Remember to think before you post
Ever heard of West York?
Most people haven’t. It’s a borough adjacent to York with a population of a little more than 4,000 people. It’s not at all big – its total area covers about a half-mile, making it just a little smaller than the European microstate of Monaco, where the rich romp in the Riviera sunshine and avoid the more onerous tax rates of the principality’s larger neighbors. There’s only one school left in West York, with other former school buildings having been made over into low-income housing.
In the last couple of weeks, though, whatever quiet anonymity West York might have had was rudely jolted thanks to its mayor, Charles Wasko, a Republican who won the job three years ago in an uncontested election. In between his ceremonial duties and work overseeing the police department, Wasko apparently made a habit of posting blatantly racist and other ugly, incendiary posts on social media.
Wasko raised eyebrows when he posted memes on Facebook that were, well, more than a little offensive. One depicted a group of orangutans in a wheelbarrow with the caption, “Aww … moving day at the Whitehouse (sic) has finally arrived.” Another depicted Clint Eastwood in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” with the following charming caption: “Barry, this rope is for you. You wanna bring that empty chair over here.”
The “Barry” in question is President Obama.
Apparently unchastened, Wasko kept on posting to his Facebook page, which says he is from Bethel Park and is retired from York Prison. At least as of Tuesday, none of the recent ones were as unabashedly racist as the earlier posts, though some were most assuredly crude – one refers to Obama and Hillary Clinton by a term that cannot be printed in a family newspaper – while others were run-of-the-mill offerings in support of Donald Trump, and criticizing those who don’t stand during the national anthem.
He even posted a two-minute clip of Beatles puppets being guided by street puppeteers. We can at least give him a couple of points for having decent taste in music.
Not surprisingly, there have been calls for Wasko to step down and West York’s borough council has censured him and is exploring ways to oust him. Shawn Mauck, the president of West York’s borough council, told The Washington Post, “He left no one behind in his hate. I don’t think there’s a protected class or group that he did not hate on … When I saw the posts, I wanted to throw up.”
Wasko h fessed up to his Facebook activity, but told the Post that there is skulduggery afoot in West York and “I don’t care what people label me as. But it’s just a smoke screen, to cover up what’s really going on.”
While it’s Wasko’s right to voice whatever rancid opinions he has in whatever forum is available to him, his judgment must certainly be called into question, particularly since 8.5 percent of his constituents are black and another 9 percent are Hispanic or Latino. Can he effectively serve them, as he is charged to do, if he harbors so much hostility toward them? Residents have a right to be angry, and council is correct in seeking his removal. He has brought embarrassment and shame to the community he allegedly leads.
Some pointed to Donald Trump and the rhetoric he has spewed on the campaign trail for making people like Wasko feel more comfortable in venting distasteful, “politically incorrect” views. Perhaps so. But, like Trump and his 3 a.m. tweets, Wasko needs to learn, while social media can be a powerful means of unfiltered communication, the lack of a filter can get you in a heap of trouble.
Think before you post. That’s good advice for elected officials. And everyone else, too.