Father’s Increasingly Virulent Racism Excused Because Of How Difficult It Is For Him To Get Out Of Chair Now

CHARLOTTE, NC—Noting how sad it made her family to see the 84-year-old looking so old and frail, local woman Janice Hartley told reporters Thursday that her father’s inability to get out of his chair now had excused his increasingly virulent racism. “It’s just so sad—he used to be fairly active, but now he just sits in his recliner all day watching the news and going on unhinged rants against immigrants and minorities,” said Hartley, adding that her family had recently turned a blind eye to his racist comments when they noticed how winded he looked after bending over to pick up a TV remote that had fallen on the floor. “Look, if you’d asked me two years ago if I’d have called him out for describing a Hispanic grocery clerk with a string of slurs, I definitely would have said yes. But look at him—he’s got the shakes, and one of his eyes is getting cloudy. How am I supposed to get into it with my dad when every time I try, he lets out a terrible cough and sounds like he’s going to die?” At press time, Hartley told reporters that her father had taken a nasty fall, which had also excused his disgusting comments against Muslims, Jews, and the LGBT+ community.