Senator Cruz Criticizes San Antonio City Council's COVID-19 Anti-Hate Resolution

May 10, 2020 - San Antonio

By Jade Esteban Estrada - Political Columnist, San Antonio Sentinel

On Thursday, San Antonio City Council unanimously passed an anti-hate resolution that denounces bigotry, antisemitism, Islamophobia and “hateful speech” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that evening, the measure inspired sharp criticism from Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who took to social media to call the resolution “nuts.” 

In a tweet, the former presidential candidate compared San Antonio’s city council to “a lefty college faculty lounge, triggered by Chick-fil-A & the words ‘Wuhan virus.’” Cruz, who’s @tedcruz Twitter handle famously liked a porn post in 2017, went on to argue that “viruses have always been named for a location.”

The resolution that has so many conservatives in an uproar states that "COVID-19 is a public health issue, not a racial, religious or ethnic one, and the deliberate use of terms such as “Chinese virus” or “Kung Fu virus” to describe COVID-19 only encourages hate crimes and incidents against Asians and further spreads misinformation at a time when communities should be working together to get through this crisis.” These targeted terms, which are now being voraciously promoted on social media, were uttered and repeated by President Donald J. Trump at White House press briefing in mid-March. These phrases have also appeared on our Sentinel Facebook page as of late.

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The resolution encourages citizens to "take leadership" and "stand in solidarity" with its Asian and Jewish communities to send a message that discriminatory and hate-motivated behavior or violence will not be tolerated.” The City plans to work in partnership with nonprofit organizations, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, the San Antonio Police Department and other law enforcement agencies “to prosecute and curb hate acts related to COVID-19” and individuals who witness are asked to report any antisemitic, discriminatory or racist incidents to the proper authorities for investigation. 

Record scratch.

Many conservatives feel that this declaration is a violation of the Constitution’s First Amendment, which leaves both sides of the debate wondering at what point does free speech cross the line to become the brand of hate speech that can ultimately erupt in violence.

One Texas politician is using the controversy over the anti-hate resolution as an opportunity to fundraise.

On May 8, first-term U.S. Representative Chip Roy of Texas’ 21st Congressional District tweeted, “The #SanAntonio City Council is at it again...now trying to ban speech. We need to send a message that the Constitution still matters. Give $21 or more now & I’ll PERSONALLY deliver a copy of the Constitution to the members of the City Council.” Roy is currently behind in the money race against his opponent, Democrat Wendy Davis.

The resolution also states: “Extremists are taking advantage of COVID-19 to spread their hateful ideologies, including antisemitism, racism, Islamophobia, and Sinophobia.”

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The Islamophobia campaigns have recently landed in our Facebook comments section. This weekend, a profile attributed to Len Saunders (whose authenticity appears questionable at best) posted a meme with two face-covered women. The photo on top is a woman wearing a medical face mask and the woman on the bottom is wearing a niqab (a veil for the face that leaves the eyes clear). The top photo reads: “If you are ok wearing this…” The bottom photo reads: “Then it will be easy to get you to wear this.” 

According to the resolution, the City of San Antonio is “committed to ending the spread of all forms of hate and bigotry.” Even during non-pandemic times, that seems like a mighty tall order. 

Jade Esteban Estrada is a political columnist at the San Antonio Sentinel. He can be reached at jade@sasentinel.com.