Apologies of Councilman – Hypocrisy runs both ways and politicians can be the best example. After all of the racial and social injustices that are happening across the country, this dim-witted officials plays to crack a joke over it. Is it for publicity stunt or they’re just merely insensitive?
The mockery of ‘I can’t breathe’ of the Arizona city councilman sparked controversies and received harsh remarks from the people, immediately apologized last Wednesday. The mockery of the dying words of George Floyd during a protest he organized against a local order to stop wearing the face mask as a preventive measure from the coronavirus pandemic.
Additionally, Scottsdale City Councilman Guy Phillips tend to gather the anti-mask protest following a directive executive order issued last week by the city’s Republican mayor for the statesmen to cover their noses and mouths “in most public areas” as the basic move to combat the virus.
The incident happened last Wednesday morning when Phillips, who wore a black face mask, took to the microphone and gave his address to the protesters, he declared: “I can’t breathe.”
“I can’t breathe,” Phillips said a second time, as people in the crowd urged him to remove the mask.
And things got worse when the councilman took off his mask and rolled his eyes and threw his head back. “Insanity,” he shouted to the crowd, which roared thundering claps and cheers.
Phillips was on hot water and immediately apologized when the prominent Republicans in Arizona made their mark about the comments. Philips extended his apologies with the Floyd family in a statement to The Arizona Republic after initially denying his statement had any connection to Floyd’s death, even though it’s pretty obvious.
“He didn’t deserve what happened to him and I by no means was trying to make light of it by saying I can’t breathe in a mask,” Phillips told the paper. “Please accept my sincerest apology and that goes out to anyone who became offended.”
Floyd, a Black man who died last month at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, repeated the words “I can’t breathe” as his neck and back were compressed by the officers during his arrest. The three words, which were also repeated by Eric Garner, a Black man who died in 2014 after pleading that he couldn’t breathe while a New York police officer subdued him, have been at the forefront of recent nationwide protests against Floyd’s death and police violence in America.
Following Phillips’ rally, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, said in a tweet that “Despicable doesn’t go far enough” to describe the councilman’s comments, adding: “Anyone who mocks the murder of a fellow human has no place in public office.”
“The final words of George Floyd should NEVER be invoked like this,” Ducey wrote.
US Sen. Martha McSally, an Arizona Republican, also issued a scathing response to Phillips on Twitter, saying his comments were “despicable” and that “it’s disgusting you are mocking the dying words of a murdered man.”
Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane also criticized the councilman, writing in his own tweet that Phillips’ use of the words “I can’t breathe” was “callous and insensitive.”
The anti-mask rally organized by Phillips, who has been on the Scottsdale City Council for seven years, comes as health officials continue to urge Americans to wear masks to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Arizona, one of the first states to reopen, has been seeing an uptick in cases in recent days. The state, which does not have a statewide order for residents to wear face masks, currently has more than 60,000 confirmed cases and more than 1,400 reported deaths from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The wearing of masks has become a contentious issue in recent weeks as state and local leaders issue orders for residents to wear them in some public spaces. A flier for the rally that Phillips recently shared on his Facebook page said attendees “oppose government intrusion into our personal choice” and that “education, not mandates, is the best way to handle this health concern.”
