Both the mayor of a small Oklahoma town and her husband have apologized for his Halloween night stunt where he and some friends donned Ku Klux Klan robes and held lit torches next to a large wooden cross. A photo of the incident was posted to social media where it sparked a bit of a
hullabaloo.
Insisting that she was nowhere near the vicinity of the incident when it happened, Theresa Sharp, mayor of Lahoma, said that she did not condone her husband Cary Sharp's actions and Sharp stated that he was "embarrassed" by his actions, according to Oklahoma's News9.com.
She should have stopped right there. But, like those folks who preface their statements with "I'm not racist" and then something racist unfurls, Mayor Sharp couldn't seem to leave well enough alone.
"It's four good ol' boys sitting around drinking and things got out of control," she said according to NBC News. Sigh.
Then, after saying she was "devastated" and "embarrassed" by her husband's actions, the mayor dropped this little gem: "They didn't see the harm in dressing up as the KKK, in comparison to other people dressing up as murderers and bombers."
WOW. Did she really say that? She didn't really say that. Did she? Guess she never heard of this case. Or this one. Or this one. Or any of these.
Misty Meister, the person who reported the incident to the police, somewhat made up for the mayor's lack of having a clue. Meister told the Enid News that the incident was "upsetting" and "a symbol of hate and intolerance" that her diverse community should not have been subjected to. "Unfortunately, now this is something we have to talk to our children about," Meister said.
Sounds like some adults could benefit from the dialogue too. Start with the mayor's house.