Democrat Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania utilized the Juneteenth holiday on Monday to express his views on racial issues, which some Twitter users perceived as virtue signaling.
Critics pointed out that Fetterman’s track record on race falls short compared to those who engage in similar virtue signaling.
In line with expectations, Fetterman took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the occasion, offering sentiments that have become customary for such events.
He wrote, “Happy Juneteenth! Today is a celebration of emancipation and an opportunity to contemplate the enduring impact of systemic racism in America.
Pennsylvania always supports the unwavering truth that Black families and lives matter.”
Unfortunately, Fetterman’s track record in terms of racial sensitivity has not always been commendable.
In 2013, during his term as mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, a blue-collar community near Pittsburgh, Fetterman was involved in an incident where he confronted an innocent black jogger with a shotgun.
According to a report by TribLive at the time, Mayor Fetterman thought he had heard gunshots and proceeded to follow the jogger in his truck.
Eventually, Fetterman brandished a shotgun, although he maintained that he never directly pointed the weapon at the innocent black individual.
Yesterday, Twitter users resurfaced the 2013 incident, reminding Fetterman of his past actions.
Steve Guest, a former Special Communications Adviser to Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, shared an old headline from the Philadelphia Inquirer stating all the facts about the 2013 John Fetterman shotgun jogger incident.
This story of hypocritical virtue signaling encompasses two interconnected aspects.
First, there is the notion of the Juneteenth holiday being disingenuous.
Michael Schwarz is an esteemed scholar with a Ph.D. in History and boasts an extensive teaching career across various respected colleges and universities.
He offered his thoughts on the Fetterman saga.
He opined as someone with a Ph.D. in history and extensive involvement in the subject for over two decades, I have never come across a reference to Juneteenth.
While personal familiarity doesn’t encompass Everything, and my credentials shouldn’t be the sole determinant, it is worth considering that if an event in U.S. history is deemed significant enough to be recognized as a national holiday, it would be reasonable to assume that a former professor of U.S. history would have encountered it, Swartz stated.
While Juneteenth may hold significance for the descendants of those who experienced slavery in specific regions, its elevation to a national holiday appears to be a response from the ruling class to the death of George Floyd and the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots.
It provides an annual platform for the elites to proclaim their moral superiority without giving substantial assistance to anyone.
