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Edmunds County Commissioner Posts Racism, Foul Language, BDSM Online

Edmunds County Commissioner Wade Eisenbeisz of Bowdle has reason to look dour. Having been caught posting a neo-Nazi symbol on his Facebook page, Eisenbeisz is now explaining his racist attitude… and providing the textbook example of why when a politician is explaining, he’s losing:

White pride, stupid pride—Edmunds County Commissioner Wayne Eisenbeisz
White pride, stupid pride—Edmunds County Commissioner Wade Eisenbeisz

Eisenbeisz said his intent was to show that he was proud to be white and that he was unaware of what the wheel cross — a square cross surrounded by a circle — represented.“I’m proud to be white. It’s not a neo-Nazi thing,” Eisenbeisz said. “The symbol itself, I wasn’t aware what it meant when I put it on there.”

…Eisenbeisz said he stands behind the statement he was trying to make.

“Black lives matter, and I think all lives matter. It’s kind of a response to those statements that are out there,” he said.

…Eisenbeisz said he doesn’t believe it’s wrong to be proud of one’s race, regardless of ethnicity. But, he said, he thinks there is a double standard for white people.

“It’s racist to say you’re proud to be white, but it’s not racist to say you’re proud to be black,” he said [Shannon Marvel, “Edmunds County Official Explains Racist Facebook Post,” Aberdeen American News, 2016.06.03].

Yes, Commissioner Eisenbeisz, it is racist in your case but not in an American black man’s case, because racism is about power. It flows one way, from the powerful and privileged to the powerless and unprivileged. You are white: in America, that still means you are the powerful and privileged. Being proud of the power and privilege afforded by the luck of your skin color is racism. Deal with it, and stop posting racist crap online.

The “All Lives Matter” response is code for racism. As I’ve explained before, “Black Lives Matter” carries an implicit “Too” at the end; “All Lives Matter” carries an implicit “So STFU” from angry privileged white folks like Eisenbeisz who don’t want to talk about the need to make our criminal justice system more fair and equal.

Eisenbeisz makes a habit of posting offensive material online. His Facebook and Google+ accounts are a steady stream of racism, foul language, and sexually explicit content. I won’t repost his crap (his ugly mug is enough), especially not the BDSM photo of a man standing with a whip over a leather clad woman, but they’re there, and they’re not what I look for in a public official’s public statements.

Eisenbeisz serves a county that is currently 53% Republican and 32% Democrat. By Census estimates, Edmunds County has about 3,900 white people, about 60 Hispanics, 40-some multiracial folks, a couple dozen Indians, and maybe 8 black people. None of those folks chose run against Eisenbeisz this year, so they’ll be stuck a while longer with an angry, racist, smutty pig running their county.

Update 12:53 CDT: O.K., just one screen cap, to show that Wade Eisenbeisz is the archetype for the angry white Donald Trump base:

Wade Eisenbeisz, Facebook posts, Feb 23-24, 2016, screen cap 2016.06.03.
Wade Eisenbeisz, Facebook posts, Feb 23-24, 2016, screen cap 2016.06.03.

66 Comments

  1. Dana Lewis 2016-06-03 11:40

    While he can “try” to defend his “White Pride” post by saying he is proud of being white, there is no possible defense for his “How to break up a Black Lives Matter protest” post. It’s racist, plain and simple.

  2. Steve Sibson 2016-06-03 11:48

    “Yes, Commissioner Eisenbeisz, it is racist in your case but not in an American black man’s case, because racism is about power. It flows one way, from the powerful and privileged to the powerless and unprivileged.”

    Cory, that statement makes you the racist, not Eisenbeisz. Your position is straight from the propaganda being feed to the masses in public education and in the media by the cultural Neo-Marxists hate mongers, all in the name of what they call “social justice”… a name to cover their communist totalitarian and bigoted agenda.

  3. Thomas 2016-06-03 11:56

    “You are white: in America, that still means you are the powerful and privileged.”

    Do you think that the impoverished white people in Appalachia feel powerful and privileged? How about the white people in Sioux Falls living in a 25-30 year old trailer? In arguing your point with this idiot you sunk to his level real fast.

  4. Greg 2016-06-03 12:08

    Cory, the first time I heard the term All Lives Matter was from a small town teacher in SD. She is an award winning teacher that is respected by everyone in the community. She definitely is not a racist nor am I as I thought that the term All Lives Matter was very fitting at the time it was used. I think that someone running for a state senate seat that calls someone a smutty pig is as biased as Commissioner Eisenbeisz.

  5. Rorschach 2016-06-03 12:08

    What political party does this elected racist represent?

    You have to shake your head at Sibson. But it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Sibson claims the guy who talks about his white pride and posts neo-nazi symbols on his Facebook page is not racist.

  6. owen 2016-06-03 12:17

    But Ror according to Sibson we’ve all been brainwashed by public education-all except him of course

  7. Adam 2016-06-03 12:25

    Sibby thinks increasing the convolution of an argument makes it stronger – LOL

  8. Adam 2016-06-03 12:28

    “If you mention racism, or try to define it, then YOU are the racist!!!” Steve Sibby [figuratively]

  9. Adam 2016-06-03 12:32

    I’m white, and I say Eisenbeisz is a pre-human cave monkey.

  10. MC 2016-06-03 12:36

    Why can’t we be Americans? We need to come together and work, together. these divisions of Native, Black, white, etc. only serves to promote class warfare; they only serve to destroy America.

  11. Flipper 2016-06-03 12:42

    Ah yes, the old “I know you are, but what am I?” argument that’s become so prevalent from the conservative side. If you speak out against racism, you are the racist. If you argue against intolerance, you are the intolerant one.

  12. Rorschach 2016-06-03 12:43

    MC, I’m glad you agree that your GOP party guys Trumpy McTrumpface and Wade Eisenbeisz are destroying America.

  13. Roger Cornelius 2016-06-03 12:44

    Sibson is a picture perfect example of the ‘new racism’ that the rightwing has adapted.
    The first step in ‘new racism’ is denial, a racist incident never happened and excuses will be made for any such racist action.
    The next step, as Adam pointed out, is to call whoever called out the racism a racist.
    When those two actions fail to have an impact, the racist will say “all lives matter’ knowing perfectly well what that phrase has come to means.
    And the final argument to defend themselves is to proclaim that ‘we are all one race’ which again is a form of racism since people are different colors.

  14. Steve Sibson 2016-06-03 13:08

    “But it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Sibson claims the guy who talks about his white pride”

    So who runs around talking “gay pride”? Heterosexual haters?

    “If you mention racism, or try to define it, then YOU are the racist!!!”

    From a Biblical Christian view there is only one race that originated with Adam and Eve, the human race. White supremacy, black power, gay pride are all violations of the Biblical principle of humility. So I disagree with the white pride thing, but I agree that those you advocate pride of any kind are just as racist. And when people like Cory say blacks can say it, but whites can’t, they have reached the highest level of racism, bigotry, and violates the principles of fairness that prevents true justice. Not someone you would want in a political position of power at any level.

  15. Steve Sibson 2016-06-03 13:10

    Roger, you yet again proven yourself to be illogical and a hypocrite. Only black lives matters is a racist position, all lives matter is not.

  16. Rorschach 2016-06-03 13:19

    The troll is begging for scraps. Don’t feed the troll.

  17. MC 2016-06-03 13:21

    #BlackLivesmatter #bluelivesmatter #nativelivesmatter #whitelivesmatter these all serve to divide us.

    Here is a new hashtag #Americanlivesmatter

  18. Roger Cornelius 2016-06-03 13:41

    I should have added a final item to my list above, hypocrite, as in Sibson and his hiding behind his faux Biblical Christianity that gives him a license to hate.

  19. Steve Sibson 2016-06-03 13:42

    Another tool propagandists use is to call those they disagree with “trolls”.

  20. Roger Cornelius 2016-06-03 13:45

    When the ‘troll’ fits, Sibson.

    Don’t you have your own blog anymore?
    You can’t garner any traffic on sibbyonline so you come here with your illogical and hypocritical meanderings.

  21. Adam 2016-06-03 13:50

    Steve “Weak Sauce” Sibson

  22. Adam 2016-06-03 13:51

    It just needs some salt, or pepper or something – LOL

  23. Roger Cornelius 2016-06-03 13:55

    It is sushi left in a hot car overnight.

  24. Jenny 2016-06-03 15:10

    I’m not surprised Eisenbeisz is a member of the GOP.

  25. Steve Sibson 2016-06-03 15:43

    Another tool used by propagandists is to marginalize, demonize, and insult those who expose their lies.

  26. caheidelberger Post author | 2016-06-03 15:44

    Thomas, at no point do I sink to Eisenbeisz’s level. All things being equal, a white American enjoys power and privilege that a black American does not. The low-income white folks you cite as examples still enjoy a certain freedom from harassment based on their skin color that their black neighbors do not. Eisenbeisz, regardless of his income, enjoys certain advantages because of his skin color that mean he is a beneficiary, not a victim, of racism.

  27. caheidelberger Post author | 2016-06-03 15:52

    Greg, if that award-winning teacher used the phrase “All Lives Matter” years ago, independent of the discussion of discrimination against blacks by police and judges, then her statement probably was not problematic.

    If that teacher used that phrase in direct response to the discussion of the Black Lives Matter movement, then that teacher is in error. All lives matter, but that should be a given. “Black Lives Matter (too!)” responds to that supposed given by pointing out that many people and institutions aren’t living up to that general statement and are treating black lives as if they are worth less. To respond to that critique with “All lives matter” does not advance the argument; it more likely shows that the responder isn’t listening, isn’t advancing the argument, but is just repeating the statement that the critiquers just gone done calling into question.

    We have “All men are created equal” in our Declaration of Independence. We have spent 240 years revising and extending that remark to recognize our failures to live up to that credo and to improve our country so that black lives matter, women’s lives matter, Indians’ lives matter, gay lives matter…. We don’t get there if we just get snippy with protesters and bark back, “All men are created equal.” We get there by responding, “You’re right: we said ‘all men are created equal,’ and we’re doing a crappy job of including everybody in that statement. How do we include the group you’re talking about in that founding promise?”

  28. caheidelberger Post author | 2016-06-03 15:57

    As I note in my update and as you can all check for yourselves by reviewing Eisenbeisz’s online posts, Eisenbeisz is an exclusionary Trumpist. He advocates closing the borders.

    And Greg, if calling a guy a “smutty pig” for posting pictures of women in bondage leather submitting to whips and riding crops wielded by man makes me biased… well, I’ll own that bias. Tell me what’s unfair about having a bias that says enjoying and spreading photos of women subjected to sexualized violence is objectionable.

  29. caheidelberger Post author | 2016-06-03 16:06

    Wade Arthur Eisenbeisz is a registered Republican. Wade Arthur Eisenbeisz is a racist.

    It does not follow that all registered Republicans are racist. But we see a lot of registered Republicans overlooking Donald Trump’s bigotry and rationalizing their votes for him.

  30. Donald Pay 2016-06-03 16:43

    On behalf of the white race, I’d like to apologize for Wade Eisenbeisz.

    I checked a bit into the Eisenbeisz clan genealogy. There is a lot of it on-line, and I only had time to skim a bit of it. Mr. Eisenbeisz has a reason to be proud of his clan’s long documented history in Europe, but he seems a bit blind to its lessons.

    The Eisenbeisz clan was buffeted by the ethnic xenophobia of much of European history. Various parts of the clan picked up stakes and move numerous times over the centuries. They lived all over much of Eastern Europe, as well as in Germany. Sometimes it appears parts of the clan were the victims of xenophobia. Other times they appear to have taken advantage of xenophobia to move to more advantageous circumstances in Europe, as others were moved out.

    Various parts of the clan moved to various states in America at various times and for various reasons. South Dakota was a common destination in the 1870s. At least some of the family were escaping xenophobia, or the economic affects of xenophobia, and found refuge here. It’s sad that Wade has not taken the lessons of his clan to heart.

    The entire international Eisenbeisz clan has a family reunion coming up in Aberdeen in mid June. Let’s hope Mr. Eisenbeisz reflects on the lessons he could learn of his family’s long history in Europe.

  31. mike from iowa 2016-06-03 17:30

    Black lives matter. Those that have been gunned down by cops for being black are the victims. They didn’t ask for this.

    Now whitey wingnuts is afraid blacks will get special rights and so ww wants to pretend to be a victim,too.

  32. happy camper 2016-06-03 17:47

    I’m not saying this in support of Eisenbeisz, but it’s a natural reaction to say All Lives Matter and many don’t “get the code” or know it exists. They just see it as an equality issue. A couple years back the president of Smith’s College said just that, and then had to apologize because “she was unaware the phrase ‘all lives matter’ is being used on social media as a counterargument to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.”

    It wasn’t long back a Black Lives Matter group wanted to use a public building and only allow blacks to attend. When denied use of the building for the reason that was discriminatory, they called it racist. There’s a whole lot of crazy out there. Can’t find the link on that one any more. There are other links to white students not being allowed to attend BLM meetings at the high school.

    “Several white parents, none of whom would speak on the record, expressed confusion and dismay that their children were prevented from participating in a “Black Lives Matter” event Feb. 27 that was limited to black students only.”

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/9/smith-college-president-apologizes-for-email-sayin/

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/oak-park/news/ct-oak-black-lives-matter-tl-0312-20150306-story.html

  33. happy camper 2016-06-03 18:14

    Even Hillary made a mis-statement and said “All Lives Matter.” It was a story about her mother, but regardless “her statement that all lives matter, that blew a lot of support that she may have been able to engender here,” said Renita Lamkin, a pastor at the St. John AME Church in St. Charles. She is white and while protesting in Ferguson was hit in the gut with a rubber bullet. Her passion comes in part because her children are African-American.”

    “My children matter,” she said. “And I need to hear my president say that the lives of my children matter. That my little black children matter. Because right now our society does not say that they matter. Black lives matter. That’s what she needs to say.”

    That’s crazy too. Telling a completely non-related story to BLM, using that phrase and getting bashed.

  34. happy camper 2016-06-03 18:24

    Oh, forgot the link: http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/24/417112956/hillary-clintons-three-word-gaffe-all-lives-matter

    “HIllary Clinton, you went to a church in Ferguson to speak to the community and you say, “all lives matter?” YOU ARE CLEARLY NOT LISTENING.”

    “I hope that the @HillaryClinton speechwriters realize that “all lives matter,” in any form, will cost more than its benefits for black folk.”

    But all lives do matter, and many powerless people are mistreated by the police and other authorities.

  35. Steve Sibson 2016-06-03 18:27

    “Thomas, at no point do I sink to Eisenbeisz’s level.”

    Cory, you went beyond his level and supported out right discrimination based on race.

  36. Steve Sibson 2016-06-03 18:34

    “At least some of the family were escaping xenophobia, or the economic affects of xenophobia, and found refuge here. It’s sad that Wade has not taken the lessons of his clan to heart. ”

    Donald, you are saying that he cannot have the same reaction to oppression that Cory and the rest of the racist cultural Neo-Marxist say blacks have a right too today. Hypocrisy and racism on your part.

  37. Roger Cornelius 2016-06-03 18:47

    Happy,
    What does your lord and master Donald Trump have to say about Black Lives Matter?

  38. Roger Cornelius 2016-06-03 18:50

    Sibson’s unconditional support of Wade Eisenbeisz puts them both at the same level of racial hate xenophobia.

  39. Roger Cornelius 2016-06-03 18:52

    Eisenbeisz is a disgrace and unfit for public office.
    If he had an ounce of integrity, he would apologize for his hateful message and resign his position.

  40. Robin Friday 2016-06-03 18:58

    I haven’t read every single word, but something tells me this Eisenbeisz fellow is a Trump supporter. They could be pals. Or blood brothers.

  41. Roger Cornelius 2016-06-03 19:02

    Robin,
    His Facebook page shows support for Trump and more disgusting photos.

  42. happy camper 2016-06-03 19:04

    Oh who cares Roger, I just love those little hands.

  43. Robin Friday 2016-06-03 20:25

    Pardon me for the sheltered life I lead, but that whip and leather thing–isn’t that illegal online? Isn’t that porn?

  44. Greg 2016-06-03 21:45

    Cory, I didn’t realize that three innocent words could define a person as a racist. I am not a racist and will never be one. However in my beliefs the words ALL LIVES MATTER means what it says. I have grandchildren and if I can teach them one thing in life would be is All Lives Matter. If and when people learn this it will be a much better world to live in.

  45. Donald Pay 2016-06-03 22:31

    I’m not certain what you care to chant is all that important. It’s what gets done to solve the problem that matters. And the problem is too many blacks are being mistreated or killed by law enforcement.

    Really, the chants and protest signs all depend on what incident people are protesting. Most of the incidents have involved the killing of black men, so I would expect “Black Lives Matter” to be a reasonable statement, given the circumstances. And, since these killings have occurred with some regularity across the country, it is little wonder that people have made this into a nation-wide movement.

    Where I live we had a young bi-racial man killed by a policeman. He identified as “black,” but socialized with a large multi-racial group. In this instance, his bi-racial family and his multi-racial group, who organized the protests, used “All Lives Matter.” It seemed to fit the the young man’s circumstances better, and it generated much more support in this very white community. I suppose if circumstances had been different the chants would have been different.

  46. leslie 2016-06-04 03:45

    Anyone kno edmunds cty history?

    Drove by Sundance tonite Explaining to My Son burning Crosses And Kkk Suits Stored In Sturgis Attics And 2nd amendment Militias For Hunting Down Slaves. Those Feigning Ignorance Given Trayvon And Ferguson Tips Of The Iceberg Implying Knowing A Bigoted Phrases’ intent Including ALM, stars&bars, or Even Little Hands, are
    Trolls Really.

  47. Donal 2016-06-04 06:44

    Seems to me this is a subject that has been in need of discussion for a long time. I am happy to see the topic of race is again being discussed in this state and the country. I find it refreshing to read the ideas and beliefs that every day people have on both sides of the race issue and why they believe what they believe. I am tired of the so-called experts on race relations telling all of us how right or wrong we are and believe they have all the answers. I thought some comments were good and some bad. I would caution those who will be offended by each others beliefs and observations of race and then respond in a judgmental way. I read these comments and attempt to understand why one believes as they do so I can better understand the implications on both sides of the issue and hopefully assist in changing others prospective through the use of facts and logical persuasion.

  48. mike from iowa 2016-06-04 07:35

    I suspect if whites are prevented from attending BLM meetings there is less chance of a Drumpf@#k follower or white supremacist to disrupt order.

  49. happy camper 2016-06-04 07:58

    Worth noting: Two out of three black people prefer the term “‘all lives matter” to “black lives matter,” according to a Rasmussen poll released Thursday.

    Only 31 percent of black people surveyed said that the statement “black lives matter” most closely comports to their own beliefs, compared to 64 percent who chose “all lives matter.”

    Seventy-eight percent of total respondents also chose “all lives matter,” including 81 percent of white and 76 percent of minority respondents, according to the poll.

    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/251667-poll-most-black-people-prefer-all-lives-matter

  50. happy camper 2016-06-04 08:15

    I assume now you’ll attack the 2/3rds of the black people who want to use the phrase All Lives Matter?

  51. Steve Sibson 2016-06-04 08:26

    “Sibson’s unconditional support of Wade Eisenbeisz puts them both at the same level of racial hate xenophobia.”

    Roger your extreme hatred of me has allowed you to lie in order to demonize me. I stated early on in this thread, that I disagree with white pride, along with gay pride and black power.

  52. caheidelberger Post author | 2016-06-04 08:37

    Again, Hap, that depends on whether those poll respondents are speaking about a general rule (as Greg’s teacher friend may have used it in a general sense prior to the current debate about racism in the criminal justice system) or the specific argument about contemporary racism.

    Greg, Hap, “All lives matter” is a true moral statement. It is generally not racist to say so. But words carry different meaning in different contexts. To wade into the CJS debate and respond to BLM protestors by shouting back “All lives matter!” is, in a way, racist. That rebuttal says, “Our general principle is fine and your specific indictment of our failed application of it lacks merit.”

    And notice that Eisenbeisz makes clear that he is using “All lives matter” in exactly that fashion, as “a response to those statements.”

    It would definitely be racist to say “Black lives matter” in an exclusionary sense—i.e., with the meaning, “Only black lives matter”—as surely as it would be to say “White lives matter” in an exclusionary sense. And if there are any BLM protestors chanting this phrase with the intent of excluding non-blacks from human dignity, then yes, they are wrong. But that’s not what BLM is about. The phrase carries that implicit “Too” at the end, the reminder that we aren’t applying our principles to “All”.

    There’s the trick, Greg: it isn’t just about three little words. It is about how those three little words are used. Too often, racists like Eisenbeisz try to hide behind that odd minimalism, where they say the words they’ve made such an effort to use are just words and thus to shift responsibility for any anger or harm those words cause on other people (who are obviously hypersensitive, tea-drinking sissies or radicals or some other objectionable class for the racists to mock in their further Facebook posts).

    There’s where I get the most cranky. Eisenbeisz is a racist. He expresses his racism by playing word games, using words that denote no racism but which thinly cloak his racist intent. I don’t think he believes the words he is saying.

  53. Spike 2016-06-04 09:00

    “Hating people because of their color is wrong.
    and it doesn’t matter which color does the hating,
    it’s just plain wrong”

    Muhammad Ali

  54. mike from iowa 2016-06-04 09:34

    RIP Champ. Gracious man that stood up for his rights and paid a steep price and was later exonerated.

  55. caheidelberger Post author | 2016-06-04 10:02

    Robin, photos involving whips and leather aren’t illegal, online or off. The photos Eisenbeisz shared could certainly count as softcore porn. The picture showing a mostly naked woman kneeling in front of a man, suggesting fellatio may go beyond softcore (sorry—I’m not a student of the topic, so I’m not sure where the boundary is between soft and hard porn).

    But consider this: if Eisenbeisz’s BDSM pix are porn, and if minors access his publicly accessible Google+ and Facebook pages and see that BDSM content, is Eisenbeisz guilty of distributing porn to minors? Consider this warning from the Justice Department:

    It is illegal for an individual to knowingly use interactive computer services to display obscenity in a manner that makes it available to a minor less than 18 years of age (See 47 U.S.C. § 223(d) –Communications Decency Act of 1996, as amended by the PROTECT Act of 2003). It is also illegal to knowingly make a commercial communication via the Internet that includes obscenity and is available to any minor less than 17 years of age (See 47 U.S.C. § 231 –Child Online Protection Act of 1998).

    The standard of what is harmful to minors may differ from the standard applied to adults. Harmful materials for minors include any communication consisting of nudity, sex or excretion that (i) appeals to the prurient interest of minors, (ii) is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable material for minors, (iii) and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors [USDOJ, “Citizen’s Guide to U.S. Federal Law on Obscenity,” updated 2015.07.06].

    I can think of no U.S. law making it illegal to post racist hogwash online where minors can access it.

  56. mike from iowa 2016-06-04 10:21

    soft·core or soft-core (sôft′kôr′, sŏft′-)
    adj.
    1. Being less explicit than hard-core material in depicting or describing sexual activity: softcore pornography.
    2. Moderate

    Soft core is simulated fooling around. Actually “doing it” is hard core.

  57. Nick Nemec 2016-06-04 10:44

    “Can’t we all just get along.” Rodney King

    “Love one another.” Jesus Christ

    I get so sick of people defending racists and the too cute by half word games obvious racists use to defend their racism. Eisenbeisz is either a racist or too stupid to hold elected office. More likely both. If he was just stupid he would only be posting cat videos and not racist dog whistle white pride crap.

  58. mike from iowa 2016-06-04 11:30

    Can commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs) prevent the use of their services by extremists?
    Yes. Commercial ISPs, such as America Online (AOL), may voluntarily agree to prohibit users from sending racist or bigoted messages over their services. Such prohibitions do not implicate First Amendment rights because they are entered into through private contracts and do not involve government action in any way. Once an ISP commits to such regulations, it must monitor the use of its service to ensure that the regulations are followed. If a violation does occur, the ISP should, as a contractual matter, take action to prevent it from happening again. For example, if a participant in a chat room engages in racist speech in violation of the “terms of service” of the ISP, his or her account could be cancelled, or the person could be forbidden from using the chat room in the future. ISPs should encourage users to report suspected violations to company representatives. The effectiveness of this remedy is limited, however. Any subscriber to an ISP who loses his or her account for violating that ISP’s regulations may resume propagating hate by subsequently signing up with any of the dozens of more permissive ISPs in the marketplace

  59. happy camper 2016-06-04 11:55

    The poll question was: Which statement is closest to your own—black lives matter or all lives matter? Or does neither statement reflect your point of view?

    You’ve split the hair but the problem is a lot people don’t take the time to think it through so the language has become unnecessarily divisive for everyone. It would have been a smarter move from the get go to adopt the phrase All Lives Matter as their political message because a lot of people don’t think about color and don’t want to reinforce superficial racial differences. I think most people (in this country) are ready to let go of the social concept of race.

  60. Don Coyote 2016-06-04 12:51

    Since the solar cross / celtic cross / odin’s cross has now been decreed off limits by those wracked with white guilt, I suppose Catholics will now have to surrender their rosaries since gangbangers have adopted them as gang symbols. Sheesh.

  61. Roger Cornelius 2016-06-04 13:04

    Who will Catholics have to sacrifice their rosaries to, Don? Is that even realistic?

  62. Nick Nemec 2016-06-04 19:17

    Don Coyote, no one has decreed anything off limits, but smart people refrain from use of some symbols because they understand odious groups have appropriated those symbols and the symbols now carry evil meanings.

    Commissioner Eisenbeisz either agrees with the symbol’s appropriated meaning or is too stupid to realize the new meaning. Being a racist or being stupid are reason enough to not vote for someone in my book.

  63. Roger Cornelius 2016-06-04 20:24

    Commissioner Eisenbeisz first claimed he didn’t realize what the symbol represented and quickly deleted it from his Facebook page.
    However, if you view his Facebook page you will see similar type photos, some bordering on pornography.
    We should be wondering why a public official would be promoting what many consider a symbol of hate.

  64. caheidelberger Post author | 2016-06-05 19:22

    “people don’t take the time to think it through”

    Ah, Hap, there’s the rub… and there’s part fo what we try to achieve with good public education. People need to take time to think through the full meanings of the words they use. They need to study the words others use and understand them in their full context. We need to do all that thinking before we go to war over word choice or bark back gut responses that only make the situation worse.

    Understanding why people shout “Black Lives Matter!” would make people realize that “All Lives Matter!”, while entirely true, comes across in this context as an insulting, insensitive response.

  65. leslie 2016-06-09 19:34

    similarly, happy, a 2004 “benchmark” poll is the subject of the “new” stat that Indians are not offended by “redskins” as a national team name, or for that matter, Harney Peak as offensive to Lakota people, as I have heard.

    your reliance on factiods is questionable, and recently you mentioned similar reasoning in the “bathroom/gender” thread.

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