Statement from Danville Mayor Newell Arnerich:
As most reasonable people do, I share the visceral reactions of many in our community to hate speech groups and hate in general. This past Saturday, a small group of people stood at the corner of Blackhawk Road and Camino Tassajara Road, displaying banners, one of which read “White Lives Matter”. Although this took place on private property, just outside of our Town boundaries, the incident was reported and Town officials were made aware of it as well.
Those responsible made sure to cowardly cover their faces and hide behind their signs. These people were acting out hate speech. Though not a crime, this was clearly an abhorrent gesture towards people of color. People and groups like these are looking for confrontation and publicity, and we will not condone them nor give them any credibility, attention, or the publicity they are seeking.
Our Town stands united against racism in any form and any acts that direct harm or hatred toward people based upon race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender or disability.
Free speech is very painful and hurtful at times. We do not have to listen or give them any credibility. The horrific mass shooting that took place this past weekend in Buffalo, New York, demonstrates the incredible division that exists in our Country. The shooter, who is now in custody, posted a document prior to the mass shooting, centered on a far-right conspiracy theory that baselessly posits that the white population in western countries is being reduced or replaced by immigrants in a deliberate plot. The shooter, in this case, will be taken out of society and imprisoned for life at the expense of ten innocent people. This price is too much to pay for simple justice for one prejudiced person’s actions.
Danville Town Council, our Police Department and Town Staff continue to work to make Danville a safe place for everyone where we can celebrate our diversity and strive for equality for all members of our community.
Good letter. On point.
A good first step on a local level but the country is in peril and in need of citizens who care about its future. This type of hatred runs deep and it will take people who DON’T RUN to fix it.
Good response. Thank you.
Nice. That was needed. Saw the pictures and they turned my stomach.
Nazis and Russian sympathizers in America. My God. We really have come full circle.
Masquerading as politicians, tv personalities, business people. It has a Manchurian Candidate feel to it that scares me. America needs to look at itself under a bright, bright light.
Very appropriate
Down with the fascist right. Full stop.
I’m curious what it means for people or a community to take a stand. Is expressing your distaste enough? I would like to see at least some commitment from local leaders that we’ll be hearing about more specific steps they will be taking to address racism in our communities. We have another example, right in our own backyard, that there is much heavy lifting to do.
I fail to understand what is hateful or racist about a sign that declares “White Lives Matter”. Does the mayor feel the same way about “Black Lives Matter” signs? Are they hateful and racist as well? And if not, why?
The sign cannot be hateful, however those holding it may well be. In this case, this group was also holding a sign encouraging us to watch Europa: The Last Battle. That film is often referenced by Nazis/White Supremacists for recruiting and to justify their actions. Those two things together leave little doubt that those holding the signs are racist.
You are part of the problem.
If you don’t understand the distinction between “Black Lives Matter” and “White Lives Matter, I suggest reading some history…I’m white and never felt the need to say “White Lives Matter”, if I were black I might feel differently…
Thank you news24.680 for your calm and measured approach to covering this story.
Much needed. Thank you.
Thank you for not republishing the photos of these wannabe goosesteppers – which is exactly what they want.
Exactly what is “hateful” about a “white lives matter” sign? Or is that racist because only “black lives matter?”
“White Lives Matter” has been named a hate group, yet “Black Lives Matter” hasn’t been labeled the same. Either they both are, or neither one. Stop with the hypocritical double standard, politically correct BS. It’s tiring.
Most would agree that each group should be evaluated independently to determine whether they are hate groups. There have definitely been some in the BLM community that have espoused hatred, but overall my observation is this: On the whole, the BLM movement embraces those of other cultures and skin colors who choose to join them in their cause. WLM, on the other hand, would stand for no such thing. For me, its not hard to see which group requires hatred just to participate.
I’m so sick of these automatic weapons ok to use against citizens in this country. They need to be banned. Why is a simple thing like that so hard to do
It was not an automatic weapon. The suspect had to pull the trigger each time a round was fired, this gun was not the same as a military weapon. 108RS
I look forward to the day various factions will stop trying to politicize hatred and we can get back to being America again.
Thank you Mister Mayor!!!
I wonder why Elon Musk couldn’t make a statement like that.
All Lives Matter. 108RS
Part of the problem is what you are looking at, not the pictures but this commentary. The culture has been manipulated to obsess endlessly about race and victimization and many use it to purposely generate heat and not light. There were around six people I’m guessing from the pictures who stood on a street corner for a while with signs. All the media covered it, guessing their intensions, and the politicians crafted statements to please their audience. Meanwhile, in the real world, the number of homeless in Contra Costa County was just updated and apparently is up 35%. What did these politicians do today on this? Yeah, nothing. You like watching media porn, or do you care about where this society is going. I don’t know about and don’t care about those six protestors and despite what those millionaire politicians and media pundits are telling you, we are not on the edge of a revolution. All of their efforts are going to create division so you don’t notice how bad of a job they are doing. By the way, BLM kept everyone focused on their political shenanigans for over a year, and we are only worse off for it.
This site never used the pictures and didn’t say anything about the “media porn” you mention except by verbally responding to photos submitted to its twitter page. And running the mayors response of course.
May, I agree with you. My note is meant to be on the national obsession over race in the past two years, with people now outraged over whether a sign says black or white or all lives matter, with the commentary here an example of calls to oppose the fascists and nazis and warnings of subversive plots to overthrow the government. This country is only worse off for this national obsession, but we seem addicted to it, and it sure does seem to distract from much more complicated problems. Crafting up a nice memo criticizing 6 protestors sure is easier than dealing with out of control development around Danville lacking the water to service the units.
I don’t watch media and I’m not sure what “real world” you live in but in most of our “real worlds” racism and extremism are serious concerns and you might be surprised to learn they contribute to the homelessness problem you mentioned.
Jackson: I would say race is a serious concern that was hijacked and made much worse for political purposes. Google key words Gallup Poll and Race Relations and it shows that both blacks and whites say race relations are by far the worst they have been in over twenty years and in a sharp downward dive. All of this BLM, woke, CRT, and the angry pushback to it is not doing us any favors. We are all worse off for it.
Ahh, Lamorinda Voter. BLM was born out of yet another death of an unarmed black person by police. When George Floyd had a foot on his neck for almost 9 minutes and the country was shut down and had time to notice, people became “woke” to the injustices that black people faced by some law enforcement and others. Do you know what the opposite of woke is? Asleep. Those white shooters who commit mass killings somehow manage to be taken into custody, but drive with a broken tail light or without your license and it could mean death for a black person. BLM and CRT may not be doing you any favors because I am going to take a wild guess and say that you are probably white. You said, “We are all worse off for it”. Really? For those people of color who have lived their lives as less-than, it’s an awakening of their plight and hopeful action in the right direction. I am white and don’t feel worse off for it. If the people who are haters of the message wouldn’t fight back against it, we would certainly be better off for it.
On a national level, there probably isn’t that much racism left. Look at the Supreme Court, President Obama, Colin Powell, Condi Rice………………it’s about lack of achievement now and there are already many programs available. 108RS
Agree 100% with Mayor Arnerich…
Don’t you just love that the Replacement Theory these haters espouse says that “white native born Americans” are being replaced by immigrants? For those who forget our history, white Americans to the US are the original immigrants.
One might hope that a simple statement opposing hateful speech and hateful actions would not be controversial, but apparently, we live in a time of “very fine people on both sides”.