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Nikuyah Walker, the mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia, has come under fire for a graphic poem she posted on Facebook, comparing her city to a rapist.
“Charlottesville: The beautiful-ugly it is,” the poem read. “It rapes you, comforts you in its c– stained sheet and tells you to keep its secrets.”
Ms Walker initially posted the poem to Facebook, but it was removed by the company for violating community standards. She then took to Twitter to post a longer version of the poem with an offending word removed.
“Charlottesville is void of a moral compass. It’s as if good ole tj [Thomas Jefferson] is still cleverly using his whip to whip the current inhabitants into submissiveness,” the longer version reads.
“Is this better? I’m asking the person who reported my short poem to Facebook,” she said.
“Charlottesville rapes you of your breaths. It suffocates your hopes and dreams. It liberates you by conveniently redefining liberation. It progressively chants while it conservatively acts. Charlottesville is anchored in white supremacy and rooted in racism,” it reads.
Some readers have wondered what prompted her to post such an “inappropriate” and “offensive” poem, while others said they understood the underlying commentary against racism.
Charlottesville communications director Brian Wheeler confirmed the authenticity of the posts. “I do believe the posts to be authentic,” he told the Daily Caller News Foundation, but said the city of Charlottesville does not have a comment.
There has been a flurry of reactions to Ms Walker’s poem. While some have criticised it and asked her to apologise, there are others who have said they understand the message behind it.
Councillor Michael Payne told CBS News that it’s “hurtful” and “over the line.”
“I’ve heard from multiple community members who have been survivors of sexual assault and sexual violence, and seeing this kind of language is just extremely hurtful to them,” he said.
Her posts on Facebook have since been restored. “It looks like Facebook took me out of Facebook jail. I guess my post didn’t violate their policies,” she said.
Don Gathers, a Charlottesville resident, said he understands Ms Walker’s message. “The method that she chose to convey that, if people just get locked in on that, and don’t look at the substance behind it, then they’ve missed the entire point,” he told CBS News.
Ms Walker, who was elected to Charlottesville City Council in November 2017, was embroiled in another controversy last month when she said she is being investigated for using her city credit card to pay for gift cards given to people who spoke at city council meetings. Ms Walker claimed that no one told her those purchases were not allowed.
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