Mayor resigns over Obama ape slur

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A West Virginia mayor has been forced to resign after a public backlash over her racist comments about US First Lady Michelle Obama on Facebook.
http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/20 ... -in-heels/

Mayor Beverly Whaling resigned after liking a post in which Facebook user Pamela Ramsey Taylor, a director at Clay County Development Corp, wrote:

“It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I’m tired of seeing a Ape in heels”, referring to Mr Trump’s wife, Melania and Mrs Obama.

Shucks! what a "classy" thing to like on facebook

Maybe Mayor Beverly was looking at herself in the mirror at the time.

Further to the news Ms Pamela Ramsey has been placed on leave by Clay County Development Corp
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/11/15 ... 85756.html

At least they are "honest" about why they voted Trump

So, there really is a "basket of deplorables" after all.

Now now, stop lying! Trump supporters aren't racist, they are worried about economic insecurity.

Clay, West Virginia has a population of 491 people

maybe you guys should patrol the hamlets next for offenders

Glad she lost her job. Maybe she will secure a slot with the local police.

I know; thank you for reminding me.

I've found, the smaller and more isolated the community, the more the insane the people can potentially be.

It's funny because West Virginia is one of the most iconic parts of rural America made famous here in Australia by the old John Denver song "Country Road" (ironically a song I really like)

The mayor (an elected official) actually posted support (not just a click)
Pamela Ramsey psoted, "It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I'm tired of seeing a Ape in heels."

Clay Mayor Beverly Whaling responded, "Just made my day Pam."

let's not pretend this is an isolated incident. It reflects an obvious wider perception of Michelle Obama as the first lady among conservative Americans who (quite clearly) want to tarnish the legacy of the Obamas

Rural West Virginia is Appalachian country, that's where the term hillbilly and redneck comes from so I would say that this is probably pretty tame compared to some of the things they'd probably say if you got a couple drinks in them. I feel like that is the type of place where a record would scratch and everyone would turn up to look at you when you enter whatever room. It's offensive yeah, it's offensive when people say awful things about Melania Trump and many of the same people offended wouldn't have an issue with that however so there is a double standard.

I always thought going after people's families to be pretty poor taste unless they involves themselves somehow in the campaign or have some relevance, I think Michelle deserves respect for being a mother to her children and think she's been a fine First Lady in that regard despite all my other differences with her and her husband.

People should understand that Obama has attacked these people's way of life by pledging to put coal industry and coal miners out of business, Hillary echoed these sentiments exactly during the campaign and after that point I had full confidence that Trump would win Ohio and Pennsylvania thanks in large part to Trump's dominance in coal country as well as the post-industrial rustbelt regions.

I don't see Democrat voters refer to her (Melania) as an animal though. Michelle Obama is Harvard educated lawyer who could quite easily run for president herself.

In the past many conservatives in the media have invoked the "ape" meme as a slur against Michelle and Barack. No prizes for guessing where Pamela Ramsey thought of the idea when posting on facebook.

Here in Australia the same meme (casting black people as apes) has been used against indigenous sports stars such as former Sydney football captain Adam Goodes. When he dared fight back he was booed by thousands of (white) football fans across the country.

I'm not going to defend the comment, it speaks for itself but the people who denigrate Melania and invoke sexist xenophobic stereotypes about Eastern European women are no better. I think most people know Michelle is an intelligent and educated woman but I'm not sure people would say the same about Melania who speaks 6 languages. They're both worthy of respect as First Lady and the job they do as mothers, one should be able to separate that from the opinion they have about their husband's performance as president.

You do realize that the coal industry is dying no matter what any politician says right? It's being replaced by the petroleum industry, specifically natural gas and oil. Coal deposits on the eastern portion of the continent tend to be more sulfur rich, which is an air quality issue so most coal is being mined in the west now, which is sulfur free because it formed from lake deposits instead of seawater, and is shipped to the east coast. Coal deposits in Iowa are really "dirty" so our coal industry has been completely dead since 1994.

I don't think the rational explanation matters too much to the people whose way of life has depended on coal for generations in these regions, telling them there is no future is not what people want to hear. Obama and Hillary showed a stunning lack of empathy towards these people and I think it contributed to Trump's victory.

I sincerely feel for the people in coal country. But every industry eventually comes to an end. After all, the horse saddle industry isn't what it once had been back in the 19th century. If anything, big business should be trying to move into coal country with alternative well paying jobs.
And on that note, it should be recalled how the coal industry has cared little about their employees, fighting miners unions at every step, and often refusing to provide the most basic safety standards. Recall the loss of life in avoidable mine cave ins not many years ago, and the mine owners who could have cared less, save for the bad press.