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Warning: this story contains an offensive image
A sign in the driveway that once read “ALM Equal Rights for Kiwi Whites” has apparently been flushed clean and has a new message spray painted on it.
The sign, on a bulldozer shovel on a property in Renwick, in rural Marlborough, had been called “racist” and “intimidating” by neighbors.
It has now been changed to “equal rights”. You can still make out the strikethrough “for kiwi whites”. The new sign also includes an offensive image, a crude drawing of a part of the body, which Stuff has decided not to show up.
The man of the house, when he approached him Stuff on Wednesday, he said he was not behind the alterations. He declined to comment further.
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However, an email from a police spokesperson later Wednesday said police met with the occupant of the address earlier in the day and “agreed to cover up the message.”
“Police acknowledge that the spray-painted message caused concern among some members of the community,” the spokesperson said.
SCOTT HAMMOND / THINGS
A sign that neighbors called “intimidating” has been changed to read “equal rights.” It now includes a crude drawing of a body part that Stuff has chosen not to show.
Black Lives Matter was a social movement demanding racial justice, focused on police brutality in the United States. The movement was reignited with the death of George Floyd, sparking widespread protests and riots across the United States.
“ALM” stands for “All Lives Matter”, a catchphrase associated with criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
A Black Lives Matter solidarity march in Auckland in May last year following the death of George Floyd.
The sign came to light after Renwick’s wife, Tineka Smith, decided to go public with her concerns, saying ‘not okay, remove it.’ Smith first noticed the signal on December 28.
He complained to the police, but with the poster still there last week, he took the matter up to the Human Rights Commission.
“It’s intimidating, it’s ugly and it just has to go away,” Smith said.
Scott Hammond / Stuff
Before: the poster for the February 4 photo.
A spokesperson for the Human Rights Commission said they could not comment on the sign due to the possibility that the dispute resolution process would receive a complaint.
Any decision on whether the Human Rights Law has been violated rests with the Human Rights Review Tribunal, the spokesperson said.
“For a broader context, it is important to distinguish that the Black Lives Movement (BLM) is a specific response to systemic racism in police and criminal justice matters in the United States, it is not a claim that the lives of non-blacks do not they are so important, ”said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson said that the Black Lives Matter movement had sparked international debate and, at times, divisive rhetoric in response, even here in New Zealand.
The spokesperson said that support for the Black Lives Matter movement was often misunderstood as compromising the rights of other groups.
“Many tangata whenua, minority and ethnic groups in New Zealand relate similarly to BLM, due to the differential and sometimes racist treatment they can also receive when interacting with the police and justice systems.
“Since this treatment is discriminatory, avoidable and preventable, BLM and local supporters aim to highlight and call for action to address these injustices.”
The spokesperson said that racism was an ongoing problem in Aotearoa.
“We all have a responsibility to address racism through understanding and education.”
The commission had developed a Voice of Racism website to educate people who did not experience racism about the harms of racism faced by many in New Zealand.
SCOTT HAMMOND / THINGS
One owner says Renwick is a “pretty quiet little community, most people get along pretty well.”
Meanwhile, a Renwick landlord with a home down the street approached Stuff this week to tell him that he too had complained to police about the sign, but before Christmas. He believed he had filed a formal complaint.
The man, who did not want to be identified, told police that he did not think it was appropriate for the sign to be posted.
“The problem I have is that it’s a comment that could be quite polarizing in people’s eyes and minds,” he said.
“Part of the problem I took at the time is that my tenants are Maori and I have received some comments from neighbors.
“Renwick is a fairly quiet little community, most people get along pretty well, there is no real graffiti and to me that is not a very professional sign.”
