The mayor of Olympia, Washington has been about as woke as she could be since protests, riots, and looting broke out in the city after the killing of George Floyd. Not only did Cheryl Selby publicly support the protests and minimize the damage being done to businesses and private property, she refused to declare a curfew and publicly insinuated that an Olympia police officer and several armed citizens who were guarding a local gun store were white power advocates. Seriously.

“After a long week for my community, I’m discouraged that I have to make a post like this,” the mayor wrote. “I have confirmed a photo of an Olympia police officer posing with a group of armed militia members, some of whom are displaying white power signs. I find this behavior to be abhorrent and unequivocally unacceptable.

“Our council/manager form of government restricts me from discussing disciplinary measures, though my council and I are demanding a thorough investigation,” she wrote. “As the picture clearly illustrates in no uncertain terms, a culture change within the police department and city government is clearly needed.

“We hear our community demanding it and we must rise to meet this challenge. The presence of an armed militia is not what we want to see in Olympia, and we are asking those people to stay home to ensure that peaceful protest can continue in our city.”

She ended her post with “BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!!!”

The simple fact is that the multiracial group of gun owners were part of the Washington Three Percenters, and were holding up three fingers to represent the III Percent, not a making a “W” for White Power. The mayor has yet to apologize to the officer or the armed citizens who were protecting a local gun shop at the request of the owner, but I can’t help but wonder if she’s secretly not wishing those guys had been around her home a week ago.

Olympia Mayor Cheryl Selby slammed rioters who vandalized her home Friday night, after one person was caught on surveillance camera spray painting her front porch and door with the words ‘racist’ and ‘BLM’.

‘I’m really trying to process this,’ Selby told The Olympian Saturday.

‘It’s like domestic terrorism. It’s unfair. It hurts when you’re giving so much to your community.’

That must really suck for Mayor Selby. Here she is working hard for the city, and someone who doesn’t even know her comes along and calls her a racist. That must really hurt her heart.

I wonder if there’s anyone in Olympia who might be able to commiserate with her? Anybody who may have had something similar happen to them? Now that I think of it, I know a few folks who would probably understand what Mayor Selby has gone through and would probably love to spend some time with her. Maybe Mayor Selby could start a support group for people who’ve been unfairly pegged or smeared as a racist when they were simply trying to ensure domestic tranquility.

In all seriousness, if this incident hasn’t caused Selby to reassess her knee-jerk attack on the character of an Olympia police officer and the armed citizens she portrayed as white power advocates, then she’s likely a sociopath without any concept of what empathy is all about. If she wants to right wrongs, she can start with one that she’s responsible for. Admit the mistake made when she smeared law enforcement and citizens alike, without cause and without all the facts.

Do that and maybe she can restore enough moral authority to lead the city. At the moment, however, I can’t think of a single reason why anyone should take her seriously at all.