ATLANTA (AP) — Two employees of a Georgia sheriff’s office have been fired for online comments in which they sympathized with Hitler and touted the founder of the American Nazi Party.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said Monday that detention officers Howard Costner and Jesse Jones no longer work for his office.
Their firings came after leftist group Atlanta Antifascists published online comments made by the two men.
The newspaper says that in one post, Costner described “racism as normal” and “not a bad thing” and expressed admiration for George Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party. Jones’ online profile on the gaming platform Steam included the motto, “Hitler did nothing wrong.”
Dix said the information “doesn’t fit what we want to represent to the community.”
OK, you need to let me get my flame-retardant suit on before saying stuff like that.
Dix said the information “doesn’t fit what we want to represent to the community.”
Telling statement. Not so concerned with the Nazi sympathy but concerned it doesn’t fit what they want to represent to the community. Sounds like what they want to represent is not the same thing as what they actually believe and support. As the GOP congress would say, lost opportunity. Shakes head sadly.
It’s notable the Sheriff said “it doesn’t fit what we want to represent to the community" and not “it doesn’t fit what we are”.
Dix said the information “doesn’t fit what we want to represent to the community.”
It’s hard to do when using the words “Georgia” and “Sheriff,” but I’m going to try to be generous here and accept that the Sheriff is sincere in saying this is not what he wants his department to represent — in public or private.