Male politicians across the nation have been getting in trouble in recent days for sexist comments on social media about Saturday’s Women’s March. One state senator in Nebraska even resigned Wednesday after sharing a tweet with a sexual assault joke.
J.R. Doporto, a city councilor in Carlsbad, New Mexico, has also been in hot water since writing on Facebook that women do have rights ― including “a right to cook and a right to clean.”
“I suggest you stop your b!tch!ng/protesting during this time,” he added, noting that the NFL playoffs were on. “Because you also have a right to get slapped!”
Doporto stood by his comments in an interview with the Santa Fe Reporter Tuesday, saying he thought people were simply overreacting to his joke.
“I don’t think it’s right to hit a woman. I’ve never been charged with domestic violence. I think it’s wrong,” he told the paper. “It was merely a joke, and I think people are blowing it out of proportion.”
Doporto added that he didn’t understand what the protesters were making such a fuss about, insisting, “I don’t see no rights they don’t have that a man has.” He noted he has done quite a bit for women, including helping put up a water park in Carlsbad that is “for women and their kids” ― not addressing whether men also like water parks.
“If I feel like joking around about domestic violence and I feel it’s okay to joke around about that, that’s my opinion. If someone feels a different way, that’s their opinion. As far as domestic violence goes, that is wrong,” he said.
Read the Santa Fe Reporter’s full interview here.
Dale Janway, the city’s mayor, told the Carlsbad Current-Argus that although Doporto has a right to free speech and intended his comments as a joke, the city takes domestic violence seriously.
“[T]he views expressed by Mr. Doporto, even as a joke, are in no way reflective of my views, or the views of the City of Carlsbad, or the views of its residents,” Janway said. “We want to stress that the City of Carlsbad does not, in any way, condone domestic violence or disrespect toward women.”
Millions of people ― both men and women ― around the world turned out Saturday to march, speaking out about the need to elevate women’s voices and concerns and to fight back against the agenda of President Donald Trump, among other issues.
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