A New Jersey councilman had the perfect response for a Twitter troll on Thursday morning.
Hoboken councilman Ravinder Bhalla sent out an innocent tweet on Thursday at about 9:16 a.m. EST, on passing a measure to make bike lanes a part of Hoboken’s waterfront.
Without any call for provocation, a Twitter user named Robert Dubenezic quoted the tweet with a bigoted blast.
“How the hell did Hoboken even allow this guy to be a councilman? Shouldn’t even be allowed in the U.S. #terrorist,” @dubenezic wrote on the post.
The troll’s post was geo-tagged from Union City in New Jersey.
Bhalla roasted the racist in his response, pointing out that Dubenezic wasn’t just a bigot — he was ignorantly wrong too.
“Sir, I am born & raised in America. You clearly don’t know what it means to be American,” Bhalla slammed back.
Councilman Bhalla told the Daily News he actually pitied the Twitter twerp, for being so uneducated about the Sikh community.
The troll’s Twitter feed is filled with anti-Muslim posts, support for Donald Trump and attacks on President Obama.
In one tweet he describes the billionaire as “the savior of western civilization.”
In the eight years Bhalla's served as a councilman, he said he’s never been the victim of racism over social media until Thursday.
He believes the current political climate has been allowing hate speech to rear its ugly head.
“With a lot of the rhetoric we’re hearing from Mr. Trump about Muslim Americans and people who are perceived to be from a Muslim background, I think the spread of Islamophobia from our national leaders sends the wrong message,” Bhalla said.
A quick Google search would have saved the Twitter user from becoming a public embarassment, as Bhalla’s website notes he was born and raised in New Jersey.
But Dubenezic didn’t back down from his racist replies after being called out on his mistake.
“No towel on my head,” @dubenezic wrote in response.
Bhalla told the News he’s looking to find Dubenezic and take him out to lunch, in hopes of educating him about Muslim and Sikh culture.
The Hoboken councilman said he’s looking forward to meeting the Twitter troll, despite the awful first impression.
“One thing [Sikhs] believe in is forgiveness. So I don’t hold any malice toward this individual,” Bhalla told the News. “In a way, I feel bad for him.”
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