An embattled Mississippi lawmaker is still wading through a firestorm of criticism from groups and lawmakers in the Golden Triangle following comments that critics have deemed racially and culturally insensitive.
Mississippi Rep. Karl Oliver, a Winona Republican, posted a controversial Facebook comment on May 20 in which he used the term “lynching” in all caps referring to New Orleans' leaders who removed Confederate monuments from public spaces.
“The destruction of these monuments, erected in the loving memory of our family and fellow Southern Americans, is both heinous and horrific,” the post said. “If the, and I use this term extremely loosely, 'leadership' of Louisiana wishes to, in a Nazi-ish fashion, burn books or destroy historical monuments of OUR HISTORY, they should be LYNCHED! Let it be known, I will do all in my power to prevent this from happening in our State.”
Oliver’s post came the day after a statue depicting Confederate General Robert E. Lee was removed from Lee Circle in New Orleans, representing the last of four monuments depicting Confederate leaders.
Following backlash from the post, Mississippi House Speaker Phillip Gunn, R-Clinton, lambasted Oliver’s remarks and removed him as the vice chair of the House Forestry Committee.
The post was quickly deleted and Oliver publicly apologized two days later, but that hasn’t stopped some groups in the Golden Triangle from calling for his resignation.
The Progressive Starkville Network and Golden Triangle Indivisible - a pair of grassroots activist groups - released a joint statement Thursday blasting Oliver for his comments and imploring the first-term representative to step down.
The joint statement said Oliver’s post called for Mississippi citizens to murder others for their decisions and although Oliver has since apologized, the groups believe that his original post is not just inappropriate, but openly hostile and should not be tolerated.
The Progressive Starkville Network is a liberal-minded coalition made up of nearly 500 Oktibbeha County residents who formed after the November 2016 election.
Golden Triangle Indivisible member Deborah Eakin said regardless of whether the Facebook post was calculated or not, the reference to lynching is particularly heinous in relation to the state’s civil rights history.
“To suggest that lynching is an appropriate response to the decision to remove monuments is unacceptable,” Eakin said. “It is important to me to send a message to the African American community that they do not stand alone in the fight; this is a despicable affront against all of the people of Mississippi.”
Fellow Republican State Rep. Gary Chism, of Columbus, told the SDN he thinks the post was atrocious and doesn't agree with the use of the word “lynched.”
“I think these comments were atrocious, you know the use of the word 'lynched' has connotations that are just unacceptable in today's society,” Chism said.
Chism then said he believes Oliver should not resign because he has accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized.
“I believe he was really sincere, you know in that it was inappropriate to use that word, but you know that's all that I think that he needs to do,” Chism said. “I mean who among us haven't said something that we shouldn't of said over the years and so I would not ask him to resign.”
A web poll conducted by the SDN asked readers if Oliver should resign. With 68 votes as of Thursday, 51 percent said Oliver should step down.