A bartender and band member who has fans in the Chattanooga music scene has lost his job, and the fate of his band is uncertain, after remarks he posted on social media.
“I said the wrong thing and now I have to deal with it and move on,” he said.
Cory French, 38, has roles with the band The Fridge and WanderLinger Brewing Co. Two weeks ago, after a discussion with a friend about the marches and protests occurring locally and around the country over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, French made a post on Facebook.
The statement read in part, “These protests are starting to agitate me. Let’s not forget we are in the middle of a pandemic and there is already proof that it is accelerating the spread. The point was made a long time ago and arrests are being made so stop it. Some of you don’t even know what you are protesting about, so stop it. This could end up killing thousands because of one bad man. The sensationalism has gotten a little out of control. It’s time to man up and make changes in a legitimate fashion. Whites get killed by blacks too. Black officers also kill blacks. %90 [sic] of black homicides are committed by blacks, killing each other. They need to ‘Matter’ too [sic] themselves too.”
The post got a few comments, and within about five minutes, French said, he regretted posting it and took it down. Someone took a screenshot and reposted it and suddenly many people were commenting on it, accusing him of being racist. Others defended him.