Women and minorities who voted against Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election may have trouble deciding what’s more troubling:
Is it the president-elect’s campaign promises, which include mass deportations and a ban on Muslims from entering the U.S. due to religious beliefs?
Or the culture that enabled a man who’s been embraced by the KKK and white nationalist movements to ascend to the highest office in the land?
Whatever the case, there’s been a spike in hate crimes and online harassment in the week since Trump was elected president.
While he’s not guilty of condoning such abhorrent behavior, many believe Trump’s efforts to curb the rising tide of violence have been woefully insufficient.
His critics believe Trump’s campaign has emboldened the emboldened the worst in our society, "given hate hope" in the words of Aaron Sorkin.
Of course, bigotry doesn’t always take the form of race-based violence or slurs spray painted on the walls of public parks.
In the social media age, messages of hate can reach an audience of millions in the form of a Tweet of Facebook post.
The Washington Post is reporting today that residents of Clay, West Virginia were shocked to find their mayor involved in exactly that.
She and the director of the town’s best-known non-profit organization engaged in a racially-charged online dialogue centered around their apparent, shared contempt for First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama.
Suffice it to say, they prefer Melania Trump.
Clay County Development Corp. Pamela Ramsay Taylor actually said this in a Facebook status update:
“It will be so refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady back in the White House. I’m tired of seeing a Ape in heels."
The town’s mayor, Beverly Whaling, replied:
“Just made my day Pam.”
Both women have since deleted their Facebook pages, and Whaling issued an apology to the Post:
“My comment was not intended to be racist at all,” she said in a statement issued Monday.
“I was referring to my day being made for change in the White House! I am truly sorry for any hard feeling this may have caused!"
"Those who know me know that I’m not of any way racist!"
Taylor, on the other hand, refused to speak to the Post.
She reportedly told a local television station that she considers the response to the Facebook post to be "a hate crime against me."
It’s an interesting interpretation of these events, for sure.
In Trump’s interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday night, the 70-year-old addressed cameras directly when asking his supporters to "stop it."
It being engaging in hate crimes and acts of bigotry.
Many feel, however, cite the fact that Trump slammed the peaceful protests against his election in several US cities the morning after his election.
On the flip side, he didn’t address racial intimidation carried out in his name until several days later. Does that speak to his priorities?
Hiring Steve Bannon (below) hasn’t helped either.
As of this writing, an online petition calling for Whaley and Taylor to tender their resignations has received more that 104,000 signatures.
