(CBrief) – A photo of Vice President Kamala Harris and a young black girl that was obviously meant to be inspirational was instead ripped as portraying the very opposite of what her communications team was going for.

The photo shows an unmasked Harris bending down as though she is speaking to the young girl, who is masked, with the Twitter caption: “My message to Black women and girls everywhere: Never ask for permission to lead.”

“But what it inspired was a reaction no image-crafter is aiming aim for: Disgust, anger and withering contempt,” noted the Western Journal in an op-ed pointing out the criticisms.

“For many Twitter users…the message conveyed by the girl wasn’t bold confidence but docility and obedience — not to mention physical discomfort,” the op-ed continued.

That included Christina Pushaw, the rapid response director for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who noted, “Kids should not have to ask for permission to show their faces and breathe freely.”

https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1627393466710863872

Several other users offered up similar criticisms.

“Make d*mn sure that kid knows she’s a second-class citizen to you, Kamala,” one user wrote.

Liz Wheeler with streaming network The First TV, added: “All this picture does is remind us that you support masking children while you are unmasked yourself. You’re anti-science.”

“Why is the child masked but you are not? Aren’t you more the target age for Covid than she is? You disgust me,” said another.

The Western Journal noted further:

Second, the tweet addressed only “Black women and girls.”

Why is Harris’ encouragement restricted by race?

It might seem counterintuitive, considering the prominence of black entertainers in public life, black athletes in major sports, the number of black actors featured in television advertisements, and the endless pandering of progressives and politicians, but black Americans make up only about 12 percent of the population, meaning the “black women and girls” Harris is addressing account for about 6 percent of the people she is supposed to represent as a whole.

That’s pretty specific targeting, based solely on an accident of genetic makeup that determines skin color. And any honest appraisal of Harris’ tweet would call it what it is: Sheer racism.

“Yep, this. Its modern racism, veiled as altruism,” another Twitter user noted.

conservativebrief.com/promo-photo-71043/