this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2023
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A sign hung in Port Coquitlam advertising a “whites-only” moms and tots group is causing outrage online after photos of a poster were shared on social media.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Not everyone operates in typical ways. Isn’t it also possible that someone started the telegram in hopes like-minded folks would join?

If a fire alarm is pulled, assume there’s a fire.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

It's the internet.. we should question everything. That's not to say this is false or that racists don't exist. Just that being skeptical should be the default position.

[–] pixxelkick 10 points 1 year ago (4 children)

If a fire alarm is pulled, assume there’s a fire.

Sorry but you aren't going to convince me to just trust random strangers on the internet with a vested financial interest in gaining clicks/likes/shares/subs about random stuff they say, especially when its something so brazen.

The whole thing clearly looks fake as fuck. People need a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to shit like instagram/twitter/tiktok and whatnot, which was the medium this was shared over.

Nothing about that picture remotely looks like what it claims to be, the fuck kind of "moms and tots" group posts and shares that way, come on, use your head for a second and imagine the scenario playing out.

Even going with the absolute maximum benefit of the doubt, whatever way you try and frame it you still end up painting an incredibly bizarre nonsensical scenario that just. doesnt. make. sense.

The only scenarios that make sense based on the way it was shared, the way it was setup, and the way it has been followed up on are:

A: It was manufactured upset by the person who posted it. They created it all as a hoax to gain further subscriptions to their platform, which they have a vested financial interest in expanding.

B: It was created by a troll, who thought it would be funny to see it spread virally

Ask yourself some simple questions here:

  1. How come the paper for the telegram post was the exact same one that got caught and put up on twitter? What are the odds?

  2. How come there has only been one of these posted and shared anywhere, and how come only once? Surely there must have been other pictures of these flyers by other citizens?

  3. The only conclusion you can make is... there was only one flyer taped up? And that one got taken down as soon as the picture was taken? Who goes to all that length to make the telegram, make the group, get a QR code, setup a (supposedly real) email, make a flyer all typed up... and then just only posts up one solitary flyer?

  4. And what are the odds that that one solitary flyer gets found moments afterwards by, coincidentally, the owner of "BlackVancouver", a twitter/instagram that is pretty much entirely all about spreading around posts about trying to find racial injustices, and has recently been trying to get more subs/likes?

  5. And despite all that, the telegram still today has no members/new posts.

  6. And the email is a proton one? The fuck? What mom and tot group have you ever met that seriously uses fucking proton mail as their provider?

  7. And jesus look at the chosen email and the chosen telegram name. It's twenty eight characters long. No normal person, especially one looking to share the group via flyer, ever makes something like that

I mean come on, this isn't sherlock holmes here, the thing is riddled with so many goddamn holes, a sieve would hold water better.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People like to be outraged. It makes them feel correct for not being the racist one and confirm how they already want to feel about others.

It's also easier for a brain to confirm what it already wants to believe. Good write up but I am unsure how good it would do of convincing those that need it that sometimes people just make rage bait to get people to think alike with them or because they are edgelords that think it's funny.

But you know as a wise Republican white commissioner in PA once said "I'm a black gay guy"

[–] pixxelkick 5 points 1 year ago

Theres tonnes of actual racist shit out there that gets dumped onto social media constantly.

It's wild to look at this and even remotely think "aw yeah this one definitely happened, looks super legit"

You have to live under a rock and never have actually encountered racist trash to think anything about this sign looks like it was made by such a person.

[–] Copernican 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There's something about it that makes me think it a "to catch a predator" type meeting to out a bunch of white supremacists. Are they really trying to fish for contact information or get them to actually meet in a room? On the telegram link: "Hello everybody, we are encouraged by the response already and hope you can hang in there until we are all comfortable going in person."

[–] pixxelkick 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The thing is that post was made almost as soon as the group was made, which doesnt even make sense, as no members were added yet.

Smells like fish.

[–] Copernican 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Also curious if there have been other sightings of this flyer, or if it was the only one? If you only post one flyer in an obscure place, it's a lot easier to be the main source of documenting a flyer was posted on social media.

[–] pixxelkick 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I looked around and all I could find was that one single solitary post/source, uploaded once, and literally zero other sightings/info indicating actual flyers were distributed.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Copernican 1 points 1 year ago

That's more responsible journalism with due diligence. Weird thing is both social media links are basically the same post. The X comment is just someone reposing a screenshot from the Black Vancouver instagram.

On one hand: "CBC News located some of the signs, which had been partially removed, at the Coquitlam Centre, a shopping mall in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam, B.C."

On the other: "As soon as it was brought to our attention, bylaw officers immediately searched the area and all bus stops, but no signs were present. Perhaps being removed by someone else," said a joint statement from the city and Mayor Brad West."

The article does have a pic of a difference poster than the black vancouver instagram though. Curious if there's CTV footage to figure out who did this if it was at a shopping mall basically.

[–] dragonflyteaparty 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why is having a telegram with no members suspicious?

[–] pixxelkick 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Because thats one of the only 2 things the flyer has a link to. It's precisely the sort of thing a person who's trying to create a "face value" seemingly real outrageous flyer would do.

They made the name for the telegram and the email incredibly long and difficult to type out, I am willing to bet the vast majority of people outraged and responding to this post havent taken the 30 seconds to actually go look at the telegram themselves, because its a lot of effort to type out by hand.

But if you do check it out, it looks fake as fuck. It has 2 whole posts of only 1-2 lines each and thats it, its empty and was made about an hour or so before the flyer was "discovered", and has been abandoned since then.

You have to be pretty out to lunch to look at that and conclude "aw yeah this looks super duper real, very legit, definitely was made for a real group by real people that definitely exist" lol

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 year ago

Cope snd seethe harder

[–] [email protected] -4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I dont have anything to gain and I think you're a fucking knob. You wrote a whole ass essay on why you think a racist action isn't real. How about spending five minutes with some country folk? You'll shut the fuck up real quick.

[–] pixxelkick 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How about spending five minutes with some country folk?

Ah yes, the type of people who will make a well formatted and very clearly legible flyer, complete with a qr code, telegram group, and proton email.

That definitely sounds like the sort of thing "country folk" are so well known for doing all the time.

You are out to lunch if you think this solitary piece of paper looks real, lol

[–] dragonflyteaparty 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There are definitely smart, tech capable racist people. I know. I'm related to a lot of them.

[–] pixxelkick 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Sure, but each step you have to take of narrowing the scope of reasonable occurrences re-enforces Occam's razor.

Who is more likely to be a smart, tech capable person? A racist who seriously thinks posting up this flyer is a good idea? Or someone who already manages a social media account?

Each point individually can be chalked up to a coincidence, like yeah okay sure maybe you have this person who is simultaneously tech literate enough to make the nice well formed flyer and setup the centered QR code and setup the telegram account and setup a proton email BUT they are also stupid enough to think this flyer is a good idea?

Thats a mighty specific type of individual, they exist sure but, thats just one very narrow scope in this situation.

There's several more of these weird oddities about the flyer, and when you stack all of them up the whole thing seems extremely unlikely to have been put up by such a person.

Meanwhile, a tech literate person managing a social media account would be very much capable of making such a flyer, setting up the accounts/group, and is smart enough to know that 90%+ of people will be outraged by the flyer and not bother to dig any deeper than face value, and they know they wont get in any trouble over it because no one would believe the people who actually dig even a little bit into it and point out all the weird shit about the flyer.

There's no extra mental gymnastics required for that second conclusion, it's pretty straightforward and it's not an unheard of thing to do, people purposefully putting up inflammatory marks in public and sharing them.

[–] Copernican 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

looks like the telegram preview is updated with a more unabashed white supremacist forum link.

[–] pixxelkick 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh fascinating, the prior telegram account was taken down and the new one created.

Note how the new telegram group was created today, despite the group prior existing yesterday.

I can also personally confirm the "old" one that was stood up yesterday had different 2 posts, different image, etc etc.

This one that is at the same URL still only has 2 posts but different ones.

Not sure if perhaps telegram took down the old group and then someone jumped on creating a new account now, perhaps?

But its definitely a completely different group from the one made yesterday, I should've taken some screencaps of what it looked like.

[–] Copernican 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] pixxelkick 1 points 1 year ago

Nice find! Thanks and yeah, you can see how its a totally different group that existed yesterday, and a new one was made today at the URL

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Occam's Razor, hmm... "Lots of white people are still racist" vs "[5000 word essay on ...]

[–] pixxelkick -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"If I don't read someone' response I wont have to confront the possibility I was mistaken"

GGWP

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I listen to bullshit all day, I'm not trying to engage some internet whacko in good spirited debate. I'm taking public amusement at the irony of you invoking Occams Razor while relying on an explanation that requires that much detail

[–] pixxelkick 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You... realize that the explanation was pointing out explicitly the unlikely scenario required all that detail... right?

Ergo, that scenario was the one that got Occam's Razor'd? The one that took all that explaining to do?

...because it requires so much work to explain and try to turn into something plausible?

You... you get that right?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Your entire fucking argument is that a racist can't center a QR code!!!