When Free Speech Costs Dearly

Carla Hanson

"I do not like or agree with anything Muslims stand for and I believe the Islamic Faith is pure evil."

".... I'll be first in line to issue a ass whooping... to the transgender, and the administration whom (sic) failed to protect our children,"

These are the words, the "private" words, of Dallas, OR City Councilman Micky Garus, who in recent & separate Facebook rants made his stark bigotry very public.

While it is distressing but not unexpected to see GOP Presidential candidates scramble over one another to be the first to deny refuge to the thousands of Muslim Syrians fleeing the violence in their homeland, there is a particular revulsion that is even more palpable when a local leader emotes from the same biased reference point. He may proclaim he is speaking toward broader national and global ethics, but he is really talking about his constituents - his neighbors and his neighbor's kids.

As a guy that probably gained office because most, if not all his votes were from citizens that know him personally, he is literally telling his neighbors directly that they are less than his Christian and straight neighbors. He is also telling his like-minded neighbors and chums that it's ok to express their racism and homophobia.

Distressingly, many of Garus' pals took his bait, and showed up to support him at last night's Council meeting in Dallas.

Garus may successfully hide behind the 1st Amendment - but make no mistake, Garus understands how public his "private" Facebook pages are. There is little real separation between the public and the private Micky Garus, and he knows it. He specifically and purposefully used his private platform to light a local and hideous public fire, ostracize local citizens and children and create a climate of divisiveness in Dallas, Oregon.

This isn't the kind of "leader" any town needs.

By Carla Hanson Nov. 17, 2015