'It's the Jews': An antisemitic tirade at an Arizona school board meeting spurs a response, debate

[Behind the Aegis]

An antisemitic tirade at a school board meeting in suburban Phoenix last week has spurred an extensive response among local officials and Jewish leaders — some of whom say they were distressed that board members did not rebut the comment at the time.

During the public comment portion of the meeting of the Chandler Unified School District board, a woman who identified herself as Melanie Rettler spoke for over a minute about critical race theory and vaccines — topics not listed on the meeting agenda but at the center of heated public debate nationwide.

Her comment crescendoed with an antisemitic claim drenched in the language of right-wing conspiracy theories.

“Every one of these things, the deep state, the cabal, the swamp, the elite — you can’t mention it, but I will — there is one race that owns all the pharmaceutical companies and these vaccines aren’t safe, they aren’t effective and they aren’t free,” Rettler said. “You know that you’re paying for it through the increase in gas prices, the increase in food prices — you’re paying for this and it’s being taken from your money and being given to these pharmaceutical companies and if you want to bring race into this: It’s the Jews.”

more...

I think I have heard this song before.

[Hekate]

1. KnR

[Thomas Hurt]

2. Can we start calling them fascists now?

[Paladin]

7. Way ahead of you.

Ongoing fascist conquering of the U.S., with minimal blowback from the Democratic Party. Every day, more of the same. I'm losing all hope. Have a nice day.

[SergeStorms]

27. Yeah, right after "you know who" was selected....

it was quite apparent which direction the republican party was headed. They've become more brazen in their attitude, but the course was set even before TFG was selected.

They're fascists, and there's no other way to describe them.

[uponit7771]

10. RIGHT !?!?

[Rebl2]

39. Your a

little late. Been doing that the last few years.

[Hotler]

50. Maybe in this case Nazi. nt

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. That's a lot of stupid packed into a single paragraph.

I would love access to her mindview for about 2 minutes, just to see how such a person lives in this realty.

[wnylib]

34. Your post header says exactly what

I thought when reading her irrational tirade. So much stupid in that paragraph that it would be hard to know where to start if refuting her face to face. I think I'd begin at the end, with the comment about Jews and then work backward. Doubtful that someone that ignorant would listen to facts, so it would be more productive to just ridicule her than try to straighten her out.

[rsdsharp]

4. Yeah. "The Horst Wessel Lied"

[Celerity]

32. the Horst-Wessel-Lied was the song for the first dance at her wedding

Her maid of honour:

[BannonsLiver]

53. More likely

A selection from Foghat or Molly Hatchet's catalog. Horst-Wessel-Lied is not going to be on the radar screen of someone like that. Too foreign. Too "cultural".

[Stuart G]

5. When You think you have seen it all.....THERE IS ALWAYS MORE.... K and R your post...

[Ohio Joe]

6. Gah... It makes my brain hurt just trying to follow that non-sense...

The mixture of stupid and hate staggers the mind.

[MineralMan]

8. Damn! Damn all bigots!

[Aristus]

9. Anti-Semitic thinking: If vaccines aren't going to be safe or effective,

we should at least get them for free.

Jesus, I just don't even know where to begin...

[keithbvadu2]

16. And Jesus was a Jew.

And Jesus was a Jew.

Died an observant Jew.

Many Christians (want to) believe that Jesus was a Christian.

[MagickMuffin]

20. Which is irrational since there wasn't christians back when he was alive.

They are delusional.

[Traildogbob]

28. Noooooooo!!!!

Jesus was a white American. God’s genetic make up dominated the Virgin baby incubator. That proves God is a White American. None of her Jewishness got on Jesus. All the paintings prove it. Period. And Mary did not even get the slightest romance from it all. Poor Joseph had to explain it all to his bros. All in the book.

[lame54]

18. This food is terrible...

And the portions are so small

[Aristus]

23. Exactly!

[ashredux]

11. My car broke down, my dog ran away, and I got shingles...must be the "Jews"

Face it folks…1/3 of our citizens are just plain STUPID!

[George II]

12. Disgusting. I don't know how soon after the meeting they responded, if at all....

...but it's general policy to NOT respond to comments from the public at meetings like that. What the School Board President said afterward was about as far as she could have gone. However, what she could have done was gavel her down and end her comments, but it looks like that was a last minute thing blurted after she finished the rest of her tirade.

I've been on boards/commissions in our area for a collective 19 years, we're told to not respond to outbursts like that, it only encourages more.

I do hope there were official comments AFTER the meeting and that everyone condemned that horrible display.

However, when we have a member of congress making comments like forest fires are caused by Jewish lasers, it only emboldens these nut jobs to make outbursts like that.

[maxsolomon]

13. "Ma'am, do you have any comments relative to the topic at hand?"

"If not, thank you for your participation. Next!"

[LoisB]

31. Perfect.

[róisín_dubh]

14. Fucking hell.

This is going to end so badly. I am a white woman and will most likely not be a target for this abhorrent behaviour (though I am a professor who teaches whatever their version of CRT is...) But I am terrified for my friends and family who cannot hide their identities easily and who must walk around, every day, knowing there are people who spew this vile hatred based on pure, age old racism and lunacy. How do we make this shit stop?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

15. You want a conspiracy theory, lady? They've been putting stupid pills in the AZ water supply.

[Volaris]

49. It's a good thing she drinks Brawndo, then.

[IronLionZion]

17. What do vaccines have to do with gas/food prices?

And how do Jews figure into all of this? She thinks Pfizer, Moderna, J&J and somehow run by Jews?

The board should have shut down blatant hate speech. I don't think it's protected by the first amendment the way people assume it is. Maybe it is inciting violence or something.

[lame54]

19. Masks are like jewish stars...

That jews make us wear?

[Ohioboy]

22. Good one

That logic is right up there with the idea that Democrats staged Jan 6th. I guess it was so they could keep Joe Biden from being certified....

[Jon King]

21. She is a veterinarian, and was pro vaccine in 2003.

https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/e-v-vets-working-with-horses-with-west-nile/article_8c21dfd4-110b-55ad-935c-25f6639f340c.html

She seemed to have it together back then, but she went all MAGA wacky since.

[Ohioboy]

24. Wow?

The phenomenon of people who used to have it together only to later go MAGA fascinates and scares me.

I know people who this has happened to. I have family members that used to make sense. Now they support every wacky idea that makes its way on to right wing media.

[rurallib]

30. shows how incredibly effective owning the media

and blasting 24 hour hate from radio, TV, Facebook (oh I mean META) billboards and any other outlet is, doesn't it?

Our leaders believe we can win with truth and ideas, but nothing beats the media filled with hate.

Propaganda is powerful. The medium is the message.

[Tumbulu]

45. so true, and for some reason, liberals in urban areas continue to disregard this threat to our

civilization. and Democracy.

I have given up, actually.

[progressoid]

51. Yep.

The fourth estate is failing us.

[rurallib]

52. but they are doing what they need to do to keep their jobs.

Not a lot of heroes at the reporter level

[Ziggysmom]

26. Her Vet Clinic business received PPP Loans I see. Crap like this stunt will not help her

business. What a disgusting, hateful POS.

[TheRickles]

29. I wonder if her prior work with horses (see article) got her interested in Ivermectin.

To be fair, I have no idea whether she supports Ivermectin to treat Covid, but it wouldn't be a stretch, given these other views.

[rdking647]

25. im sick and tired of this

in austin they tried to burn a synagogue down...

as far as im concerned these people need to be dealt with immediately. no more tip toeing around the bush...

If im ever somewhere that one of these idiots starts spouting off im going to need my wife to bail me out

[Skittles]

46. I agree

and I SOOOO fucking tired of being I told we need to try to "understand" these people - we understand them all too well, which is why we DESPISE them.

[inthewind21]

33. She needs more schooling

Jewish isn't a race.

[Aussie105]

35. When someone sticks a collective label on a diverse group of people . . .

you know they are full of BS. And about to come out with something negative.

Too wide a brush to do so, but great if you are about to blame them for something.

But we do the same here, all Republicans are evil, right? Politicians, your near neigbours, your relatives, young and old, white or not, male or female, straight or gay, if they are Republicans, they are evil.

Go on, admit it, we all do it.

Something to be aware of, and to try stop doing it.

[70sEraVet]

36. Once the Fascism Genie is let out of the bottle,

he'll be a bitch to put back in!

[Solly Mack]

37. K&R

She should have been called on her ignorance and bigotry then and there.

[Grokenstein]

38. Wait..."teh Joos" hold sway over gas prices?

I thought the POTUS did that? At least, when the POTUS is a Democrat? /s

[Lonestarblue]

40. Even with an antisemitic protest by an outside group here in Austin,

and a fire set at a local synagogue, some people on Nextdoor are claiming that Jewish George Soros is trying to promote crime in Austin by donating money to lobby against Prop A, which requires funding 2 police officers for every 1,000 residents, thus making it likely that other programs and even fire safety will b cut if it passes. The arguments for passing Prop A could have come straight from the Fox fabrication machine.

[Riverman100]

41. 1930's Germany

All this inspired by der trumpinfuerer.. Wtf I'm a bit scared

[aggiesal]

42. Sit down, Karen! n/t

[Efilroft Sul]

43. Her last name almost sounds like that man who had the funny mustache.

[Meowmee]

44. I believe the larger portion of hate crimes in 2020 against religious groups

are anti semitic crimes and this is all too familiar.

[Behind the Aegis]

47. You are correct.

Jews are always the highest group of targets in the hate crimes stats for religion. One thing that many talk about is the rise in anti-Muslim hate after 9-11, something like 410%, yet in that same year, they still never passed the level of crimes against Jews, and of course, the next year the Islamophobic numbers feel dramatically, not the anti-Semitism numbers. When the numbers are pulled out and the percentages are thrown about, the number one group of people victimized by hate crimes, are African-Americans, followed by Jews, and then by gay men.

[Meowmee]

48. Yes, my father was always aware of that and told me

It is sadly no surprise to me.

[JudyM]

54. K&R for exposure. Beyond deplorable.