Guest commentary: It’s time to be brave and stop the ‘cancel culture’
By George Colby
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(Writer’s note: I had a friend help me with this letter. But every sentiment is mine. I hope they are yours, too.)
I stand accused of racism for a comment that was not racist. I question the motives of the accusers, but since I don’t know what is in their hearts, I’ll put that aside. At a New Gloucester Select Board meeting on Dec. 3, 2020, after the Pledge of Allegiance, I said, “Liberty and justice for all, for everyone. Even us white folks!”
New Gloucester selectman says detractors have ‘malicious’ agenda
George Colby said the effort to recall him reflects the “cancel culture” that is “infecting” the country.
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“I stand accused of racism for a comment that was not racist,” Colby wrote, referring to a Dec. 3 selectmen meeting when at the end of the Pledge of Allegiance, he said, “Liberty and justice for all, for everyone. Even us white folks!”
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Colby said that since his comment “wasn’t racist, I’m not going to apologize for saying it. I exercised my freedom of speech and expressed my dismay at the state of America, my frustration that people are trying to tear down America.”
You don’t have to know George Colby to be outraged – at the influence of the left. Colby is a selectman from New Gloucester who is accused of racism. A petition to recall him is underway. After the Pledge of Allegiance at a town meeting on Dec. 3, Colby stated: “Liberty and justice for all, […]
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Laura Fralich: White grievance is racism: Why New Gloucester Selectman George Colby needs to be recalled
The racial grievance mentality of Colby’s comments are deeply harmful in that they disregard the centuries of racial violence and racist policies as well as the realities of the current racial inequities in wealth, housing, education, criminal justice, and health.
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New Gloucester Selectman George Colby’s comment at the Dec. 3 Select Board meeting raised the question of what it means to be racist, and what qualifies as a racist comment.
There is often a misleading and false rhetoric that, in order to be racist, someone has to explicitly espouse racist views, slurs, or comments. This narrative leads to the mentality that we can easily categorize people, comments, or ideas as racist or not racist. This oversimplification of racism gives a false sense of self-assurance and moral high ground to anyone who does not explicitly promote views of racia
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NEW GLOUCESTER A group of residents seeking to recall Selectman George Colby say they expect to have enough signatures on their petition by the end of the month for a townwide vote.
Cameron Dufty, who started the group New Gloucester United Against Racism last summer, said that Colby’s statements at a Board of Selectmen meeting last month “were rooted in racism.”
At the end of the Pledge of Allegiance during the Dec. 3 meeting, Colby said, “Liberty and justice for all, for everyone. Even us white folks!”
Dufty, along with a few other residents, is leading the petition drive.