Proud Boys postered popping up around Kamloops are cause for pause, says Kamloops man.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kyle Mardon
July 12, 2020 - 3:30 PM
Kyle Mardon was taking out cash from a Kamloops Royal Bank ATM when he found himself confronted by a poster that rubbed him the wrong way.
It was from the far-right group Proud Boys Canada, asking for people to contact the organization.
Their “tenets,” according to the poster, include minimal government, anti-political correctness, and pro free-speech and gun rights. They want to “glorify the entrepreneur and venerate the housewife.”
READ MORE: I quit Proud Boys for fear of attacks
“I was surprised and shocked and dismayed. My wife is (Indo Canadian) and I feel that these posters have no such business being in our community. The presence enraged me,” he said.
He took down the poster taped to the bank but saw another at the adjacent Sahali McCleaners as he drove away.
Mardon said he sees these posters going out as a call to awareness.
“We must always guard against racism, by putting all such acts under an uncomfortable microscope…. Bring them to the light so to speak,” he said. “And educate these people so that they all understand that we are all citizens of this great blue ball.”
READ MORE: Facebook accounts taken down
The Proud Boys were formed in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, one of the founders of Vice Media, and while they deny any connection to the alt-right, they claim to be anti-political correctness and anti-white guilt, according to their website.
They have been pointed to as a contributing factor in the escalation of rallies held on college campuses in the US.
Correction: This story originally said the FBI's classified the Proud Boys as "an extremist group with ties to white nationalism”. That was incorrect. Later statements to multiple media outlets indicate the FBI believes certain members are extremists.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Kathy Michaels or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2020