Tim Boyd, the mayor of Colorado City, Texas, announced his resignation on Tuesday following a viral Facebook post where he whined about residents who wanted help during the extreme weather that has caused widespread power outages and dangerously cold conditions for millions of people throughout the state. Boyd accused some Texans who didn’t have power of being “lazy” and looking for “handouts” because of “socialism.”
Boyd’s post, which was riddled with spelling errors and homophones, included bizarre lines like, “no one owes you are [sic] your family anything; nor is it the local government’s responsibility to support you during trying times like this!” The post went viral on Tuesday as an example of the callousness many politicians have exhibited in Texas during this week’s terrifying weather.
Boyd even wrote, “The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING!” — a strange claim when you consider that both governments and power companies do, in fact, owe citizens quite a lot. As many as 3 million people still don’t have electricity in Texas as of Wednesday morning, according to the Associated Press.
“Only the strong will survive and the weak will parish [sic],” Boyd continued in his cold-hearted Facebook rant.
At least 23 people have died in incidents related to the apocalyptic weather, according to the New York Times, including some elderly people who are believed to have died from the lack of heat. Others have died from carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to get warm in dangerous ways, such as leaving their cars running in the garage.
The viral Facebook post, complete with spelling errors and strange grammar:
Let me hurt some feelings while I have a minute!! No one owes you are your family anything; nor is it the local government’s responsibility to support you during trying times like this! Sink or swim it’s your choice! The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING! I’m sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout! If you don’t have electricity you step up and come up with a game plan to keep your family warm and safe. If you have no water you deal without and think outside of the box to survive and supply water to your family.
If you are sitting at home in the cold because you have no power and are sitting there waiting for someone to come rescue you because your lazy is direct result of your raising! Only the strong will survive and the weak will perish. Folks God has given us the tools to support ourselves in times like this. This is sadly a product of a socialist government where they feed people to believe that the FEW will work and others will become dependent for handouts. Am I sorry that you have been dealing without electricity and water; yes! But I’ll be damned if I’m going to provide for anyone that is capable of doing it themselves! We have lost sight of those in need and those that take advantage of the system and meshed them in to one group!! Bottom line quit crying and looking for a handout! Get off your arse and take care of your own family! Bottom line-DONT A PART OF PROBLEM, BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION!!
Boyd eventually deleted his post and created a second even longer post where he wrote that some of the things he said were “taken out of context.” He also complained that his wife was being harassed and had lost her job for defending her husband’s statements. It’s not immediately clear where Boyd’s wife worked or how she actually lost her job.
The second Facebook post:
All, I have set back and watched all this escalating and have tried to keep my mouth shut! I won’t deny for one minute what I said in my post this morning. Believe me when I say that many of the things I said were taken out of context and some of which were said without putting much thought in to it. I would never want to hurt the elderly or anyone that is in true need of help to be left to fend for themselves. I was only making the statement that those folks that are too lazy to get up and fend for themselves but are capable should not be dealt a handout. I apologise for the wording and some of the phrases that were used! I had already turned in my resignation and had not signed up to run for mayor again on the deadline that was February 12th! I spoke some of this out of the anger that the city and county was catching for situations which were out of their control. Please understand if I had it to do over again I would have just kept my words to myself and if I did say them I would have used better wording and been more descriptive.
The anger and harassment you have caused my wife and family is so undeserved….my wife was laid off of her job based off the association people gave to her and the business she worked for. She’s a very good person and was only defending me! But her to have to get fired from her job over things I said out of context is so horrible. I admit, there are things that are said all the time that I don’t agree with; but I would never harass you or your family to the point that they would lose there livelihood such as a form of income.
I ask that you each understand I never meant to speak for the city of Colorado City or Mitchell county! I was speaking as a citizen as I am NOT THE MAYOR anymore. I apologise for the wording and ask that you please not harass myself or my family anymore!
Threatening our lives with comments and messages is a horrible thing to have to wonder about. I won’t share any of those messages from those names as I feel they know who they are and hope after they see this they will retract the hateful things they have said!
Thank you
Tim Boyd(citizen)
Boyd told the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday that he had already resigned before he published the first Facebook post, a claim that couldn’t be verified independently. Boyd’s claim obviously has the energy of a man who wants to say, “you can’t fire me, I quit.” But who knows?
Maybe he just really wanted to get out of his job by spreading as much ill will as possible on the internet before he left. Because if that was the goal, he got his wish.