Mayor urges civility after social-media backlash to heritage-month post
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Summary
The presiding official said a city social-media post recognizing Muslim American Heritage Month drew worldwide hateful comments; the official called for decorum, said the council will consider changes to how recognitions are posted, and pledged steps to address vulgar language.
The presiding official opened the meeting by saying they recently attended the Combat Anti-Semitism Conference and described an incident in which the city's planned social-media recognitions — beginning Jan. 2 — prompted an immediate barrage of hateful and profane comments after a post recognizing Muslim American Heritage Month.
"Hate speech and bigotry have no place in Farmers Branch or in our society," the presiding official said, calling the online response a "firestorm of hateful words and rhetoric." The official said the city had attempted to post recognitions starting Jan. 2 and that, in hindsight, a full calendar of recognitions posted in advance might have avoided the reaction.
The presiding official said the council will discuss options for moving forward and emphasized the city is not seeking to censor free speech but will take steps to address vulgar and profane language on the city's social-media pages. They asked viewers to show "a bit more grace and decorum" when engaging with city posts.
The transcript records these remarks as a statement to the public; no specific policy change or directive was adopted during this meeting.