Probably not what the party needed, but you also need that young conservative vote so what are you gonna do?
Calgary UCP hopeful offered support to Instagram page posting racist, anti-Semitic memes
Quote:
Roughly an hour after StarMetro Calgary first contacted him about his association with the account, Rightwingism, Schuman unfollowed it and said he never would have extended the offer had he realized the sorts of images posted by the account’s administrators.
“This was disappointing, very disappointing, and I’ve cut all ties,” Schuman said Wednesday.
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The private Instagram account frequently posted pictures and animated “stories” to roughly 51,000 followers. Some are innocuous conservative-leaning polls on common political topics, ranging from cannabis legalization to the inclusion of women in the military.
But many of Rightwingism’s posts are hateful. One depicts Adolf Hitler as a Black man with the fist icon of “Black Lives Matter” below it, and claims Hitler was killed “because he persecuted the false Hebrews” and led a Black-oriented political party. Another shows a political axis chart and depicts left-wingers as “getting gassed” rather than right-wingers (who are either “selling gas” or “gassing” people). Other posts mock same-sex couples choosing to adopt children, Muslims, and African refugees.
In a private Instagram message obtained by StarMetro, Schuman reached out to Rightwingism’s administrators asking if they’d “benefit from receiving some funding?”
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“I have been talking about your account a lot as a part of my political campaign and have met some older, wealthier, people that would be interested in helping you out,” Schuman’s message reads. “Your account brings hope to a lot of older baby boomers that think that the younger generation is a lost cause.”
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“What I saw was young people trying to make a difference, and that’s what I thought, and I, in good faith, offered a conversation,” Schuman said.
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I'm rather concerned that somebody who wants to be in control of the province's financial direction would offer up money and access to an Instagram account without even a cursory look at their posting history.
Some of the people who run/ran the account are members of the U of C's Conservative group.