After making one of the worst timed statements in American History, Hal Marx, the mayor of Petal, Mississippi, has rejected calls for his resignation after comments he made in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, MN.
In the initial tweet that received immediate backlash, Marx stated, “Why in the world would anyone choose to become a police officer in our society today?”
The tweet sparked a response from one user, Jason A. Darby, who said “Would be nice to get a few in there that understand reasonable force, when it’s needed, and don’t give the rest of them a bad reputation.”
Now, this is where America’s political leadership had the opportunity to stop, fix his words, and potentially apologize for such an inappropriate statement during such a trying time regarding civil unrest.
Instead what the Mayor said will surely spark outrage in the Southern State he currently holds a seat in.
“If you are talking about the incident in MN, I didn’t see anything unreasonable. If you can say you can’t breathe, you’re breathing. Most likely that man died of overdose or heart attack. Video doesn’t show his resistance that got him in that position. Police being crucified.”
Marx quickly attempted to smooth over anyone who may have taken his statement out of context. Stating, “I think that people are so quick to judge the police before they have all the facts,” he said. “I can’t say whether a crime was committed or whether they did anything right or wrong, all I’m saying is don’t rush to judgment based on what you see in that video.”
While his apology will certainly be accepted by some, this is a harsh reality many cities in America are facing. Can the local politicians be trusted to protect the rights of all? Or are people of color simply subject to treatment obviously below the standard of America’s white demographic?
