'Clown lives matter' sign just a joke says manager of London Ont. business
By Dale Carruthers, The London Free Press
First posted: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 11:00 AM EDT
The manager at a London auto business says it’s just a joke.
But will everyone find it funny?
Napa AutoPro on Wellington Road updated its reader board with the message “Clown lives matter” this week.
“It’s just a joke. We always put funny stuff out there,” shop manager Jon Adler said of the sign that satirizes the rash of recent clown scares sweeping across North America.
A similar attempt at humor landed a group of young men in hot water earlier this month. Four males wearing Western University clothing were photographed in front of a makeshift sign that said “Western lives matter” during the school’s unofficial Homecoming celebration on Oct. 1.
Critics blasted the Western sign, saying it made light of the Black Lives Matter movement, an international campaign against systematic racism and violence directed at black people.
The students' photo, uploaded to the image-sharing app Instagram, went viral, prompting the university to probe whether it violated the student code of conduct.
The matter is still being looked into, a school spokesperson said.
London police were alerted to the image but they didn’t launch an investigation.
Adler said he’s only had positive feedback about the sign so far.
“People are way too sensitive,” he said about political correctness.
The clown hysteria arrived in London after an online threat posted to Instagram said clowns were coming to city high schools to kidnap students and kill teachers on Oct. 7.
Police spent the day responding to clown sightings — most of them false — across the city. Police located one group costume-wearing pranksters, but no charges were laid.
Investigators searched the homes of two minors believed to be behind the original posting. Again, no charges were laid.
dcarruthers@postmedia.com
twitter.com/DaleatLFPress
A sign at Napa Autopro on Wellington Road that went up Monday is meant to make people laugh, said a manager at the business. DALE CARRUTHERS / THE LONDON FREE PRESS
'Clown lives matter' sign just a joke says manager of London Ont. business | Ont
By Dale Carruthers, The London Free Press
First posted: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 11:00 AM EDT
The manager at a London auto business says it’s just a joke.
But will everyone find it funny?
Napa AutoPro on Wellington Road updated its reader board with the message “Clown lives matter” this week.
“It’s just a joke. We always put funny stuff out there,” shop manager Jon Adler said of the sign that satirizes the rash of recent clown scares sweeping across North America.
A similar attempt at humor landed a group of young men in hot water earlier this month. Four males wearing Western University clothing were photographed in front of a makeshift sign that said “Western lives matter” during the school’s unofficial Homecoming celebration on Oct. 1.
Critics blasted the Western sign, saying it made light of the Black Lives Matter movement, an international campaign against systematic racism and violence directed at black people.
The students' photo, uploaded to the image-sharing app Instagram, went viral, prompting the university to probe whether it violated the student code of conduct.
The matter is still being looked into, a school spokesperson said.
London police were alerted to the image but they didn’t launch an investigation.
Adler said he’s only had positive feedback about the sign so far.
“People are way too sensitive,” he said about political correctness.
The clown hysteria arrived in London after an online threat posted to Instagram said clowns were coming to city high schools to kidnap students and kill teachers on Oct. 7.
Police spent the day responding to clown sightings — most of them false — across the city. Police located one group costume-wearing pranksters, but no charges were laid.
Investigators searched the homes of two minors believed to be behind the original posting. Again, no charges were laid.
dcarruthers@postmedia.com
twitter.com/DaleatLFPress
A sign at Napa Autopro on Wellington Road that went up Monday is meant to make people laugh, said a manager at the business. DALE CARRUTHERS / THE LONDON FREE PRESS
'Clown lives matter' sign just a joke says manager of London Ont. business | Ont
