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For over a decade, Gwinnett County, Georgia has been one of the fastest growing counties in the country. Along with its growth has come diversity; Gwinnett County has the most ethnically diverse county in the Southeast and ranks among the most diverse counties in the nation.

Moral and ethical considerations aside, it would appear that given the county’s diversity, anyone running for public office would be aware that bashing any particular religious group is counter-productive to winning an election. It is therefore more than a little surprising that Joe Briggs, a candidate for the city council of Suwanee, Georgia, (a city in Gwinnett County) would use Twitter to make anti-Semitic remarks.

According to an article in Georgia News Daily , Brigg’s tweets, which compared Jews to Nazis, and called Zionists “cockroaches”, have made headlines in national media and have understandably been labeled “Jew-bashing”. According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, during the past few months, Briggs tweeted, “Get the Jews out of the white House and out of POTUS’ ear”. and, “At least the Nazis assimilated and contributed to US society”, and, “The problem is Jews don’t care about racism- because they are racist. They only care about racism directed towards them. Square that.

Briggs’ tweets demonstrate what has become a common problem for many people, not just politicians; failure to recognize that some thoughts are best left “un-tweeted” often leads to undesirable consequences. The same holds true of posts on Facebook and other social media platforms.

Social media provides an unparalleled platform for anyone with a computer or smart phone to communicate. This has led to an epidemic of “keyboard warriors” who seem to think their mission in life is to post details about every aspect of their life, criticize, denigrate, or simply blather on about whatever topic is at hand.

For most people, social media posts have little consequence. For politicians and aspiring politicians, that’s not the case. Tweets have consequences. The list of candidates and elected officials who have derailed their aspirations by tweeting and posting inappropriate comments is surprisingly long- and growing.

What is most disturbing about tweets and posts like those made by Joe Briggs is not their content, but the poor judgment that led to them being revealed to the world. If a candidate isn’t wise enough to realize the potential for self-defeat created by an inappropriate tweet, there’s a good chance that he or she is not wise enough to properly execute the duties of the office they are seeking.

That comment immediately brings to mind President Trump. Although he tweets to bypass the mainstream media and bring his message directly to the public, he often hurts his own cause by being overly caustic, abrasive or inappropriate. However, Trump is operating in a different environment than other politicians; his supporters recognize the extreme bias of the mainstream media and welcome his comments as a pushback to that bias. They also tend to view many of his tweets as being things that need to be said.

On the other hand, Trump’s detractors don’t care what he says or does, they will find fault with every action. Consequently, it doesn’t matter what he tweets, the reaction of anti-Trumpers will be negative. President Trump is indeed in a unique position with respect to social media. Other politicians and candidates would do well to recognize that.

According to an article in Georgia News Daily , Brigg’s tweets, which compared Jews to Nazis, and called Zionists “cockroaches”, have made headlines in national media and have understandably been labeled “Jew-bashing”. According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, during the past few months, Briggs tweeted, “Get the Jews out of the white House and out of POTUS’ ear”. and, “At least the Nazis assimilated and contributed to US society”, and, “The problem is Jews don’t care about racism- because they are racist. They only care about racism directed towards them. Square that.

 

UPDATE: Briggs has withdrawn from the race.

iPatriot Contributers

 

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