okay to be white
Posters with the message 'it's okay to be white' have been put up in Nailsea town centre
An investigation has been launched by police after a number of "it's okay to be white" posters were put up in a town centre.

Trainee train driver Shane Jones, 40, tore down five posters bearing the message in the underpass of Crown Glass Shopping Centre in Nailsea yesterday morning (June 28).

"It's okay to be white" is a statement which has been linked to far-right groups in recent years after being popularised by right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos.


Comment: "Has been linked." It's also simply a benign statement of fact. "Black lives matter" is a statement that "has been linked" to far-left groups who have advocated for the destruction of western civilization. That doesn't make the statement any less true. Even staunch conservatives will agree that black lives matter, even if they don't agree with the movement itself and its ideological underpinnings. But good luck getting the same number of people to agree that it's okay to be white. Because it isn't, apparently.


Mr Jones was "at first shocked, then very angry" when he saw they had been displayed and reported the posters to police after he was left "disgusted" by the slogan.


Comment: It must be difficult to be so sensitive to such insignificant slights. Statements are only as hurtful as you let them be.


He told Bristol Live: "I have no time for this kind of intolerance to people who are suffering and fighting for equality, not just in the UK but worldwide.

"I've been living in Nailsea for four years now and I've found it a very friendly and open town. I'm actually quite embarrassed to see that this kind of racism exists here."


Comment: Get a grip on yourself, Mr. Jones.


An Avon and Somerset police spokesman said a member of the public contacted the force yesterday to say they had removed an offensive poster put up by an unknown person in Nailsea.

"Enquiries are ongoing," he said.

The killing of George Floyd, protests by the Black Lives Matter movement and the felling of Bristol slave trader Edward Colston's statue have sparked a widespread conversation on racial injustice in recent weeks.

Show Racism the Red Card encourages anyone who sees "it's okay to be white" posters to report them to police and if possible remove them.

A spokesman said: "It is imperative that we stand together against such divisive actions.

"The slogan is made to appear harmless and benign and this is, in fact, its power.


Comment: Just like #BlackLivesMatter?


"The message of these posters deliberately encourages people to be blind to the discrimination and social harms faced by people who are not white and to be blind to the fact that the reason for this discrimination is because they are not white."


Comment: If that's what you want to see, that's what you'll see. Everyone else is just laughing at the absurdity.


A plane towed a "White Lives Matter" banner over the Premier League match between Burnley and Manchester City on June 22, sparking a fierce backlash.

Burnley captain Ben Mee said he felt "ashamed and embarrassed" by the stunt, while the football club has pledged to issue lifetime bans to those responsible.

The club has apologised "unreservedly to the Premier League, to Manchester City and to all those helping to promote Black Lives Matter".

Anyone with information about the posters in Nailsea should call police on 101 and give reference number 5220141799.