Comments about Islam criticized
A San Diego water board member defends his tweets calling Muslims rapists and murderers.
SAN DIEGO — Hector Gastelum, an elected member of the Otay Water District board, found himself under fire on Facebook last week after San Diegans shared screenshots of his tweets calling Muslims “#SubhumanMonsters.”
Gastelum accused Muslims of being rapists and murderers, among other things. Gastelum, who won his election in November with 56% of the vote, is director of Otay Water District 4, which lies east of the 805 Freeway and south of the Sweetwater Reservoir. Gastelum, 42, of Chula Vista, is a Republican and a real estate agent.
Anisa Hagi, a Muslim woman who spent about six years in San Diego before moving to Minnesota last year, said that while she usually doesn’t engage with such comments, she felt compelled to respond because Gastelum is a public official.
“I was just really shocked by some of the comments that he was writing,” Hagi said. “He had plenty of chances to retract his comments, but he made even more inflammatory comments.”
Hagi said her friends in San Diego called the water district and were referred back to Gastelum to discuss their differences.
“That’s not a really effective strategy,” Hagi said. “If there’s a school bully, you wouldn’t tell the child to go talk to them. You would address the bully.”
She said some of her friends are now trying to organize a recall election.
Gastelum did not respond to requests for comment. When confronted on Facebook about use of the #SubhumanMonsters hashtag, he replied, “I’m trying to think of a different way, but what do you call people that treat women like secondhand citizens, stone them to death, honor killings, etc., throw homosexuals from the roof.”
He added, “It is not hateful, it is the reality of how Islamic men are raised and they are not compatible with civil society.”
On Twitter, Gastelum features a photo of himself with President Trump and identifies himself with the Otay Water District.
Last Sunday, he tweeted, “Let’s pressure OUR Legislators to increase list of socalled #MuslimBan to prevent #SubHuman #Scum from #USA to #MAGA.”
The general manager of the district, Mark Watton, did not respond to a message left with his secretary.
Edgar Hopida, who lives in the Otay Water District, contacted his division’s director, Mitch Thompson, about Gastelum’s comments.
“For public officials to spout that kind of divisiveness and hate toward a religious minority and also immigrants is troubling and also hurts the integrity of a government institution like the Otay Water District,” Hopida said by telephone.
Thompson, who represents District 2, said he was concerned by Gastelum’s posts.
“I do not believe in any fashion that they reflect the attitudes of the agency,” Thompson said. “Obviously individuals — whether they’re public officials or not — are entitled to their opinions and that’s part of freedom of speech. Some of the things that I’ve looked at deeply concern me.”
Thompson said he might make a proposal to “reaffirm our agency’s long history of inclusiveness” at the next board meeting on March 1.
With one of the tweets, Gastelum shared Fox News’ story saying rapes in Sweden are increasing because of the rise in immigrants there. That story led to Trump’s controversial comments at a rally in Florida this past weekend.
Trump’s comments were denounced on Twitter by former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt. Data from Bra, which tracks reported crimes in Sweden, show that — contrary to the story’s claim — the rate of reported rapes compared with the population has stayed relatively stable in the last decade.
Gastelum accused Muslims of imprisoning and killing homosexuals. He also accused Muslims of being pedophiles.
Imam Taha Hassane of the Islamic Center of San Diego said that although Islam doesn’t approve of homosexuality, Gastelum’s impression of the faith is wrong.
“I always tell LGBT people that I work with that I disagree with you when it comes to your lifestyle, but I respect you as a human being and I want you to understand that if anyone attacks you because of who you are, I will be the first person to defend your rights as a human being,” Hassane said. “Disagreeing with someone doesn’t mean allowing them to be victimized.”
Hassane posted a comment inviting Gastelum to tea to talk about his understanding of Islam. Gastelum has not yet responded.
“As a religious leader, my preferable way to deal with these issues is through education,” Hassane said by telephone. “The vast majority of the people who carry Islamophobic thoughts, it’s not because they have studied Islam profoundly. They are ignorant.”