Business owner under fire for controversial sign accused of promoting racism
by CNN Newsource
Bethesda, OH — A sign outside of an Ohio business is generating controversy.
Some say it's offensive, while the business owner says that was not his intention.
“My sign states. 'White lives matter, who else will pay for welfare?' That is a question, not a statement. It doesn't have a question mark at the end because I don't have one to put there,” said Mike of Mike’s Tires.
However, the president of the Belmont County chapter of the NAACP says the sign should be taken down as it promotes false information.
“We actually all pay for welfare recipients to receive their benefits,” said Belmont County NAACP President Jerry Moore. “When you just take facts out of thin air and put them on a billboard and call them facts, when they are your opinions, that becomes a problem."
The business owner says the message is a freedom of speech and he believes the community is blowing it out of proportion.
“If you want to call it racist, you have that right, but I also have the right to put out on my sign, in my yard, what I want,” said Mike. “I'm not a racist person, I have black customers, black people deliver tires to me, I have nothing against them."
“Tell me your thoughts upon seeing that? The sign was kind of specific as to how this gentleman felt. I'm not sure if he did it as a publicity stunt to boost his business or this is how he felt,” said Moore.
“It's a 50/50, if it hurts it, that's the way it has to be, I’ll just have to deal with it,” said Mike.
The NAACP's goal is to spread the message that all lives matter.
“Belmont County doesn't need this, we don't need these kinds of stereotypes and behaviors as a whole,” said Moore.
“My apologies to the people who have taken it wrong, I didn't mean to be racist, I don't want it to be racist. If you took it that way, my apologies,” said Mike.
The message will be there for a little while longer before it's changed for Veteran's Day.
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Originally Posted by Teh One Who Knocks
