A Vancouver man was shocked to discover white power stickers inside a Keremeos pub while visiting the village.
Tom Kato, 41, was staying in Keremeos with friends while on a motorcycle tour when he and five others decided to head over to the Branding Iron Bar and Grill for some food and drink. Unfortunately, the evening was ruined by two offensive stickers.
鈥淚t made everybody that I was with feel uncomfortable, and then I started to get upset and frustrated,鈥� said Kato.
The group was first thrown-off after they saw a sticker placed on an emergency exit door with the words 鈥淚t鈥檚 OK to be white鈥� accompanied by an 鈥淥K鈥� hand gesture.
To some, this hand gesture may seem innocuous; however, it鈥檚 anything but. In recent years the . In 2019 the gesture was added to the Anti-Defamation League鈥檚 鈥溾�� database.
The 鈥淥K鈥� hand gesture 鈥� now used as a non-ironic symbol of white supremacy 鈥� originated as a hoax on the notorious internet forum 4Chan. (Anti-Defamation League photo)
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At first, Kato and his friends were hesitant to attribute the sticker to the establishment they were in, thinking it may have been put up by someone random. This changed when they noticed a second identical sticker on a fridge behind the bar.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 when we were like 鈥榃oah, OK, this place is no good,鈥� Kato said.
Kato, a Japanese-Canadian, was travelling with five friends. He was the only non-white person in the group. At the time, Kato and his friends were unaware of the meaning behind the hand gesture, but the words alone were enough to make him and his friends uneasy.
Kato鈥檚 wife later informed him of the symbolism behind the hand gesture.
The group decided it would be best to quickly eat, pay and leave. On the way out, Kato snapped a photo of one of the stickers which drew some unwanted attention from an 鈥渙lder gentleman behind the bar鈥� who he believes may have been the owner.
鈥淗e basically told me he鈥檚 entitled to his opinion and that he doesn鈥檛 think it鈥檚 racist,鈥� said Kato.
Kato explained to the man that he respected his right to an opinion but also made it clear that in his opinion the stickers are very offensive.
Kato said he felt obligated to speak up if only to prevent others from having the same experience.
鈥淚 just don鈥檛 want another person or family to go in there and feel uncomfortable,鈥� he said.
As an expecting father, Kato hopes his child will never have to feel uneasy as he did when he was at Branding Iron Bar and Grill.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what I want the outcome to be but I just think the stickers need to be taken down at least,鈥� explained Kato.
The owner of the bar has since said he has no plans to remove the stickers, according to Keremeos鈥� mayor Manfred Bauer.
Bauer also made it very clear that the stickers and the owner鈥檚 opinions are not representative of the Village of Keremeos.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a private business and there鈥檚 nothing we can do,鈥� said Bauer. 鈥淎s far as the village is concerned, we do not tolerate any kind of racist behaviour.鈥�
The Western News has attempted to contact the bar鈥檚 owner but has not yet received a response.
Kato thinks that now more than ever people are becoming more emboldened to speak up and call out racism. He hopes sharing his story will encourage people to continue to speak out.
鈥淭he people who should feel uncomfortable are those people who have those (racist) types of opinions,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 say anything nothing is ever going to change鈥� We just have to keep trying.鈥�
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jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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