Racists Held up a ‘White Pride’ Banner in SLO County. Will They Dare to Tell Us Why?

To the racists who displayed an “Embrace white pride” banner on a Templeton overpass:

You may bristle at the term “racists” — and declare you do not deserve to be slapped with that label — but that’s what the “white pride” movement is.

Did you not know that?

Did you think your “white pride” statement was the equivalent of “Black pride” or “gay pride” or “trans pride”?

It was not. White pride is a euphemism for white supremacy.

It is a dog whistle for hate and intolerance, a rallying cry for white people who feel put upon; who harp about being discriminated against every time they or their loved ones fail to get a job or a promotion or a college acceptance letter; who insist that the slogan “Black lives matter” is racist because all lives matter.

As American philosopher and author David Ingram so elegantly explains it, Black pride is a defensive strategy.

“Affirmations of white pride — however thinly cloaked as affirmations of ethnic pride — serve to mask and perpetuate white privilege,” he wrote.

So we know you’re racist. But you’re destructive as well, willing to divide your community in public for all to see.

What possessed the two of you to stand on the Vineyard Drive overpass in Templeton at approximately 11 a.m. on a sunny Saturday morning to display your “Embrace white pride” banner to passing motorists?

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Was this act the culmination of years and years of grievances, or did something happen recently that set you off?

Was it your intent to promote self-esteem among supposedly downtrodden white people?

If so, you failed.

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The community is stepping up to answer that ugly act.

A rally is scheduled for Wednesday, May 10, from 2 to 6 p.m. on the same Vineyard Drive overpass where the banner was displayed.

Those who attend are invited to bring messages of “love, inclusion and support.” Excellent.

Bottom line, there is no excuse for this kind of hate, and no hiding behind the protections of free speech.

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