Mark Schnur, an Onondaga County Conservative Party executive committee member, resigned Wednesday in the wake of outrage over Schnur’s homophobic, anti-Muslim and sexist social media posts.

This behavior is absolutely unacceptable. Schnur’s comments are definitely grounds for calls to resign, but there’s a double standard that exists. Conservatives are treated more harshly when involved in scandals in comparison to liberals.

There’s arguably a difference in public responses to scandals depending on an official’s spot on the political spectrum. People seem to always attack a conservative’s character.

Don’t get me wrong, Schnur’s comments were completely unacceptable. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who posed in blackface in an extremely racist yearbook photo, was also completely unacceptable.

Schnur’s case gives us an opportunity to acknowledge that things are rarely simple. Assuming moral superiority when also ignoring offenses in other political parties only builds a system lacking accountability.

Harrison Garfinkle is a communication and rhetorical studies major. His column runs biweekly. He can be reached at hgarfink@syr.edu.