A Republican candidate who had spent days painting a predominantly Muslim city as a "Muslim infiltration" zone has now walked into that same city, met with residents and visited mosques, only to admit he was wrong.
Gubernatorial candidate Anthony Hudson recently held meetings with Dearborn residents in three mosques, which drastically changed his stance on the community. He initially called for an "American Crusade" march, claiming that Dearborn is edging towards "Sharia law", but a visit to the city and its places of worship showed him otherwise.
Hudson has issued an apology after realizing he had been misled about the city, stating in a video posted from one of his visits, that there's no evidence of Sharia law taking place anywhere in Dearborn. He called on those who were misled by anti-Muslim rhetoric to re-evaluate their views and admitted when he was wrong.
However, Hudson seems unwilling to drop the march altogether despite the changed tone. "We're still going to be there," Hudson says, suggesting that his stance has evolved more than expected.
The situation highlights how misinformation can lead to prejudice against a specific community. Dearborn, Michigan is an Arab-majority city with Christians and non-religious residents, yet it faced repeated waves of Islamophobic misinformation in recent years.
Hudson's apology is significant but not enough for many civil rights advocates. The apology came after a Facebook post where 42 people marked themselves as attending the march, out of thousands that Hudson initially claimed would attend.
Gubernatorial candidate Anthony Hudson recently held meetings with Dearborn residents in three mosques, which drastically changed his stance on the community. He initially called for an "American Crusade" march, claiming that Dearborn is edging towards "Sharia law", but a visit to the city and its places of worship showed him otherwise.
Hudson has issued an apology after realizing he had been misled about the city, stating in a video posted from one of his visits, that there's no evidence of Sharia law taking place anywhere in Dearborn. He called on those who were misled by anti-Muslim rhetoric to re-evaluate their views and admitted when he was wrong.
However, Hudson seems unwilling to drop the march altogether despite the changed tone. "We're still going to be there," Hudson says, suggesting that his stance has evolved more than expected.
The situation highlights how misinformation can lead to prejudice against a specific community. Dearborn, Michigan is an Arab-majority city with Christians and non-religious residents, yet it faced repeated waves of Islamophobic misinformation in recent years.
Hudson's apology is significant but not enough for many civil rights advocates. The apology came after a Facebook post where 42 people marked themselves as attending the march, out of thousands that Hudson initially claimed would attend.
I mean come on, what happened to some real change? He goes from calling for a march and demonizing an entire city just because of its Muslim population, then he comes back with this half-hearted apology and still wants to go through with the march? It's like he's trying to save face rather than actually listening to people. 
A visit to mosques and meeting with residents is a good start, but it feels like he's trying to get out of trouble by saying he was "misled" instead of owning up to his own ignorance. And the fact that he's still pushing for this march after all this... it just feels like more of the same old hate speech. 
this is still way too much to take from one guy... he goes from painting muslims as bad guys to apologizing and saying we're still gonna march 
can't make up his mind? also what's with the "we're evolved" line, sounds like a total copout... should've cancelled that march altogether
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honestly can't believe this guy Anthony Hudson is still pushing for that march 
but it feels like a half-hearted effort to me 
. The fact that he's still gonna hold the march just shows that he's more concerned about his own image rather than actually listening to what the community has to say 
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this guy was like a robot spewing hate speech and now he's human again 
his apology is cool but it's like, too little too late 
The people of Dearborn deserve better than someone who's willing to spread hate for political gain and then tries to backtrack when it's convenient. We need leaders who can think critically and not be swayed by misinformation 
, this guy Hudson has like totally flipped 180 degrees on his stance about Dearborn, it's pretty interesting how he went from painting the city as a "Muslim infiltration zone" to meeting with residents and visiting mosques! His apology is a good step but some people are still salty that he didn't drop the march plan all together... 
. On one hand, I'm all for people eating their words and admitting when they're wrong 
. I mean, who doesn't love a good change of heart? But on the other hand, he's still trying to push that march forward which just feels like a major backtrack 
. Like, yeah, you were wrong about Sharia law in Dearborn, but are you really going to continue spreading misinformation and stirring up trouble? 
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The apology feels good but it's gonna take more than a simple "I was wrong" for him to regain some credibility with the community he was spreading hate against. I get that people can change their minds, but this whole thing still stinks of opportunism and playing both sides... not cool 
and now he's all like 'hey i was wrong 
! hes still planning this march even though nobody believes him lol idk how much longer ppl will keep falling for that stuff