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The Hate Elephant image by freelance illustrator Woody Harrington.
Oops: Alabama GOP "Mistakenly" Goes Full KKK
Hey, we all make mistakes, especially creepy, subliminal, deeply racist ones in the South. So it's understandable that a few weeks after a Georgia school district chose a new school logo that looks just like the Nazi eagle, an Alabama county GOP posted an image of their party's elephant with KKK hoods between its legs The local NAACP wants the GOP official, who's also on the school board, to resign for saying the quiet part out loud. But he's declined, saying he simply goofed by rushing to cut and paste the image - from an article titled, "The Republican Party Is Racist and Soulless."
Aug 19, 2022
Hey, we all make mistakes, especially creepy, subliminal, deeply racist ones in a South that still likely longs to rise again. So it's entirely understandable that a few weeks after a Georgia school district excitedly unveiled a new elementary school logo "to honor the history of our great school" that looks just like the Nazi eagle, an Alabama county GOP posted an image of their party's elephant with KKK hoods between its legs, thus "accidentally" saying the quiet, awful part out loud about a party increasingly indistinguishable from fascists and white nationalists. The Facebook post from the Lawrence County GOP aimed to thank a departing county chairman for his "diligent work (to) represent your conservative values." Once the sinister hoods were pointed out by some discerning observers, the image was removed and chairman Shannon Terry offered "a deep and sincere apology" for "hidden images that do not represent the views or beliefs of the Lawrence County Republican Party." Terry said the image was hurriedly taken from a Google search, adding, "I take full responsibility for the error...I regret the mistake that was made, and it was just that - an unintended mistake."
Because irony still hasn't quite died, it turns out the image came from a 2020 piece at Mother Jones titled, "The Republican Party is Racist and Soulless," in which longtime GOP consultant Stuart Stevens blasts the modern GOP as a "cartel" that exists "for the pursuit of power for no purpose." It also turns out the image was created by illustrator Woody Harrington, who noted "the Hate Elephant has been given new life (without permission or credit, of course.") In response to the elephant's reappearance, the Lawrence County NAACP on Friday called for Terry's resignation from the school board; they argued the notion the county GOP "has Ku Klux Klan embedded within their grassroots" cannot be ignored, and Terry's credibility as a school board member has been "tainted." Still, Terry declined to resign. In a statement, he reiterated he did not "properly review a cut and paste image," insisted he does "not support or agree with any hate group agenda," and claimed he was "being incorrectly portrayed by some over this unfortunate issue." And besides, adds Crooks and Liars, in these unforgiving times, "Let those amongst us who never accidentally posted KKK imagery cast the first stone."
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Abby Zimet
Abby Zimet has written CD's Further column since 2008. A longtime, award-winning journalist, she moved to the Maine woods in the early 70s, where she spent a dozen years building a house, hauling water and writing before moving to Portland. Having come of political age during the Vietnam War, she has long been involved in women's, labor, anti-war, social justice and refugee rights issues. Email: azimet18@gmail.com
Hey, we all make mistakes, especially creepy, subliminal, deeply racist ones in a South that still likely longs to rise again. So it's entirely understandable that a few weeks after a Georgia school district excitedly unveiled a new elementary school logo "to honor the history of our great school" that looks just like the Nazi eagle, an Alabama county GOP posted an image of their party's elephant with KKK hoods between its legs, thus "accidentally" saying the quiet, awful part out loud about a party increasingly indistinguishable from fascists and white nationalists. The Facebook post from the Lawrence County GOP aimed to thank a departing county chairman for his "diligent work (to) represent your conservative values." Once the sinister hoods were pointed out by some discerning observers, the image was removed and chairman Shannon Terry offered "a deep and sincere apology" for "hidden images that do not represent the views or beliefs of the Lawrence County Republican Party." Terry said the image was hurriedly taken from a Google search, adding, "I take full responsibility for the error...I regret the mistake that was made, and it was just that - an unintended mistake."
Because irony still hasn't quite died, it turns out the image came from a 2020 piece at Mother Jones titled, "The Republican Party is Racist and Soulless," in which longtime GOP consultant Stuart Stevens blasts the modern GOP as a "cartel" that exists "for the pursuit of power for no purpose." It also turns out the image was created by illustrator Woody Harrington, who noted "the Hate Elephant has been given new life (without permission or credit, of course.") In response to the elephant's reappearance, the Lawrence County NAACP on Friday called for Terry's resignation from the school board; they argued the notion the county GOP "has Ku Klux Klan embedded within their grassroots" cannot be ignored, and Terry's credibility as a school board member has been "tainted." Still, Terry declined to resign. In a statement, he reiterated he did not "properly review a cut and paste image," insisted he does "not support or agree with any hate group agenda," and claimed he was "being incorrectly portrayed by some over this unfortunate issue." And besides, adds Crooks and Liars, in these unforgiving times, "Let those amongst us who never accidentally posted KKK imagery cast the first stone."
Abby Zimet
Abby Zimet has written CD's Further column since 2008. A longtime, award-winning journalist, she moved to the Maine woods in the early 70s, where she spent a dozen years building a house, hauling water and writing before moving to Portland. Having come of political age during the Vietnam War, she has long been involved in women's, labor, anti-war, social justice and refugee rights issues. Email: azimet18@gmail.com
Hey, we all make mistakes, especially creepy, subliminal, deeply racist ones in a South that still likely longs to rise again. So it's entirely understandable that a few weeks after a Georgia school district excitedly unveiled a new elementary school logo "to honor the history of our great school" that looks just like the Nazi eagle, an Alabama county GOP posted an image of their party's elephant with KKK hoods between its legs, thus "accidentally" saying the quiet, awful part out loud about a party increasingly indistinguishable from fascists and white nationalists. The Facebook post from the Lawrence County GOP aimed to thank a departing county chairman for his "diligent work (to) represent your conservative values." Once the sinister hoods were pointed out by some discerning observers, the image was removed and chairman Shannon Terry offered "a deep and sincere apology" for "hidden images that do not represent the views or beliefs of the Lawrence County Republican Party." Terry said the image was hurriedly taken from a Google search, adding, "I take full responsibility for the error...I regret the mistake that was made, and it was just that - an unintended mistake."
Because irony still hasn't quite died, it turns out the image came from a 2020 piece at Mother Jones titled, "The Republican Party is Racist and Soulless," in which longtime GOP consultant Stuart Stevens blasts the modern GOP as a "cartel" that exists "for the pursuit of power for no purpose." It also turns out the image was created by illustrator Woody Harrington, who noted "the Hate Elephant has been given new life (without permission or credit, of course.") In response to the elephant's reappearance, the Lawrence County NAACP on Friday called for Terry's resignation from the school board; they argued the notion the county GOP "has Ku Klux Klan embedded within their grassroots" cannot be ignored, and Terry's credibility as a school board member has been "tainted." Still, Terry declined to resign. In a statement, he reiterated he did not "properly review a cut and paste image," insisted he does "not support or agree with any hate group agenda," and claimed he was "being incorrectly portrayed by some over this unfortunate issue." And besides, adds Crooks and Liars, in these unforgiving times, "Let those amongst us who never accidentally posted KKK imagery cast the first stone."
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