Another Shoe Thrower – In Ithaca!

This story is very odd. A man threw shoes at the Mayor of Ithaca during a common council meeting.

Long-time Ithacan and former Weather Underground member Robin Palmer began speaking at about 7:15 p.m., near the beginning of Council’s privilege of the floor, during which any citizen may speak on any topic.

Palmer handed out packets of information on the U.S.S. Indianapolis, a Navy vessel sunk during World War II; Common Council’s Community of Sanctuary resolution, which asserts Ithaca’s commitment to protect the rights of military personnel protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and a statement addressed to the editor of The Ithaca Journal titled “Who were the terrorists? And who are the unrepentant?”

Palmer then addressed the Council, saying he was drafted in Ithaca in 1952 and was honorably discharged two years later. He then stated, “I’m here to protest the Community of Sanctuary Resolution.”

Palmer repeatedly called the resolution “odious” and “nauseous” and challenged the Council members to explain what right they had to make such assertions……

He then reached into a bag, pulled out two shoes and hurled one at Alderman J.R. Clairborne, D-2nd, and another at Peterson. The first shoe flew between Clairborne and Alderman Eric Rosario, I-2nd. The second fell short of the Mayor.

How surprising, a Weather Underground member protesting a war protest! Ithaca has to be one of the most liberal cities in the nation. Which makes the following shocking:

For roughly 10 minutes, Nelson continued talking calmly with Palmer, encouraging him to leave. Janis Kelly, chairwoman of the City of Ithaca Republican party and the only person who spoke against the Community of Sanctuary resolution when it was passed in October, was also in the audience. Kelly approached Palmer and also spoke quietly with him.

There’s a City of Ithaca Republican Party!?!?! What, do they have two members? Odder yet:

Palmer said he felt the Vietnam war was immoral because Ho Chi Minh “was, and is, the George Washington of Vietnam.”

He said he “so far support(s) wholeheartedly U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, especially in Iraq.”

In case you’re wondering, Mr. Palmer didn’t get his shoes back.