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The president of the Municipal Council, Jazmín Flores, responds to the social reaction to the publications
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The president of the Municipal Council, Jazmín Flores, responds to the social reaction to the publications

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Erie City Council Speaker Jasmine Flores acknowledged that a recent post on her personal Facebook page, in which she openly compared supporters of former President Donald Trump to members of the Ku Klux Klan, was fueled by emotion and could have been worded differently.

But Flores doubled down, refusing to stray from what she called the post’s main message: that, as she sees it, too many Trump supporters endorse the often hateful rhetoric he and his surrogates use, whether verbally or through his silence.

“My post was based on my personal opinion and my experiences,” Flores, a Democrat serving her first term on the City Council, told the Erie Times-News in an interview. “I could have exaggerated and I could have said some things a little differently, not been so generalized and left the ‘KKK’ out of it.

“But there are a lot of Trump supporters who devour things that are divisive and hateful,” Flores continued. “If you’re not like that? Prove us wrong and stand up to the hate.”

What did your post say?

On Monday afternoon, Flores posted:

About 90%, if not more, of you Red Hat fans need to be honest with yourselves and recognize that you all own WHITEHOOD or were raised to own it due to your SICK family history.

YOU ARE RACIST and if you are a person of color you need to stop hating yourself and find your roots because you are lost and your assimilation is showing and you are embarrassing the rest of us who have been educated on ROYAL AMERICANS HISTORY IN ALL ITS BLOODSHED AND KILLER FOR BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE!!

Those red hats are the new targets of the KKK and I want to be wrong, but when people show you who they are, you have to believe them!!

As of Thursday morning, Flores’ post had more than 100 comments. Many commentators criticized Flores for the tone of her comments and/or accused Flores of pushing a message of hate herself.

What motivated Flores’ publication?

Flores, who frequently posts about political issues on his personal Facebook page, admitted that his post was prompted by Trump’s rally on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

The Republican presidential candidate is locked in a very close race for the presidency with Democratic candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Flores supports.

Trump’s rally on Sunday featured inflammatory and vulgar rhetoric from several speakers previously approved by the Trump campaign to appear.

At the event, a comedian known for his racist jokes called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” and made reference to black people carving watermelons; another Trump ally who spoke called Harris the ‘antichrist’ and waved a crucifix on stage.

At the rally, Trump again referred to his opponents as “the enemy within,” questioned Harris’ IQ and described reporters as “the enemy of the people.”

Flores said: “Yes, I am an elected official, but I am also a woman of color. I am half Mexican and half Puerto Rican. If the (Trump) campaign didn’t agree with what those people said, they could have done it.” I stopped him. “Having those people on stage told me that you agree with them.”

Flores: ‘Prove me wrong and show me you’re not like that’

Flores said disagreements over politics/political ideology are part of politics.

Hate speech should not be.

“If you’re offended by what I posted, prove me wrong again and show me that’s not who you are,” Flores said.

Flores is not done when it comes to expressing himself on social media.

On Wednesday night, he posted on Facebook: “I just want Redhat/Trump supporters to prove us wrong. They love the First Amendment right when they use it. I appreciate everyone who has reached out. On the day of Elections are November. 5th GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!”

Contact Kevin Flores at [email protected]. Follow him on X in @ETNflores.