March 20, 2015

"Employees at several Austin businesses have found stickers saying 'exclusively for white people' placed on their windows..."

"... sparking an investigation into their origin and condemnation from the mayor."
The stickers also say "Maximum of 5 colored customers / colored BOH staff accepted," apparently referring to the "back of house" operations at a restaurant. They featured a city of Austin logo and claimed to be "sponsored by the City of Austin Contemporary Partition and Restoration Program," though no such program exists....

Raul Alvarez, board president for the East Austin Conservancy, said the stickers are likely in response to gentrification in the area on Austin's east side. "I certainly share the concerns about the history and culture and affordability that's being lost because of the rapid development, but our organization tends to focus on what it is we can do to preserve what makes East Austin unique and not focus on strategies that divide the community," he told the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.

68 comments:

n.n said...

It sounds like they are running an independent diversity quota system. The likely problem is that they did not coordinate with the government's authorized diversity directors.

rhhardin said...

You'd think lefties would know not to investigate these things.

mccullough said...

Gentrification blues

TosaGuy said...

The trendiest section of my former city has all sorts of new yupster restaurants that have popped up in the midst of the established fast-food places and corner diners.

All the wait staff at these new places are white as are 95 percent of the customers. The fast food and corner diners have remained diverse in clientele and employees. The only people type of people not seen in the established places are the progressive yupsters.

campy said...

Don't be such a cynic, rhhardin. I'm sure this will turn out to be a real bias incident!

YoungHegelian said...

To paraphrase what rh said above, my guess is that this will turn out to have been done by a lefty who's now finding out that his neighbors just don't appreciate his finely tuned sense of ironic satire.

Will said...

Not reported in this story was that the local NAACP sponsored state rep, Dawna Dukes, took these stickers at face value and really, truly thought she had her Ferguson/Sharpton moment. She went nuts on the social medias and was the last person to grudgingly admit that maybe it wasn't real.

I almost feel bad for her - she thought she had won the race-hustler lottery.

damikesc said...

Decent money says the originator of them was a Progressive activist.

traditionalguy said...

The Obama method is flourishing like Tuberculosis is flourishing from Obama's welcoming a flood of undocumented and uninnocculated, teenage pre-Americans.

You tell a Big Lie about non existent racism and get a job leading a fight against an imaginary KKK.

richard mcenroe said...

The East Austin Conservancy needs to have a conversation about race.

Scott M said...

False flag. Betcha.

Chef Mojo said...

Keepin' Austin weird is evidently a full time job.

Ann Althouse said...

"False flag"

False which way. We know it's not actually the City of Austin, which is the flag it flies under. Are you suggesting it's not actually what it appears to be, meaning not some anti-racism lefty group or only that it is that?

Ann Althouse said...

Do you think it's actually the East Austin Conservancy or some group with the same agenda but less mainstream tactics?

Ann Althouse said...

I think it could be an art project... political street art.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Something tells me the places you are most likely to find racial oppression in the US are far from liberal enclaves like Austin. Very inconvenient for Social Justice Warriors.
But maybe I'm not thinking about this correctly. I've always thought the 'freedom riders' of the civil rights era were cowards. They came from wealthy, liberal parts of the country to Alabama. They kicked the hornets nest, then went home and bragged about their courage, while the people they left in Alabama had to deal with the problem.

rhhardin said...

It can't be art. There's no urine.

Matt said...

The presidents of the East Austin Conservancy and the NAACP both assume that these stickers were put there by someone against gentrification in East Austin. Austin's mayor, on the other hand, assumes that a bigot put up the stickers.

It's interesting that the left-wing activists are the only people interviewed who bothered to think before emoting.

rhhardin said...

Kliban cartoon (I think), early sailing ship approached by an oar-powered ship with the head of a bunny rabbit for bow-sprit

"I don't like the looks of this."

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Terry said...
Something tells me the places you are most likely to find racial oppression in the US are far from liberal enclaves like Austin.

While not a measure of oppression per se, think for a moment about the segregation one sees in wealthy deep blue enclaves--do you think the earnest liberals urging programs for equality, redistribution, etc are sending their precious snowflakes to public schools?

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Ann Althouse said...
I think it could be an art project... political street art.


If you look hard enough I'll bet you could find some contemporary German describing Kristallnacht in similar terms.

Bob Ellison said...

Austin? of all the cities in Texas?

I can't help suspecting a false flag.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Ooh, or the tenth Exodus plague, celebrated in Passover! Street art at its best.

Bill said...

Oh, I do so love these teachable moments!

Bob Ellison said...

Yes, Professor, "false flag" in the sense that Alinskyites may be planting these signs, or reporting them falsely, in an attempt to slur other Texans.

TosaGuy said...

"While not a measure of oppression per se, think for a moment about the segregation one sees in wealthy deep blue enclaves"

The progressive diversity crowd in my former city always is wanting for more diversity in their city, yet they made sure to buy the same type of house for 30 percent more money a mere 4 blocks west of the Milwaukee city limits where there is far more diversity.

Bob Ellison said...

What kind of an idiot would post such a sign in a business he or she actually hoped would make money? Could such an idiot count the nickels in the cash register at the end of the day? No.

garage mahal said...

It's interesting that the left-wing activists are the only people interviewed who bothered to think before emoting.

Interesting that right wingers assumed they were bigots. False flag!

Drago said...

garage: "Interesting that right wingers assumed they were bigots."

Right wingers are quite adept at recognizing backwards thinking lefties who might, for example, be so callous as to refer to African-Americans as "blacky's".

SteveR said...

When I was young, Santa Fe was a great mixture of traditional New Mexican culture and some transplants of various backgrounds. Now its become a mecca for wealthy liberals and its not affordable for the average person, much less someone who's family is from that area. But hey, they have great laws to keep your dog safe.

Bob Ellison said...

How is it that the showcase pics on this AP article are a black, female business-owner and a white, female bike-shop owner?

How could that be? How, how, how?

Bob Ellison said...

BTW, I know this is way off-topic, but David Brock really does have that hair.

Brando said...

Telling that every time there's a racial incident these days you can bet on it originating from the Left and not the Right.

Some people are just obsessed with race.

Smilin' Jack said...

I think it could be an art project... political street art.

It's obviously a hate crime, and when the perps are found it should be prosecuted as such.

Bob Ellison said...

Who printed these signs? They're professionally done. You could do it on many online sites.

Who did it? The KKK?

The bottom of the circular sign is obscured in the AP photo. The bottom of the sign is where the sign-maker is most likely to print his/her manufacture name.

What's going on?

garage mahal said...

Speaking of false flags:

A controversial conservative activist is being accused of trying to incite anti-police protesters by saying, “I wish I could kill some of these cops,” to provoke them into making outrageous statements.
A former top staffer with Project Veritas, Richard Valdes, said the incident occurred in January, when an undercover operative assigned to infiltrate the protest groups was given a script that included the startling comment.
Valdes said he was fired by the group’s founder, James O’Keefe, for not following through on the bizarre assignment.


Whoa! We know O'Keefe has made the rounds inside Wisconsin before. Hmmmmm.

garage mahal said...

Oops. Wrong thread. Oh well.

bleh said...

Clearly the stickers are made by anti-gentrification lefties who are upset that East Austin is becoming wealthier and whiter.

Bob Ellison said...

Oops! Squirrel! Wrong thread. Look elsewhere.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Starbuck's employees run amok. Trying to start a conversation about race.

JMO, the Country would run smoother if there were *less* discussion about race. Biggest offender is the US Government. Race, race, race - it's on every form you fill out. Everything has to be classified and allocated by "race."

Bob Ellison said...

Who commissioned these signs?

Who paid for them to be printed?

Who printed them?

Who put them in shop windows?

Who sold the story to the Associated Press?

bleh said...

It's leftist propaganda that equates the natural market forces of gentrification with racism and Jim Crowe.

I wouldn't even call it false flag, honestly. It's so obviously meant as a caricature or as "eat the Irish" satirical hyperbole.

Bob Ellison said...

NBC ran with this story.

Roux said...

It should be easy to find the culprits there are cameras everywhere.

Bob Ellison said...

BDNYC, I'd like to believe that people could see it as satire.

But no: most people are not savvy to satire. Most people will simply believe in the story as sold. There's a sucker born.

This story will still be around in five years. People will talk about how Texan businesses prohibited blacks.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

garage mahal said...
Speaking of false flags:


Undercover reporting is wrong. Trying to provoke a reaction that can then be used against the target is wrong. Just ask 60 Minutes, or NBC's Dateline, or...

Beth B said...

Someone forgot that the politically correct are also thoroughly irony-challenged. How could anyone read those stickers as anything other than biting satire? Do these self-righteous ninnies have their heads so far up their own backsides that they can't recognize when their noses are being tweaked?

Pitiful... Any pointed political punch that hasn't been coughed up on a bumper sticker or a snarky internet meme is totally lost on them.

MAJMike said...

Yet another attempt to keep the Peoples' Republic of Travis County weird. I'd say its guerilla street art generated to create the hissy fit it has produced.

Sammy Finkelman said...

It in interesting that they have a limited, not absolute Jim Crow here that the stores are supposedly practicing.

Sammy Finkelman said...

Real Jim Crow never worked that way - but modern day lawsuits do talk about statistical disparities.

CWJ said...

Not long ago, Althouse had a post about a court case involving Israelis who had posted signs advocating a dress code for women. As part of the comment thread, she offered a white people only hypothetical essentially identical to the facts of this present post. I'm pleased to note that this actual case has played out essentially as I predicted in response to her previous hypothetical.

Quaestor said...

Althouse wrote: I think it could be an art project... political street art.

Assuming you're correct, when and if the artist is identified should the businesses graced with the unsolicited objets d'art be grateful?

The Godfather said...

You can tell it's not a right-wing bigot thing: there's not a single grammar error or misspelled word.

Paul said...

We all know it's a false flag operation.

There are many cases where people have faked racial attacks on themselves to get attention, and then they recant.

I have no doubt this is some UT far left students.

DavidD said...

Did the creator of the sign mean "accepted" or "excepted"? It's hard to tell from the context.

David said...

Troll? False Flag? We will see (maybe.)

David said...


If you look hard enough I'll bet you could find some contemporary German describing Kristallnacht in similar terms.

There was absolutely no attempt at disguise or misdirection at Kristallnacht. The idea was to make it clear who the attacks came from.

GRW3 said...

I really like Austin but a lot of the time I'm glad it's 80 miles away from San Antonio. It's much too liberal and nannyish for my taste. I had to laugh when I saw that. A town that would unified in its horror and approbation if some stupid prank like this happened in Houston, Dallas or San Antonio, now has egg on its face. I can't wait to ask one of the smuggles if they know anybody on the Partition and Restoration committee.

Lewis Wetzel said...

"You can tell it's not a right-wing bigot thing: there's not a single grammar error or misspelled word."

Funny, some R Wing websites have many pictures of libs carrying signs with misspelled words, bad sentence construction, etc. I wonder why you would think that "right-wing bigots" have a herder time with grammar and spelling than liberals, Godfather? The most loyal Democrat constituencies come from the lower end of the educational scale.

Hunter said...

It's well known that higher education correlates with leftist political beliefs.

So it would make sense that left-wing activists are usually well-educated enough to employ decent spelling and grammar when expressing their incredibly idiotic ideas.

n.n said...

It's the same sign posted in the Office of Diversity in every government, university, civil rights, etc. office, except that in government sanctioned discrimination policies the favored classes are off-white... and survivors of the State's pro-choice policy.

Guildofcannonballs said...

"And I knew I could just bait all of y’all into being as stupid as you are.” -Austin Lawyer hanging a shingle.

chickelit said...

David said...
Troll? False Flag? We will see (maybe.)

I predict it will disappear like the swastikas painted on houses on Madison's west side a month or so ago.

Uncle Pavian said...

Well, it will make it easier for #BlackBreakfastNYC-minded protesters to identify which restaurants to disrupt.

Drago said...

Hunter: "It's well known that higher education correlates with leftist political beliefs."

Hmmmm. "higher education", when referring to the non-science/engineering/mathematics/systems degrees usually boils down to higher credentialism and in no way correlates to actual "education".

For instance, you routinely find the biggest dummies on campus in the Schools of education as well as all the "Insert favored group here"-Studies programs.

I can't imagine how hard it must be for those competent folks who really want to teach or focus on one of those softer discipline areas to deal with the lunacy surrounding them all the while keeping their cool and progressing towards the necessary milestones.

Jason said...

....and it was a libtard lawyer!

ken in tx said...

A local NAACP leader strongly implied that he does not think the signs are the work of white racists. He thinks they are the work of people upset about gentrification of East Austin. Those people are mostly blacks, hispanics and aging Willie Nelson/Kinky Friedman types.

Bob Loblaw said...

....and it was a libtard lawyer!

Yeah. I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you!

I can't remember the last one of these that wasn't a hoax.