Dan Adamini, a Republican state representative from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula who also hosts a radio show we decline to advertise, felt a need to dispense his sassy wisdom.
He was commenting on an initially non-violent demonstration at U.C. Berkeley protesting the appearance of Milo Yiannopoulos, a mildly notorious political troublemaker. There was property damage. Some Yiannopoulos supporters were attacked. The University says this was caused by a group of violent masked people who came from off-campus. (Many demonstrators agree.)
Adamini tweeted: “Violent protestors who shut down free speech? Time for another Kent State perhaps. One bullet stops a lot of thuggery.”
No. Shooting Jeffrey Miller did not stop protests. Now did killing three other people that day. It didn’t even help to wound nine others.
Wishing to be sure he got his message out he posted on Facebook: “The violent protests at our universities certainly indicate Portage acacian at the lower level. I’m thinking another Kent State might be the only solution protest stopped after only one death. They do it because they know there are no consequences yet….” He added a link to a Youtube video featuring himself.
“Portage acacian” means “poor education.”
An acacian, or at least an acacia, at the lower level. (Forest & Kim Starr.)
Horrible person, wishing death on strangers, tossing the suggestion out into social media.
He’s wrong about how many people died at Kent State in 1970. It wasn’t “one death.” It was four. And nine wounded. Wounded as in Never Walk Again, in one case. Some had been protesting, some had been walking to class. Like thugs.
He’s shockingly, stupidly, wrong in suggesting that shooting was a “solution” to protests. Let the record show – how hard is it to look at Wikipedia, Mr. Adamini? – that the Kent State shooting produced a massive nationwide student strike. Four million students struck, closing colleges, universities, and high schools. Some “solution.”
Dan Adamini. This guitar praises fascists.
SorryWatch is not alone in finding Adamini’s tweets repulsive and horrifying. He complained about the death threats. (That wasn’t us. But wasn’t Adamini advocating death threats?) Also, advertisers on his show are canceling. Because “they’re being harassed.” Michigan Democrats and Republicans repudiated his remarks. (He’s secretary of Marquette County’s Republicans.) Kent State University called them abhorrent.
Adamini talked to the Detroit Free Press, trying to clear things up. He said he’d been misinterpreted.
It was stupid, it was poorly done. But my goal was to stop the violence by protestors, not commit violence against protestors.
The point I was trying to make – admittedly, I did it very poorly … was that the violence is really getting out of hand, and much like in the 1960s, the violence created an atmosphere where something terrible and tragic like Kent State could happen. I’d like to see the violence stop before we have a tragedy.
We could be headed toward another Kent State tragedy if we don’t get a handle on the violence. It sounds like I was calling for violence, but I was actually trying to call for an end to the violence. … Some are saying I’m calling for the death of innocent protesters, but nothing could be further from the truth….
We’ve got too much hate in the world. The hatred really has to stop. I’m sorry I played a role in the spawning of hatred.
He also tweeted:
Taking a lot of heat for a very poorly worded tweet yesterday. Sorry folks, the intent was to try to stop the violence, not encourage more
Leaving aside the matter of whether Adamini is an ahistorical amoral vicariously bloodthirsty jerk, has he apologized well?
Sadly, no. To the Free Press, he apologizes only for poor wording, not for praising the peace-keeping efficacy of random shooting. He blames others for not getting the point. On Twitter he just says he somehow “played a role.” And he’s taking heat!
Least Weasel. Handles all violence personally, doesn’t try to incite others and then pretend it was clumsily working for peace.
Can we believe that he was misunderstood? No. On two platforms he speaks of “another Kent State.” Is it time? He says it might be “the only solution.” He praises the alleged effectiveness of “[o]ne bullet.”
It looks like he said what he meant, and retracted when criticized. He backed down – the right thing to do – but basically denied saying it. The wrong thing to do. We may feel pleased that he had to back down, but our opinion of Adamini remains low, even if we think “weasel” is a word that’s unfair to a dauntless little mustelid that does its own killing.
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How did you figure that one out?
That is, that portage acacian = poor education.
By saying “Portage acacian, Portage acacian, Portage acacian” and then asking someone else what they thought it could possibly be. As soon as they said “Portage acacian?” the phrase “poor education” popped out. Experimental linguistic science?
Later, in one of the news stories, someone asked Adamini, and he said it was meant to be “poor education,” so that confirmed it.
I too love the Case of the Portage Acacian. Nicely solved, all around.
Your use of the original photo from that awful day at Kent State is commendable. It has become commonplace to use the doctored image that removes the fence post from behind the screaming girl’s head. The shot you chose is cropped, but it is the real Pulitzer-Prize winning photograph, and can be credited to (c) John Paul Filo.
Thank you.
Yes — the version without the fence post is the one that won John Paul Filo a Pulitzer Prize. This uncorrected version is considered to be under fair use.
Have added another Filo credit just to be clear.
The “solution” he advocated for in the original statement, cannot be what he wants “to avoid” in the apology.
Doesn’t work, jerk. You fool no one.
One of the worst apologies ever.
Adamini has now resigned from his party office.