Not in My Name
I'm really sorry it's come to this, but here we are. The pictures below are screenshots of Facebook postings made by Skye Terrier Club of America member Alan Smith. Except for the first, which is included to demonstrate Mr. Smith's position in the Club, I find them all so offensive that I cannot remain silent. Facebook itself found the lynching picture offensive enough to remove it. The Club's Delegate to the American Kennel Club also found the lynching picture disgusting and seemingly unfriended Mr. Smith on Facebook, although a few days later the Delegate reversed course and re-friended Mr. Smith.
In April of 2015 I brought the postings to the attention of the Board of Directors of the Skye Terrier Club of America, for Mr. Smith was the Breeder Referral contact for the Club and is on the Rescue Committee, and is thus a public face of the club. I petitioned the Board, for the sake of the reputation of the Club, to remove Mr. Smith from his positions representing the Club to the public. Update: In July 2015, Mr. Smith was replaced as the Breeder Referral contact, but was kept on in his Rescue Committee position. As of 3 October 2015 Mr. Smith was still listed as a Rescue Committee member.
The Club's reaction, or rather, the reaction of the Board of Directors, has been to support Mr. Smith's continued service as a public spokesperson for the Club. I cannot think of any good reasons why they are doing this.
Therefore, let me say that although Mr. Smith apparently represents the Skye Terrier Club of America to the public, he most certainly does not represent me.
Maybe if enough people wrote to the Board of Directors they would begin to understand that decent people don’t want to be associated with racists. Look through Mr. Smith's postings below, then please Click Here to Write to the Board and ask them why they are willing to ruin the reputation of the Club by using such a controversial person in a public role.
Be polite; rudeness just makes people hunker down, and never convinces anyone that they are wrong. Please sign your real name, not just your email address or userid. You are a real person with a real opinion and you want it to count. The link will open your email client with the to: addresses filled in. Thank you.
the Postings
All of these are from Mr. Smith's Facebook postings. The first screen capture shows that Mr. Smith is a public spokesperson representing the Skye Terrier Club of America.
Next we have the lynching picture, which Facebook thought too offensive to be on their pages and removed it. Personally I find it vile almost beyond belief. Twisting the words of Dr. Martin Luther King to express hope that the President would be lynched is just disgusting. I apologize for its existence here, but I don't know how to show it to you without showing it to you. It is very disturbing. Clicking on the button below will open the picture in a new tab or window.
The next screen capture is of Mr. Smith expressing his approval of a story about the Klan threatening violence in Ferguson, Missouri.
From the Autumn of 2014, we have Mr. Smith pointing out that "white folks aren’t freebie grabbing animals!"
Finally, we have a screen capture of Mr. Smith giving his view of how to deal with people of the Islamic faith.
Let me repeat: although the Board of Directors seems to be comfortable with Mr. Smith representing the Skye Terrier Club of America to the public, he most certainly does not represent me.
If you would like to express your concern, Click Here to Write to the Board and ask them why they are willing to ruin the reputation of the Club by using such a controversial person in a public role. The link will open your email client with the to: addresses filled in. Remember: please be polite. Rudeness will not change these people's minds. Thank you.