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‘I’m Not Racist,’ Says Infamous Ranter Aaron Schlossberg On Twitter
Aaron Schlossberg, perhaps reeling from his recent infamy, has issued an apology on Twitter. Is it what you expected?
It took a week of national headlines and scorn, but New York City lawyer Aaron Schlossberg has now apologized for his racist rant about Spanish speakers that was caught on camera.
“Seeing myself online opened my eyes — the manner in which I expressed myself is unacceptable and is not the person I am,” Schlossberg wrote in an apology on Twitter.
“While people should be able to express themselves freely, they should do so calmly and respectfully.”
His tone and words are a stark contrast to the video last week showing Schlossberg yelling in a Midtown salad restaurant after hearing employees speaking Spanish. He told a manager the workers were "not documented" and had "the balls to come here and live off of my money." He also threatened to call federal immigration authorities on them and told a woman to "take a break" from eating.
After an online furor over his rant, the Yelp page for Schlossberg's law firm was bombed by thousands of negative reviews calling him things like a “racist and a sandwich shamer.”
All the anger seems to have awoken some remorse in the lawyer who claims fluency in Spanish on his law firm's website.
“One of the reasons I moved to New York is precisely because of the remarkable diversity offered in this wonderful city,” he wrote in his apology. He’s right — a 2011-2015 American Community Survey projects Spanish speakers to comprise 25% of New York’s population. Only 51% of New Yorkers speak English at home.
“I love this country and this city, in part because of immigrants and the diversity of cultures immigrants bring to this country,” he added, offering “sincerest apologies to anyone and everyone I hurt.” His tweet received more than 3,000 replies within minutes.
Schlossberg has lost his office and his reputation as more people came forward with stories of his belligerence.
Willie Morris of Massachusetts said that Schlossberg bumped into him on the sidewalk and called him an “ugly f---ing foreigner,” and Isaac Saul, lead editor of A Plus, recalled Schlossberg angrily shouting at an Haredi Jewish man at a protest, calling him a “fake Jew.” As CNN reports, both encounters had been filmed, and went hugely viral last week.
[Photo: Screenshot from Facebook]
