case, the mayor looks like a gigantic, childish racist. Those qualifications also come with consequences.

It doesn't mean he has to be physically attacked, or fired. He could be publicly shamed, or his FAMILY may be targets of disdain.

And some people can get a good laugh out of it. Many already have.
But let me ask you this: What if people made fun of President Bush when he was in office? Or what if they made fun of Donald Trump? Ever watch SNL?

 

[civilwarbuff]

Usually, a measure of integrity erases those gray areas. There should be no gray area about how racist it is to call the president of the United states a monkey, and his family, while suggesting a lyachting and distributing memes about them as apes leaving the white house.

Did he actually say/write that? I don't have facebook so I can't check.......

 

[iluvatar5150]

That, of course, is assuming he's a racist. Calling him one doesn't make it so.

You're right - merely labeling him as a racist doesn't actually make him a racist. What makes him a racist is the racist content of his comments and the memes he's posted.

He even admits that he put up racist stuff:
http://abc27.com/2016/09/30/west-york-mayor-responds-to-controversial-facebook-posts/

 

[Aldebaran]

You're right - merely labeling him as a racist doesn't actually make him a racist. What makes him a racist is the racist content of his comments and the memes he's posted.

He even admits that he put up racist stuff:
http://abc27.com/2016/09/30/west-york-mayor-responds-to-controversial-facebook-posts/

He also said he doesn't care how people label him. So if you want to affect him by asking for his resignation and he doesn't give it, then you'll have to go some other route if you don't like him. Accepting it and moving on is one method.

 

[civilwarbuff]

You're right - merely labeling him as a racist doesn't actually make him a racist. What makes him a racist is the racist content of his comments and the memes he's posted.

He even admits that he put up racist stuff:
http://abc27.com/2016/09/30/west-york-mayor-responds-to-controversial-facebook-posts/

Guy sounds a few bricks shy of a full load.......

 

[tatteredsoul]

And some people can get a good laugh out of it. Many already have.
But let me ask you this: What if people made fun of President Bush when he was in office? Or what if they made fun of Donald Trump? Ever watch SNL?

President Bush does not come from an ethnicity that is still a derision in the U.S. He was not called a chimp because at some point in the past it was scientific and religious "fact" that people like him are apes. He was called a chimp because he was incompetent, and behaved like a chimp in the white house - no direction, no perspective and just fond of destruction.

Only racists, or incredibly ignorant people who have no substantial knowledge of American History would get a good laugh at someone continuously calling a black man an ape, and suggesting lynching.

SNL does not repeatedly refer to Keenan, Tracy Morgan or any other black male as a monkey or ape, and they do not suggest violent racism reminiscent of the Reconstruction Era.

 

[Aldebaran]

President Bush does not come from an ethnicity that is still a derision in the U.S. He was not called a chimp because at some point in the past it was scientific and religious "fact" that people like him are apes. He was called a chimp because he was incompetent, and behaved like a chimp in the white house - no direction, no perspective and just fond of destruction.

Only racists, or incredibly ignorant people who have no substantial knowledge of American History would get a good laugh at someone continuously calling a black man an ape, and suggesting lynching.

SNL does not repeatedly refer to Keenan, Tracy Morgan or any other black male as a monkey or ape, and they do not suggest violent racism reminiscent of the Reconstruction Era.

So it's all about skin color as usual.
I wish people would find something more substantial to get excited about.

 

[tatteredsoul]

So it's all about skin color as usual.
I wish people would find something more substantial to get excited about.

It is about integrity. If one can't see how repeatedly referring to a black man as an ape, monkey, coon, or something similar is outrageously bigoted, ignorant and prejudiced, then perhaps one has little to no integrity about this sphere of subject.

It isn't like we are calling a woman "tutz," or saying Trump wears a fox or ferret on his head. This is seriously bigotry with the context straight from the history maligned against people who were other than white, necessarily.

You acting like this is all innocent is telling in and of itself.

 

[Shiloh Raven]

Defending this mayor and saying his statements and online posts are not racist only make you look racist. This is like a Holocaust denier pretending they're not anti-Semitic.

As I have said before, it makes me wonder if his behavior reflects the behavior of some of the people who are defending him. Maybe some of these people long for the good ole' days when white people could say whatever they wanted about black people or other people of color without suffering any kind of consequences or repercussions.

 

[tatteredsoul]

As I have said before, it makes me wonder if his behavior reflects the behavior of some of the people who are defending him. Maybe some of these people long for the good ole' days when white people could say whatever they wanted about black people or other people of color without suffering any kind of consequences or repercussions.

They do, and they have exposed themselves by acting like this is anything but disgusting.

Once? Maybe I would just say this guy is ignorant and prejudiced. But, repeatedly doing what he did leaves no excuse - besides the ones people are struggling to come up with on this thread.


He knows exactly what he is doing - that is why he is doing it. The people acting like this is a simple joke also know... they are playing ignorant.

 

[Shiloh Raven]

They do, and they have exposed themselves by acting like this is anything but disgusting.

Once? Maybe I would just say this guy is ignorant and prejudiced. But, repeatedly doing what he did leaves no excuse - besides the ones people are struggling to come up with on this thread.

He knows exactly what he is doing - that is why he is doing it. The people acting like this is a simple joke also know... they are playing ignorant.

I wonder if they showed the same kind of support for Colin Kaepernick when he refused to stand for the national anthem or showed the same kind of support for Lee Francis, the teacher who stepped on the American flag to demonstrate freedom of speech to his students. Maybe freedom of speech is only for people who do not insult America.