Article updated on 11/2/18 to include response from DU’s administration.
On Thursday morning, Nov. 1, posters with the words “It’s okay to be white” were found around campus, at locations such as Anderson Academic Commons (AAC), Nelson Resident Hall and Driscoll Bridge.
These words are a slogan based on a poster campaign originally organized on platforms such as 4chan and reddit to help “convert people to the far right.” This slogan has been used by so-called “alt-right” and white nationalist groups and has been adopted by former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke.
The appearance of these posters seems to be inspired by a call to action posted on a reddit chain r/metacanada on Oct. 31. The post stated:
“Instructions for participating in the It’s Okay To Be White poster campaign:
- Posters go up on public spaces and campuses TONIGHT (and onwards)
- Only use the original design
- No vandalism or crime
- (optional) Wear a Halloween costume with a mask to blend in with trick-or-treaters for anonymity
- If you see a fake version of the poster, with links to websites or an altered message (probably put up by a leftist), rip it down
Thank you to everyone who joins in. This is a simple, low risk, high reward operation that is proven to expose racism and hatred on the left and drive MSM insane. Good luck, watch your back and be safe!”
A post on 4chan had a similar call to action and stated, “THIS IS NOT HATE. We are doing this for the pure reaction from the left, to one simple statement. This will reveal them as hypocrites to all normies, in the boldest manner imaginable.”
“Normies,” according to askreddit, refers to “a normal person who is outside of a certain subculture.”
On Thursday, November 2, the Office of the Chancellor sent an email to the DU community concerning the event. The email stated, “We are saddened and angry that, once again, we need to write about an incident meant to incite fear and hatred toward members of our community.” It also said that these flyers are against University policy and have been removed because of that.
The email addressed the connection of the posters with white nationalism, “The fliers appear to be part of a global campaign, and national media reports are suggesting these fliers are intended to promote white supremacist ideologies. This type of ideology is abhorrent and has no place on our campus. We believe in celebrating all identities and do not value or place more worth of one identity over another.”
The statement also announced that Campus Safety is investigating who posted these fliers, and if anyone has any information to contact Campus Safety at 303-871-2334.
