Racist actions disqualify leaders for office
The initial statement or action is sometimes so egregious that it is disqualifying. It lifts the veil, demonstrating the instinctive bias of that public official. And when those biases undermine confidence among a large segment of the public official’s constituency, it is time to go.
Apologies are nice, as are admissions that a statement or action was inappropriate. It is a good quality to be willing to admit when you’re wrong.
But in some cases, particularly involving public officials, the initial statement or action is so egregious and troubling that it is disqualifying. It lifts the veil, demonstrating the instinctive bias of that public official. And when those biases undermine confidence among a large segment of the public official’s constituency, it is time to go.
The times they are a-changing. People are fed up and will call out racist comments and behaviors. They are demanding more of their leaders, holding them to a higher standard.
Such is the case involving the recent comments and actions of a couple of elected officials in the state.
Locally, Groton Representative Town meeting member Rosanne Kotowski’s comments, emailed last week to the town manager and mayor in anticipation of a Black Lives Matter-sponsored march in Groton Sunday, were extremely troubling.
“I am afraid that we will see the rioting and looting that we have seen everywhere in the country in Groton,” Kotowski wrote.
This statement came even though rioting and looting have not been seen “everywhere in the country” and the protests locally have been overwhelmingly peaceful.
“Are the police going to be dominant on route one or are they going to have a light touch? Meaning are they going to let the protestors run wild and riot in our town?” she asked.
It appears Kotowski, a Republican, would have preferred that local police dominate the protestors, most of them town residents or from neighboring communities. Where did she get that idea?
And she complained about the possible cost to the town of managing the event, reducing a historic movement — spurred by the torturous murder of a man in police custody and in reaction to a history of systemic racism in this country — into just another budgetary line item. How spectacularly insensitive!
These were the comments of a woman expressing irrational fear, seemingly steeped in racism, whether she is aware of that or not.
Later Kotowski commented, “my comments, questions and concerns came off as alarmist and racist” and her “genuine concern was lost to all.”
“I was wrong, and I am sorry,” she wrote. That apology should be followed by Kotowski’s resignation.
The march, by the way, proceeded peacefully, a credit to organizers and participants.
Then there was the racist meme retweeted on June 1 by state Rep. Craig Fishbein, a Republican from Wallingford and a member of the Conservative Caucus in the state House of Representatives. It showed a photo of former Vice President Joe Biden, the almost certain Democratic presidential nominee, with the caption, “If you aren’t setting fire to buildings, then you ain’t black.”
The meme was a sick, sarcastic spin on a comment Biden made in concluding a recent interview with black radio host Charlamagne Tha God. “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” Biden said.
It was a presumptuous, inappropriate comment by Biden for which he was rightfully criticized and for which he apologized. Biden seemed to be suggesting, in his ham-fisted fashion, that given the policy of the current administration he couldn’t understand why black Americans would back President Trump. Maybe because they’re Republicans who support many of the administration’s policies?
But joking with a radio host about anticipated voter support, however awkwardly, in no way approaches the wrongfulness of a meme that links African Americans to violence.
“The meme was offensive, period,” Fishbein later conceded. “I apologize.”
The lawmaker said he shared the photo “in a subtle attempt to point out a double standard regarding political speech.”
A subtle attempt? A racist attempt is the accurate description.
Fishbein faced broad condemnation, including from fellow Republicans. Rep. Themis Klarides, minority leader, stated it was “not representative of the House Republican Caucus. We unequivocally condemn it.”
But what is so concerning is the degree of insensitivity involved in sending along that tweet to begin with. That Fishbein would not immediately recognize its inappropriate and racist nature says something disturbing about his moral compass. That he may have recognized its true nature and sent it anyway says something more distressing.
Either way, Fishbein also should resign.