Mayor who called shooter of young children ‘sewer rats’ being accused of ‘de-humanizing’ blacks

Mayor who called shooter of young children ‘sewer rats’ being accused of ‘de-humanizing’ blacks
Mayor John Tory (left) and Desmond Cole (Images: YouTube screen grab)

It seems as though we’ve seen this movie before. In the original, which aired in May, the “antagonist” was Donald Trump and the “victims” were members of the gang MS-13, whose feelings the president hurt by calling them “animals.”

In the remake, which is set in Canada, the bad guy is Toronto Mayor John Tory, and his crime was calling three men who opened fire in a playground “sewer rats.” Now he is under fire by activist and University of Toronto Professor Desmond Cole, who told the CBC that “Tory’s language is dehumanizing because he described the men involved in the shootings as vermin.”

But Cole is not just defending would-be murderers of children. (Two young girls were shot, but their wounds evidently weren’t life-threatening.) He is complaining because the gunmen are black.

The irony in the story is that Tory claims he knew nothing about the identity of the suspects when he called them “sewer rats.” It was Cole who injected race into the story.

The mayor in any case is standing by his remarks.

I was really angry that day about anybody who would show up anywhere in this city and brandish a gun and end up shooting two young children. I just think that those who, you know, play the race card and do other things like that in calling into question my description of those people should give their own head a shake.

Howard Portnoy

Howard Portnoy

Howard Portnoy has written for The Blaze, HotAir, NewsBusters, Weasel Zippers, Conservative Firing Line, RedCounty, and New York’s Daily News. He has one published novel, Hot Rain, (G. P. Putnam’s Sons), and has been a guest on Radio Vice Online with Jim Vicevich, The Alana Burke Show, Smart Life with Dr. Gina, and The George Espenlaub Show.

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