In the past week, the 'burbs have not exactly been friendly to local Muslims. Keller ISD school board member Jo Lynn Haussman was asked to resign after her fiery Facebook post saying what a "SHAME" it is to "NOW HAVE A 'MUSLIM' on the City Council!!!"
Keller ISD's board quickly censured Haussmann and asked her to resign, but hers was only the first and most all-caps anti-Muslim rhetoric uttered by a suburban politician this week.
Next was Addison Planning and Zoning Commissioner Tom Hunse. His comments were a bit more carefully worded than those of Haussmann. In a LinkedIn comment referencing his former position on the Board of Advisors at Eastern Illinois University's Lumpkin School of Business, Hunse carefully explained why exactly he left the board:
"I resigned in September 2013 from board upon being made aware EIU had named a Muslim to head the Lumpkin School of Business. After pondering the tragic events over the last couple of decades in this country and the role of Islam has played therein throughout the world as a Christian and a patriot. I cannot support the university's decision. I am also dropping any future plans for donations to the Alumni Foundation as a result of EIU's decision."
City Council member Chris DeFrancisco was among the first to denounce Hunse's comments, saying the comments were "bigotry" and calling for Hunse's termination. The Addison City Council spent two hours yesterday debating whether or not Hunse should be fired, and during that time, several of Hunse's friends and colleagues came forward to testify on his behalf.
The comments remained on Hunse's LinkedIn profile for over a year before he recently removed them. WFAA reports that Hunse apologized to the city council for his comments. A remorseful Hunse claimed he simply didn't let his eloquent thoughts fester for long enough before he posted them online. "I didn't think before I hit 'enter,' and I had no thought incubation before I hit 'enter,'" he said.
Addison City Council voted to keep Hunse on the board.