Posted on 10/17/2013 3:59:02 AM PDT by Altura Ct.
An eye-catching billboard is causing controversy. Many believe it carries a racist message. The person responsible says that wasn't the intent; it's a political statement about free speech.
The billboard went up on Harrison's U.S. 62/65 bypass on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, several viewers had contacted the KY3 newsroom, concerned about the message.
The billboard reads "Anti-Racist is a Code Word for Anti-White," in plain black and yellow, no other information.
For many, the first impression was outrage.
"It really made me mad. It just kind of bothers me. Everything about the sign was screaming out racism, and that's something I've been trying to stand against for years," said David Stewart, a college student in Harrison.
With the Ku Klux Klan claiming Harrison as home, a racist image is something the community has been trying hard to fight, and with a task force on race relations, they believe Harrison is making strides.
"Then you drive through and you see something like this up, and it undercuts the huge amounts of effort and work the community has focused on in the last few years to really step away from that image," says Layne Ragsdale of the Harrison Task Force on Race Relations.
The local resident responsible for the sign released this statement through the sign company explaining their intent: "Often white people are called racist for opposing the President's policies. On the other hand a non-white person was never called racist for opposing President Bush's policies. There is a double-standard in this country regarding differences of opinion. Those differences of opinion do not make a person racist. The first amendment right to freedom of speech is for everyone. That is the point of the message."
The owner of Harrison Sign, who leased out the billboard, is a minority and says he does not believe the man is racist.
Ragsdale doesn't see a political statement in the words.
"I really don't. To me, it's very clear that it's the idea, you shouldn't speak against racist, that being racist is okay," Ragsdale says.
"Silence isn't going to help the cause. You have to stand for what you believe in, and I believe that the sign should be removed or something should be done about it," says Stewart.
Harrison Sign Company says the client leased the billboard on a one-year contract. The advertiser whose billboard was above the controversial one asked that his be relocated, and that was quickly done. Harrison Sign Company says someone else has now leased that space, saying they plan to leave it blank.
This is a saying from the UK. Happens to be true.
I liked the sign someone held at a TEA Party rally years ago: “It doesn’t matter what is says, you’ll still say it’s racist”...
Perhaps the billboard should have read:
“Only whites can be racist”’. (A proven societal fact)
Shouldn’t it be “anti-racism?” Otherwise the statement doesn’t sound grammatically correct.
I have a feeling we are going to be seeing more such sentiments expressed in public. There is a growing backlash, and there is no accepted channel in which it can be expressed. Leftism itself is largely about hating whitey. The GOP is not an answer to the Left. That backlash is going to find other ways to express itself, and signs like this will be the tamer ways it does so.
We must understand, free speech applies only to the left. Just as the laws apply only to us.
IF YOU HATE WHITES... YOU ARE A RACIST.
Whites are supposed to be self loathing liberals, available for slaughter. They are supposed to work hard to feed the welfare state because of the alleged sins of their ancestors, or because of the race of their ancestors. When they deviate from that and start exposing truth, they immediately become racist.
THAT should be on a billboard.
We should all listen to this snot-nosed college student because he knows better than we do.
Wonder if he's heard of the knockout game?
Indeed it should!
At its root, Leftism is about hating God and His Law.
Western Civilization and America were founded with God's Law as the basis for our laws and society. The left hates it because of that.
Hating whitey is really hating whitey's culture. "Don't be actin' white", etc. And this is a proxy for hating God's Law, because that's what the culture of Western Civ is based on.
The truth hurts.
The sign is truthful.
One thing a black hates is when someone tries to take away their sole right to being the victims of racism.
Well, since black on white crime is growing worse every day... and since I HATE political correctness... I will stick with my original sign.
OK by me!
Never a doubt!
The billboard reads "Anti-Racist is a Code Word for Anti-White," in plain black and yellow, no other information... The local resident responsible for the sign released this statement through the sign company explaining their intent: "Often white people are called racist for opposing the President's policies. On the other hand a non-white person was never called racist for opposing President Bush's policies. There is a double-standard in this country regarding differences of opinion. Those differences of opinion do not make a person racist. The first amendment right to freedom of speech is for everyone. That is the point of the message." The owner of Harrison Sign, who leased out the billboard, is a minority and says he does not believe the man is racist.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.