A viral TikTok shows a man who is so incensed by a Black Lives Matter flag on a stranger’s property that he writes a racist message on the street with sidewalk chalk in protest.
The video, shared by TikToker @saranw1103, starts after the confrontation has already begun. The man is in the middle of chalking out the words “BLM = HATE” on the street near her home when she approaches him and asks him to stop. She calls out the man for not asking why she has a BLM flag displayed: “A conversation isn’t even interesting for you, you’re just wanting to tag the street.”
The man, who is carrying a box of multicolored sidewalk chalk, claims that he hasn’t seen any BLM signs other than the one displayed at her home. When she disagrees, he concedes that “maybe I haven’t noticed them” before returning to his project. He is wearing what appears to be a homemade shirt sporting the message “F*ck commies.”
The energy of the video shifts when another man approaches the scene.
“Hey, you do this around the other neighborhoods?” the man asks from off-camera.
The graffiti artist responds by stating the obvious: “I do this here.”
The camera pivots to show the newcomer, a middle-aged Black man. He presses the chalk vandal on his choice of location, noting that it is in front of his house, rather than the house displaying the flag.
“Is it because I’m a Black man?” he asks.
“No, I have no problem with Black people,” the chalk artist claims.
When the homeowner presses the man on his reasoning for chalking the street where he did, he says, “I have a problem with the flag and the movement.” He begins to explain that, in his opinion, the Black Lives Matter movement is problematic, just before the video cuts out.
The video’s abrupt end left many viewers with questions. A second video posted by @saranw1103 compiles shots of other chalk art opposing BLM but does not provide further details on the confrontation. (@saranw1103 did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.) The second video is captioned, “Black lives matter doesn’t mean other lives don’t matter.”
In the comment section, many people blasted the chalk wielder for his choice of medium.
“What grown man is walking around with a box colorful chalk?” one user questioned.
Others noted his shift in demeanor as soon as the Black man approached.
“His stance changed when pops came out,” user Freddy Kruger noted, while another agreed, “Changed his tone real quick.”
Arguments about Black Lives Matter, the 2020 election, and the Proud Boys aside, many other commenters encouraged the camerawoman to punish the chalk artist properly: “Don’t be shy, get the water hose.”
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*First Published: Nov 18, 2020, 8:57 am
Nahila Bonfiglio
Nahila Bonfiglio reports on geek culture and gaming. Her work has also appeared on KUT’s Texas Standard (Austin), KPAC-FM (San Antonio), and the Daily Texan.
Source : https://www.dailydot.com/irl/tiktok-anti-blm-chalk/