In late November, Texas GOP member Ray Myers took to Facebook to inform everyone that he was a “white nationalist” and proud of it.
Myers, a 74-year-old who has been involved in GOP politics for decades, wrote in a Nov. 27 post on Facebook: “Damn Right, I’m a WHITE NATIONALIST and very Proud of it.”
When the Texas Observer reached out to Myers for comment, he doubled down on his remarks and told them by phone, “I am Anglo and I’m very proud of it, just like black people and brown people are proud of their race. I am a patriot. I am very proud of my country. And white nationalist, all that means is America first. That’s exactly what that means. That’s where the president’s at. That’s where I’m at and that’s where every solid patriotic American is. It doesn’t have anything to do with race or anything else.”
Keep in mind, this is the same Ray Myers who on Nov. 13 wrote in a Facebook post that Broward County election supervisor Brenda Snipes should be met with “a rope and a tree.” Snipes is black.
And then there’s this: His assessment of Texas House member Jason Villalba, in which he compared him to a monkey:
But Myers claims he is not racist and none of his remarks have anything to do with racism. In fact, he believes asserting himself as a white nationalist is the same as a black person having “black pride.”
“Is there anything wrong with saying they’re black and proud? Is there anything wrong with being an American Indian and saying that we’re red and proud?” Myers asked in an interview with the Observer. “I mean, just like Black Lives Matter, white lives matter, too. We’re all in the same melting pot. Now why can’t we say, as Anglos, that we’re proud?”
In that same interview, Myers told the Observer that he also believes the media “is the enemy of the people”—something that Donald Trump has said before. Myers accused the left of pushing a narrative meant to make white people ashamed of their heritage, and he said the idea that white nationalists are racist right-wing Nazis “is the furthest damn thing from the truth ever.”
“We’re just patriotic Americans, just like anybody else. I’m a tea party guy and I’ve got brown and black and American Indians in our tea parties,” Myers said.
OK, Ray.
As leaders in the Texas GOP moved to distance themselves from Myers and his comments, at least one person has chosen to stand by him—State Senator Bob Hall.
Hall is a fellow Tea Party activist from East Texas who was photographed at a dinner with Myers just days after the “white nationalist” news broke. When the Observer reached out to Hall for comment, his team sent the outlet a response in which Hall said Myers was a victim of the P.C., or political correctness, police.
“Those who sit on a self-appointed seat of judgment where they view others through the faulty prism of perverted extreme political correctness, rather than the clear glass of honesty, will always see the ugly they seek to see rather than the truth,” Hall said in an email.
When asked directly about Myers’ “white nationalist” comments, Hall said, “According to the dictionary I use ‘nationalism’ is defined as ‘Devotion and loyalty to one’s own country’ and ‘white’ is a socially accepted term for Caucasian. It is clear that his statement was made based on these definitions.”
But is it really that clear?
Given the other racist and derogatory comments that Myers has made, how can Hall make that assertion?
Hall told the Observer that if they wanted to learn about Myers’ “true relationships,” they should just consult “one of the many black or brown friends and associates” who know him.
Ah, yes. He has black friends.
That solves everything.