Billboard Between Eureka and Arcata Gets Provocative New Look
Hiding under Sheets for Over 155 Years. [Photo provided by a reader who prefers to be known as Murf.]
The Ku Klux Klan is a well-known white supremacist group particularly known for their animus to black Americans. They frequently wear white robes and cone-like hats with masks as depicted in the new image.
A few readers reached out to us about the change. One said, “I was not too sure the intent…of the message. To be honest it’s quite unsettling.”
We reached out to Les Schwab and while they knew of the alteration to the sign, they said they had “no comment.”
Humboldt County…never boring…
Les Scwab sign as seen on Google maps prior to today.
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clever and a good reason to remove the b b from any further patronage .
Not clever at all. Sort of like the comments that tend to show up here – arbitrarily creating a mess so they can shout how outraged they are at the mess.
back atcha!
A+ for creativity. I’m lovin it!
We have CIA OPS in humboldt ? How much was paid for that idea??????
That’s one way to get rid of the sign.
Yes, let’s get rid of all the billboards. They are so 1950-ish !
It is the County’s plan to sell Humboldt as a ” Victorian Center “.
I disagree with the vandalism but I respect the initiative!
It just confuses me, I thought even in the south the KKK has kind of ceased to exist? Like it’s been completely infiltrated by the FBI forever. It’s just seems like a narcissistic thing to be like “look at me standing up to the KKK”.
You must be living in some kind of dream world. The KKK has seen an enormous revitalization since the election of president dogwhistle
Dude theres an active KKK chapter in McKinleyville, and tons of card carrying members in McKinleyville and Crescent City.
They actually issue cards?
Here’s the most recent one that I found.
Wow, Kym now you are playing the role of the propaganda machine? I was born and raised here. I have not witnessed “racism”. People I have come across in my life have all been different, but they are all still the same form of human! Propaganda apparently has influenced an agenda!
Pike asked if the KKK issues cards. I showed one that was posted online…How is answering a question “playing the role of the propaganda machine?”
That’s what I do…I answer questions.
Kym, Let it go, you can’t fix stupid
41 years old?
If that’s the most recent one you can find, I’d say that’s an encouraging indication things have gotten and continue to get better w.r.t. racism and the KKK.
I wasn’t exactly pouring over the internet. Here send off for yours: https://kkk.com/what-you-receive/
https://kkk.com/what-you-receive/ yeah, its listed as something you get when you join on their website even. Most people dont show their card, and its hard to find any since Ron Stallworth had his thing.
I guess I’ll have some t shirts made that say I’m against hitler and incest then everyone will know how brave I am.
No Comment = “We agree but company policy prohibits us from saying so”!!!
Now We know what the P stands for in Puest
I AM A Pest I just like to be different with things, hence the alternative spelling of Pest!!!! Any other ?’s or comments??? If so feel free to freak freely!!!
They commented to Time Standard
Awesome. A local banksy.
Yea not really bankseys style but i guess youre super cultured..
Maybe you’re not familiar with more than his stencil works?
Here’s one particularly poignant piece out of his book, for example:
https://www.google.com/search?q=banksy,+fuck+pigs&prmd=isvn&sxsrf=ALeKk01YuGHgeDPAUoeRv6-nHJ2ZL75iEQ:1598055582911&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQu-b6xK3rAhXOHc0KHboJC9oQ_AUoAXoECAwQAQ
nope doesnt look like a bankseys
It is.
Buy his book, take a look.
He has done far more than just stencil work.
And your missing the humor of it.
Flogging a dead horse since the 70’s. ..
Not many clansmen around here that I see.
Dividing everyone into various grievance groups has always been a failed policy sure to accumulate a sizable body count if followed to it conclusion.
The sign is funny and creative though.
You need to get your eyes checked!
https://kymkemp.com/2020/04/27/viral-photo-of-north-coast-man-wearing-white-power-shirt-tests-our-civil-discourse/
I threw a few punches in that brawl.
So you are saying he was a member of the kkk?
Why even post an article like this as it holds no journalistic value. It only serves to stoke the flames of the radical left and breathes air into riots, vandalism, looting,violent assault, and murder. Not cool.
Why even post an comment like this as it holds no journalistic value. It only serves to stoke the flames of the radical right and breathes air into riots, vandalism, looting,violent assault, and murder. A new low
Guest got served.
It’s called denial. Guest wants everyone to act like they’re in Sunday School.
But it’s ok for Guest to say anything derogatory that Guest wants to because Guest thinks Guest is “above it all”.
Bwahahaha hahahahahaha hahahahahaha.
Watch out, Guest will tell you to “Grow Up”….. Bwahahaha, hilarious.
Wrong guest again…
Like it ain’t obvious which guest is being referring to…
duh.
Not to him because he conflated “grow up” guest with “no journalistic value” guest. And if was obvious to “duh” guest, he got it wrong too.
Why don’t you “Guests” have only one of you use the name.
You have entered the twilight zone!
I’m so confused 🙂
Nonsense. You don’t seem to have a clue as to why people are PROTESTING. Millions have taken to the streets all over the world and violence has been limited. Where violence has occurred, it was often in response to police brutality against peaceful protests. Additionally, many of the white supremacy folks have been the vandals trying to incite a race riot. I guess you would rather people know their place and except inequality and bigotry rather than protest-something I might add which is critical to the founding of the U.S. I don’t hear you bitching about all that tea that was destroyed in 1773 or complaining about the riots in 1770 that led to the Boston Massacre.
So your saying the violent protesters in Portland are white supremist?
https://m.startribune.com/police-umbrella-man-was-a-white-supremacist-trying-to-incite-floyd-rioting/571932272/
THANK YOU.
God no the progressives own that one. they just gave trump more votes, anybody that was harmed will do the same. i know i would. the wages of sin is death.
Not really.
What do you mean?
“Nonsense. You don’t seem to have a clue as to why people are PROTESTING. Millions have taken to the streets all over the world and violence has been limited”
Murder rates are SKYROCKETING in democrat run cities across the US right now. Violence is rampant. But I guess you wouldn’t know that because you only watch CNN. Somebody is definitely clueless and spewing nonsense. Too bad the irony is lost on you. But I suppose that should be expected of someone who attempts to juxtapose tax protesters with BLM and other communist scum, whose ideologies are in direct contradiction with one another. The ironies are endless. You have a Bernie sticker on your jalopy don’t you?
LOL, somebody drank the kool-aid and is now a card carrying cult member.
There was a group years ago who altered billboards of terrible companies and corporations. They called themselves Truth In Advertising and made a bunch of funny and informative conversions. They did it by changing a few key words to reflect the truth behind the propaganda. They were clever! But I don’t get this one- why do it to Les Schwab? Does Les Schwab support the KKK? Or is this some kind of protest against the billboard even being there? What I see is not clever. They commandeered somebody’s ad space to replace it their own message- I guess they think their message is so righteous that they deserve to do this? I don’t like the billboards or the KKK. But I think protesters are kind of off-track these days. I don’t see this as misguided as breaking shop owners’ windows in Portland but…along that same misguided path.
I seriously doubt Les Schwab supports the KKK. It is a great company for tires, etc and “local” to the Pacific Northwest. I love that if you buy chains from them, but don’t use them you can return them for full price at the end of snow season. We keep our chains, but it’s a nice policy.
It may be that it is about the only Billboard left so it was the one used. Also the three figures made for easy alterations.
Perhaps it is a prank without a political agenda. I used to do them myself and although I certainly had a political point of view, my pranks were informed by my (questionable) artistic judgement and often lampooned my own politics. Absurdity was my favorite device. Why do so many people assume that everything that touches on a political topic has to either support or oppose some principle they hold dear?
Get a grip people. It may or may not be funny. Go with your own artistic judgement.
The “Fuck the KKK” slogan should be a clue that it was intended as a serious political statement.
Maximum preachiness, minimum relevance, minimum wit.
Yes, neither I nor Dave Chapelle nor George Carlin have ever used the word “fuck” in jest. Certainly no one else would do so either. You are correct. Your analysis is impeccable.
To be perfectly clear, I also do not use either Chapelle’s, or Carlin’s (or even Richard Prior’s) names, without permission of them or their estates and heirs, or in vain.
I wonder, also, whether you are being funny or ironic. . . intentionally?
If it was ironic, was someone doing a parody on SJWs? That would be subtle and multi-leveled.
Angela I don’t see it as a diss on Les Shwab unless I’m missing something. I think it’s a general political statement about current issues.
Oh it’s not that I was really worried or rushing to the defense of Les Schwab. It’s just kind of funny because we had just taken the truck in to reset the whatever (tire pressure shows up in the dash info) yesterday..to the Les Schwab here in my town to redo the tires. It was free because we bought the tires there. I guess I had LS on the brain.
The group to which you are referring was the Billboard Liberation Front, or BLF.
And as for your complaint about the poor business owner’s message being defaced – what right do any of these people have to deface my views of the bay? If you’re going to stick your images in my face in public spaces, don’t get sore when I, and others like me, decide to make our own marks and commentary.
If your message is so fragile that you can’t deal with critique, then maybe you need to work on your message.
Roadside Rembrandt- The group I knew about was called Truth In Advertising. Why do I applaud their work and question this? They were altering the message to expose a different yet true sub-message of the advertising company- not completely pasting over and using the space for their own message. They were genius. This is crap as far as art goes. And while I resent the billboards I don’t think it’s cool to vandalize them for your own message. If you want to fight the use of the billboard then just cut it down. That was cool when somebody did that. But what I’m seeing here is misguided, like much of what is going on with current protests. But maybe I’m just turning into an old fogey…it happens to people! Anyways- Fuck the KKK. Peace.
Probably just an attention-seeking move by the local anarchists, who have nothing better to do now that their puerile efforts to effect “revolution” (e.g., smashing a few windows and tipping over garbage cans) ended when the small protests here died out.
It might make sense if the KKK even existed here (instead of a single idiot wearing a “white power” t shirt).
If you think racism doesn’t exist in Humboldt you are lying to yourself.
Lazy straw man argument.
I said the KKK doesn’t exist in Humboldt.
What proof do you have?
What proof do you have that Martians don’t exist in Humboldt?
Are we talking about Martians now?
The burden of proof is on those who claim the KKK exists in Humboldt county.
In at least 40 years (and probably much longer, since I’m just going by my age) there hasn’t been a single piece of evidence—a single shred—that a chapter of the KKK is active anywhere in Humboldt. No videos, pictures, eyewitness statements, or any kind of physical evidence. Not even a rumor. I can honestly say that I’ve never heard anything that would indicate the KKK is here, but I’m willing to admit I could be unaware of such evidence.
Is it “possible” the KKK is here? Sure. It’s just extremely unlikely.
9/11 Truthers love to claim that the absence of any evidence for an “inside job” is just more proof that the government was involved.
Your expectation that I prove the KKK *doesn’t* exist where there isn’t ANY evidence for it is a lot like that argument.
The burden of proof is on you, since you made the claim.
My only expectation was that you have no evidence to back up anything… and you met that.
Comments like yours remind me of that Bill Murray quote:
“It’s hard to win an argument with a smart person, but it’s damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person.”
I wish you the best of luck fighting the KKK in Humboldt.
You made a claim.
I asked for proof.
You were unable to provide any.
I wish you the best of luck on your quest to master logic.
I just have to ask:
What kind of proof would you expect to be shown to be satisfied that the KKK doesn’t exist in Humboldt?
Give me an example.
*crickets*
Nite nite
And I have to ask:
Why should your claim be deemed credible when you have no proof?
Have fun with your *crickets*
DQ for the win
DQ for hot dogs and french fries…
with *crickets*
You obviously don’t understand the significance of running drills before they go live.
The majority of elected officials who are not capable of making any real changes, because of the hierarchy of the system.
It’s been overrun by special interests as long as there have been competing sides
Contact your local DNC headquarters, to find out about the klan, since they own it.
A property in willow creek is owned by ‘three k’s LLC’ owned by local ripoff wyatt whitlow.
https://kymkemp.com/2019/08/06/two-arrested-in-connection-with-armed-robbery-of-cannabis-facility-in-early-july/
I am personally aware of KKK people in Humboldt. You are plain silly not recognizing at least the possibility.
I’m personally aware of a team of Russian SVR agents embedded in the faculty of HSU.
I can’t prove it. But I’m making that claim.
Go back to my second comment above. Now reread. See that part that starts “I’m willing to admit I could be unaware of such evidence.” Reasonable people would call this an acknowledgement of the possibility.
You love to make claims you can’t prove.
Can I get a Cookie Blizzard with my order?
I agree, the KKK is mainly a phantom that people living empty lives shadow-box with to make themselves feel righteous. That and a label people try to associate with those who don’t conform to “politically correct” racial orthodoxy. No (insert target name here)! No KKK! No fascist USA! There’s kind of a weird symmetry between ultra-liberals slinging around “white supremacist” labels and ultra-conservatives slinging around “Communist” labels.
Fun fact: The KKK didn’t wear white sheets until they were depicted doing so in Birth of a Nation (1915).
“There’s kind of a weird symmetry between ultra-liberals slinging around “white supremacist” labels and ultra-conservatives slinging around “Communist” labels.”
Except that communists definitely exist in Humboldt, in large numbers. Most of them are just too stupid to know they’re communists. Others embrace the term.
There is a literal KKK chapter in McKinleyville, and numerous members, some who even carry cards, though most card carriers I know are in Crescent City which is del norte, but close enough.
Perfect! Way to mess with the devil’s tire shop.
I do not do business with any entity that have billboards advertising in our area. I consider them trash along the highway that you can’t clean up. Take note Fortuna, remove those canker sores from main street.
They need to bring back the old sandwich board walkers.
Job Creation for the Information Age!
/s
The owner just stated on times standard that those billboards where tore down do to continual racist graffiti
The owner stated no such thing. Try reading for comprehension before posting “facts”.
I agree. I drove from Fortuna to Eureka today, observing and counting (20) eyesore billboards. It’s sad to live in a beautiful area whose residents feel free to clutter the highways with these dreadful signs, but then, it’s not the Mendocino coast.
We definitely have a KKK chapter in Humboldt. We also had White Nationalists spreading literature at CR last year. I’m glad someone’s standing up to say something. It’s better than ignoring the problem. That’s for sure. Our area is founded on some bad stuff. We had the most anti-chinese extradition policy in the state for over 72 years and let’s not even start on how we treated the natives who were here first.
At least they are responsible and wear masks… Unlike ALL the employees @ dot S right next door. Boycot them selfish losers! Spreaders don’t give a sh@t! The fools at the counter of dot s probly lick boots too…
Wow, even the company’s afraid to comment against the left ,Antifa and BLM . People , Call it what it is ,vandalism
This is so stupid, if you believe this crap your as dumb as the vandels, when was there ever the kkk on the west coast never seen it in in 48 years I lived there, less Schwab started in Oregon in 1952 get your facts strait .
You, Darren, are so wrong as this article will show you. Oregon has a VERY racist history. The KKK was highly active. I talked to a person who was shocked when going through their dead fathers belongings and finding klan sheets and propaganda.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/07/racist-history-portland/492035/
Marquise Love, who allegedly knocked a motorist unconscious in Portland.
Seems there’s a new kind of KKK around and the colors have been reversed.
Are we in the new rat on your mother and try to kill your brother mentality?
I sure hope not!!
Lol, you rwnj s try so hard. I love watching. Like Trump in so many ways. No wonder you like him so much.
Hey! How about our corrupt president* hiring a no nothing mega doner to “run” the post office, destroying sorting machines. Wow, what a cool guy! Slowing down by 10 days people’s medicine, paychecks and everything else. Just to choke mail in ballots. Fuckin Trump is so corrupt. Yay!! A MAGA Corrupt Cheating Little Man is Trump.
I hope he loses and refuses to leave and he gets dragged out of the White House in all of his Corrupt Fraudulent Glory.
It gets a 5 out of 10 stars for entertainment value.
My ATFs were the soda ads where the models had teeth blacked out and the Black Velvet whiskey ad where someone exposed the model’s tits. IIRC there were some cigarette ones – might have been Winston, might have been Marlboro – where the ad copy got a simple yet devastating treatment.
So you are all ok with this? What about the kids that go by and pick up a new word. If this was supposed to be a joke, the subject matter is in the worst of taste, and idiotic!
Most kids learn that word from their parents before they can read.
You can’t shelter kids from swear words, are you kidding me?
If everything is racist then nothing is racist. 💥
Nobody said that, so 🌧
Am I nobody? Cause I said it.
The chink from even cowgirls get the blues kinda said it
Your baby is racist: https://time.com/67092/baby-racists-survival-strategy/
PROFESSOR says the concept of time is racist: https://summit.news/2019/04/06/gender-studies-professor-says-time-is-racist/
These days one can argue that ANYTHING that is a product of our “white supremacist” society is inherently racist. Luckily that includes these SJWs and their phony movements so they have a sort of suicide switch imbedded in their ethos if they care to look deep enough. Their movement is “racist” and any one of the sheep with a mind of their own is going to figure that out eventually and break apart from the hive mind.
lol
Doesn’t it say fu ck the KKK ? looks more like an antifa or BLM propaganda BS to me. The anarchists are lurking and civil unrest is right around the corner, looting and burning will look nice in Humboldt. I don’t think that would be good for mom and pop. Wake up !
Guess you better hide.
Well, I saw 2 skinheads in SF 25 years ago Geez.
Kym , I gotta give you credit for hanging in there. 90 % of these people are seriously deranged and definitely need a life. Jesus !!!
I have to force myself to read the comments , and am Always sorry .
I have to say…I used to be a nicer person before reading the comment section every day