Bad week for race relations

Last week was not a good one for racial sensitivity in Las Vegas.

That’s not the same thing as saying racism was flaring; it’s entirely possible to say something that sounds racist without harboring a hateful motive.

For example, Rep. Cresent Hardy told an audience at a North Las Vegas senior center that, “I’m not a black man, so I don’t understand. I’m here to understand and try to listen the best I can and get educated.”

Laudable. But then, according to a report in the Las Vegas Sun, he very nearly called West Las Vegas “the darker side of town.”

Lesson No. 1? Don’t say that, at least if you don’t want to give offense, which Hardy clearly didn’t.

Meanwhile, for Rep. Joe Heck, things went from bad to worse, even though the congressman and his campaign said nothing wrong.

First, John Burke — the aggressive and ubiquitous Republican Party rapid response staffer — tweeted a photo of Democratic Senate nominee Catherine Cortez Masto standing next to state Sen. Kelvin Atkinson. But Burke incorrectly identified Atkinson as Las Vegas Councilman Ricki Barlow, who is currently under FBI investigation.

Burke quickly apologized for his mistake, and deleted the tweet.

It’s a mortifying situation. But Burke isn’t the first to make that mistake.

Back in 2007, Las Vegas Sun columnist Patrick Coolican wrote a piece describing how even veteran lobbyists mixed up black lawmakers in Carson City, calling them by each other’s names.

Things got worse when two former Heck aides decided to troll Cortez Masto on Twitter, based on her talking point that, if elected, she’d be the first Latina ever in the U.S. Senate. Tom McAllister Tweeted that “Catherine is about as Mexican as I am. It’s relevant when applying for scholarhsips [sic] … or running for” U.S. Senate. He then remarked on the fact that she doesn’t speak Spanish.

Another ex-aide, Mark Ciavola, weighed in: “Hispandering at its finest,” he wrote. “That’s why so many Hispanic leaders in Nevada support Joe Heck.”

Yes, although perhaps not quite as many as before those tweets.

Cortez Masto held a news conference on Friday to hit back at the former Heck aides, who were not speaking for the campaign. “The top aides of congressman Heck for some time have tried to claim I am not Mexican enough,” said Cortez Masto, the daughter of former Clark County Commissioner and convention authority manager Manny Cortez. “To claim that the only thing my Mexican heritage is useful for is a college application, to me and many is just disgusting. It is offensive to me, it is offensive to my grandparents … it is offensive to all Mexican-Americans.”

She added that, “Those two aides need to apologize for their comments.”

But then, the website Buzzfeed reported Heck’s son, Joey Heck, had written racist messages and upvoted — or endorsed — a spate of truly vile, disgusting and hateful posts on the website Reddit. It was a repeat of allegations that surfaced in 2013, in which the younger Heck had hurled some hateful things onto social media.

Both Joe Heck and Joey Heck apologized for the posts, and both said Joey Heck would seek counseling.

Joey Heck isn’t an official Heck campaign spokesman or campaign surrogate. But he has become an example of the ugliness that still lurks just beneath the surface of American life, no matter how far removed we get from the Civil War, or how many civil, voting and equal-rights laws we pass. It’s that ugliness that has been galvanized by some of the comments of Donald Trump, and spread by some of his fervent supporters. Joey Heck is far from the only one in need of a chat with a professional.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.