A Texas mayor has resigned after telling residents of his city, “Get out of your hole and take care of your own family!” in the face of a devastating one-off winter storm that killed more than 20 people across the country and left millions of people without power in the state.
Colorado City Mayor Tom Boyd told the 4,000 or so of his fellow citizens in his city that he was “sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout” and blamed “a socialist government” ‘for the dire situation.
“No one owes you or your family anything; Nor is it the local government’s responsibility to support you during difficult times like these! Sink or swim, it’s your choice! The city and province, along with power providers or any other service, owe YOU NOTHING !, ”Boyd continued in the career exit he posted on a local Facebook group.
Instead, he suggested that people look to inspiration from their churches. “Only the strong will survive and the weak will perish. “People, God has given us the tools to sustain ourselves in such times,” he said.
Republican Texas is particularly hard hit by the blizzard and icy cold that envelops large parts of America. Utilities from Minnesota to Texas and Mississippi implemented glowing power outages and nearly 3 million customers were left without power early Wednesday in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
In Texas, the disruptions have illustrated the inequalities in a large part of the state on a large scale, with richer neighborhoods receiving power service than the poor, who are often colored communities.
Amid the great outrage, Boyd has now apologized for resigning and issued a more remorseful statement about the devastating misery the storm has caused, linking experts to the climate crisis.
“Please understand, if I had to do it again, I would just keep my words to myself and if I said that, I would use a better wording and be more descriptive,” Boyd said.