Ohio Mayor Is Sorry For Facebook Post Claiming 'Blacks Have All But Formally Declared War' on Whites
NewsPoliticsA small-town Ohio mayor who also moonlights as a stand-up comedian is very sorry for a Facebook post in which he declared that “blacks have all but formally declared war on whites.” That sounds like a good thing to be sorry about.
Drew Hastings is mayor of Hillsboro, Ohio. He was elected in 2012 and won reelection in November; on his website, he writes that he left Los Angeles in 2006 after 13 years in the comedy mines there, and now bills himself as a “comedian, mayor, farmer, not necessarily in that order.” He was on Jay Leno once. It was…fine.
On Friday, Hastings added Facebook Pundit to his skill set, offering up his essential thoughts on the Planned Parenthood shooting by comparing it to the race war he sees as imminent:“When are people going to figure out that we are in a Revolution in this Country. Blacks have all but formally declared war on whites, ideological types are fighting with Planned Parenthood, there’s violence over immigration, Muslim extremism, and our own Government at war with its citizens.”
He added, “This isn’t ‘lone wolf’ stuff. It isn’t a crazy with a gun. It isn’t ‘domestic terrorism,’ these are all skirmishes in a Revolution that’s here. Pick your side and pick your battles, we are about 3 steps away from All bets are off.”
The Times Gazette, Hillsboro’s newspaper, reports that many of Hastings’ constituents were understandably unimpressed, particularly black citizens who hadn’t realized they were supposed to be in the midst of declaring war on any washed up white farming comedian-politicians nearby:
Steven Williams, an African American Hillsboro resident who ran for mayor in the Democratic primary against Pam Limes, contacted The Times-Gazette on Monday and said he had heard concerns from “members of the community both black and white.”
“What’s the story behind this?” asked Williams. “At a minimum an explanation is needed. Needless to say he has managed to upset a lot of African Americans who supported him and respected his efforts for this town.”
Hastings told the Gazette he chose to remove the Facebook post on his own on Saturday, saying, “Do I think we have big problems in this country and frustrations in this country? Of course I do. Could I have been more sensitive in how I put them out? Much more so, which is why I deleted it.” He also told the paper the country needs a “real, honest dialogue about race.”
WCPO reported Tuesday that some Hillsboro residents are still having trouble swallowing the apology. Hastings’ most recent undeleted Facebook post is from November 26, a limp half-joke likening Black Friday to Black Lives Matter.
Maybe this is not your best subject area, Mayor.
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