Just days after around 200 Black Lives Matter protesters marched through the Stockyards, one Northside business thought to offer an opinion. Via a recent Facebook post, a message attributed to the owners of Stockyards-based Lil’ Red’s Longhorn Saloon said they are planning a rally of their own.
“We are planning a protest march for Honky-Tonk Lives Matter at a yet to be determined date,” the message read. “No statue destruction or destroying of police equipment will be tolerated. Keep in mind, this is a protest, and no one has to wear a mask since the Chinese virus can not [sic] be spread by protesters.”
Fort Worth protests have not lead to statue destruction or destroying of police equipment, although one city monument was vandalised and subsequently cleaned and restored (“Graffiti Funds Sought by Cops Cause Uproar,” June 10).
Many comments (142 as of the posting of this article) quickly ensued.
“We’re totally behind you, Craig!” one commenter said, referring to bar’s owner, Craig Copeland. “This is nonsense! They can close down people’s livelihood and let those trashy protesters get away with all of their crap!”
Three hours later, the Facebook page administrator stated that the post was “a joke.”
“Sorry if I hurt your feelings,” the reply read. “I should of [sic] known someone would get upset. Sorry!”
Many folks failed to see the humor.
“Did you just say this post is a joke?” someone quickly responded. “You are an establishment owner in my city mocking the deaths of young black lives and the pain of the black minority trying to find peace and justice. Because you do realize that’s precisely what everyone in this city will know was … your intention. It is horrifically racist, insensitive, and you should be ashamed of yourself.”
Reporting by the Washington Post has found that, since 2015, police have shot and killed 5,400 people, including a disproportionate percentage of black men. A 2019 study by the National Academy of Sciences, a private nonprofit of the country’s leading researchers, found that 1 in every 1,000 black men can expect to be killed by police over the course of a lifetime.
The Facebook post included news that a T-shirt reading, “Honky-Tonk Lives Matter” would be available for sale Saturday. The post did not specify whether that was also a joke.
