Unsurprisingly, a post from a Mississippi state senator’s Facebook page is accumulating thousands of outraged comments and has been shared more than 20,000 times.
Sen. Chris McDaniel made a statement saying the women who chose to participate in the Women’s March in D.C. are “a group of unhappy women.”
McDaniel ended the post by asking a question: “if they can afford all those piercings, tattoos, body paintings, signs, and plane tickets, then why do they want us to pay for their birth control (sic)?”
Despite the opposition, comments, shares and dislikes, McDaniel continued his rant on the Women’s March. The conservative commentator defended his comments and had a message for anyone who felt differently.
“Yell, curse, scream, threaten, and ridicule all you wish (sic),” McDaniel wrote. “I don’t care. It’s cute. But I’m not going anywhere. The more you push, the more I will resist. Even if I have to stand alone.”
McDaniel may not have foreseen the backlash he would receive after his many postings. In response to his post, a petition with more than 1,200 signatures has circulated, calling for the resignation of the Republican senator.
According to the Clarion Ledger newspaper, McDaniel said there is “not a chance” that he will resign.
In an effort to speak to McDaniel, half a dozen women went to the state capitol with a pink cake and their mission statement in hand. However, McDaniel never received the cake as he was not present.
McDaniel admitted that his posts may have been controversial to some but said “the price we pay to live in a free society is to be offended sometimes.”
“Discourse can be a positive thing,” he said. “Controversy can drive the conversation, and we can be better off in the long run. I think it’s better when people communicate, even when they disagree.”
McDaniel, along with other politicians, should use their social media handles with more discretion. Instead, McDaniel chose to use extreme right-wing rhetoric. One would say that in his mind, he can say whatever he pleases because of his “absolute free speech” pass.
It may seem as though the Republican senator goes out of his way to be politically incorrect.
But for most of us, we must measure what we say because of simply how it will be received.
McDaniel chose to vent to social media about what he thinks women should do – which is rather funny, being that Mr. McDaniel is not a Mrs.
Although the spotlight may have been on specifically McDaniel at the time, this adds another blemish to Mississippi’s pimply past. Once again the Magnolia state gets a slow clap for its inadequacies. It probably won’t hurt McDaniel – after all, he’s unapologetic.
“Friends, you should read this,” he wrote less than an hour ago after a commenter posted his office phone number. “Evidently, I’ve offended the snowflakes. I apologize for their filthy language but that’s precisely what we should expect from liberals.”
