If you heard Hilton Head is a Nazi compound, here’s the truth
Calm down, people.
Hilton Head Island is not a Nazi enclave.
But on Friday morning, that did not seem to be the general view.
It all started when a self-described “Holocaust revisionist” signed up to run for mayor, which was not well received here. Now it is getting national attention. And as a result, Hilton Head is being smeared as a place where no civilized person would want to live or visit.
But let’s think about this thing.
For $50, one can sign up to run for mayor. We have no litmus test on beliefs to weed out the disgusting, the ill-informed, the liars, etc. Thus we have in our face Michael Santomauro, a newcomer from New York, who has purchased a cheap bully pulpit to discuss issues I do not recall our Town Council ever dealing with.
Then came the candidate forum this week, which attracted a staff writer from the Post and Courier in Charleston.
“In Hilton Head mayor race, 1 candidate a ‘Holocaust revisionist.’ Another admires Hitler.”
The second candidate involved is Rochelle Williams, a lifelong islander who was interviewed in her office and “offered that she thought Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was successful in uniting people,” the Post and Courier reported.
The story quoted her saying: “He did what he had to do. He got that many people to follow him. He must have been doing something right.”
And: “I like the power part, I guess, the control part.”
That came out on Thursday.
On Friday morning, Washington Post opinion columnist Catherine Rampell shared a link to the story with her 115,000 followers on Twitter. “There are not one, but *two* pro-Nazi candidates running for mayor of Hilton Head Island, SC,” she said.
I watched Rochelle Williams’ unsuccessful run for mayor four years ago, and through this get-to-know-you process, I saw or heard nothing to make me think she is pro-Nazi. She is known as an outspoken voice for the powerless. Nevertheless, she said what she said about Hitler, and people will now associate her with neo-Nazis.
But none of that adds up to the public reaction to Rampell’s tweet.
Is it too complex to remind people that two people do not reflect an entire community?
Among the 35 replies to the tweet in the first two hours:
“Well, mark H H off the list of possible retirement locales.”
“There’ll be NO vacations in Hilton Head for my family.”
“Well that settles it. I am putting my house up for sale asap.”
“Wow! Mark @hiltonheadsc off the list. Used to be one of my favorite getaway places. A beautiful beach town.”
“What caves do these people dwell in. If they are only 2 options, I would write in my own name.”
“Darn! Was thinking of taking family to Hilton Head next year but now apparently politics also in play for vacation spots. Why are so many morons running for office or in office?!?”
“We have visited @hiltonheadsc for a week every year for the past 7 years. This year I’ve visited 3x for a total of 19 days. Will never visit again and have to find a new favorite beach if they elect a Nazi.”
That last comment gets to the core of the matter.
Hilton Head can show itself to the world, not by posts on social media, but by votes in a precinct house on Nov. 6.
Neither of these two candidates, in a field of seven candidates, has a prayer of being elected, the conventional wisdom goes.
But in only one place will that be proven: the voting booth.
The “Holocaust revisionist” will attract gawkers, and gawkers will leap to ridiculous conclusions. It’s not fair, but that comes with being a free country. But, in the end, the Nazi people will have only the influence that Hilton Head gives them — in the voting booth.
This story was originally published August 31, 2018 at 2:06 PM.