Talk about not quitting while you’re ahead. A Schertz, Texas, city councilman decided to put his whole entire leg in his mouth and use a racial slur while apologizing for a controversial Facebook meme that caused backlash from his constituency.
Following the massive destruction of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Councilman Robin Thompson decided that it would be cute to share a meme featuring an empty trailer accompanied by the headline, “A Photo of All the Supplies Donated to Hurricane Harvey Relief by Antifa and Black Lives Matter,” KENS 5 reports.
The tasteless and careless inaccuracy of the post, of course, drew immediate backlash, prompting residents to take their complaints to the City Council.
“What he did was foster a lie that was offensive, it was incorrect, it was irresponsible and it was demeaning. It embarrassed the council,” Schertz resident Clare Layton said at a City Council meeting Tuesday, according to the news station.
“I’m very much offended because of this that was posted about black lives,” another resident, Diana Taylor, told the council.
Thompson was then given the chance to speak. And, literally, all he had to do was say, “I am sorry. That was a shitty and incorrect thing to say.” But nope, it’s never that easy (especially with white men in government), and so he decided to launch into a story dedicated to showing how not racist he was.
And while doing so he casually dropped the n-word, because why not go all-out when you’ve come this far already?
“The post that I shared was not meant in any form or manner to be racist,” he said during the City Council meeting. “Tonight marks the fourth time in my life that I have been called ‘racist.’ And forgive the language I’m going to use, but it was exactly what was said to me: ‘We’re firing you because you’re encouraging niggers to drink our water and use our bathrooms.’”
Of course, that didn’t fix anything, and now some residents are saying that he has to be booted.
“I was so offended, I got up and I walked out the door. I slammed the door. I was hurt and I’m still hurt. Racism is something we should not practice,” Taylor told the news station. “I would like to see Robin Thompson resign immediately and I would like to see the support of all the city councilmen.”
Schertz Mayor Michael Carpenter, for his part, denounced the post as inappropriate, and added that it was “not condoned by the city nor its leadership.”
But then he added that he hoped Thompson would offer (another) apology to make up for what was said.
And, again, I’d just like to address the importance of quitting while you’re ahead, because what else is there really left for Thompson to say?
“The city of Schertz and its leadership does not condone that sort of language in any manner[. ...] On behalf of the City Council and the city of Schertz, I apologize to all he offended,” Carpenter said.
Thompson, for his part, did take another stab at an apology, saying in a statement to the news station:
I deeply and sincerely apologize for all the embarrassment, hurt and confusion that I have caused to the Schertz City Council, its staff and employees, and especially to all the residents of Schertz through my lapse of judgement in the sharing of an inappropriate Facebook post, and the offensive word I used, even in the context of a quote directed towards me, in trying to explain my mistake last Tuesday night. These mistakes do not reflect who I am in my inner being, and from this point on, you may be assured that I will focus all my efforts to be the leader you expected me to be when you elected me into office.
Sure, Jan. Whatever you say.
For the record, in case there are any trolls that decide to linger in the grays today, Black Lives Matter Houston has actively provided relief for Harvey victims, despite people sharing false stories about the movement blocking relief efforts. BLM Houston collected food for shelters, gathered school supplies for kids, and also brought food and supplies to those in need. All it took was a quick scroll through Facebook to figure that out.
Any any rate, residents of Schertz, Thompson is running for re-election this November, so do with that information what you will.
As for what will actually become of him prior to that, the council is scheduled to address the issue in a private executive session, KENS 5 reports.
“Right now what I’m hearing is there should be no consequences, let’s just accept an apology. I don’t know many people who can go before a judge after robbing a bank and say, ‘I’m sorry.’ and the judge says, ‘Hey! OK, apology accepted. Bye!’ There are consequences,” Councilwoman Angelina Kiser said.
Read more at KENS 5.