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Charlottesville paper under fire after anonymous “racist rant” published

Posted at 6:46 PM, Jul 23, 2013
and last updated 2013-07-24 02:53:04-04

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WTVR)--A Charlottesville publication is taking some heat for an unfiltered, uncensored section they publish in every issue.

It is called “The Rant” and it features anonymous comments from people in the community.

People call into a number and leave their message in a voice mail and that comment--often a rant--is published. That freedom of expression has attracted protesters, after the paper published what protesters call a “racist rant.”

A couple dozen people gathered Monday afternoon at the “Cville Weekly" offices with protest signs.

"By printing someone's racist filth, are you actually serving the community?" said one protester.

The profane comment that has protesters up in arms criticized African-Americans for asking for free food.

“People should not be allowed to hide behind The Rant because it you feel a certain type of way, you need to show your face,” said one protester.

“The rant is an extremely popular part of the paper; it's also an extremely unpopular part of the paper,” said an employee. “Sometimes it shows you the ugly side of the community, and that's not the worst thing for people to be aware of.”

The editor apologized for that rant, but protesters weren't buying it.

The organizers say, there may be more protests if "The Rant" section doesn't go away.