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Universal Orlando employee fired for flashing a hate symbol in a photo with a biracial child

via York Run / Twitter

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) added the "OK" hand gesture to its list of slogans and symbols used by extremists last month.

Why would the ADL take a universal sign for everything being copacetic and call it a hate symbol? Is nothing sacred? After all it's used by people of all races, colors and creeds.

Well, unfortunately, it's been co-opted by white supremacists to secretly signal their hate.

Annie Reneau from Upworthy gave a brief history of how the OK symbol went from being an in-joke on the 4Chan web forums to a legitimate gesture of the alt-right.

The OK sign as a symbol of white supremacy started out as a joke. Apparently, some basement-dwelling 4Chan dudes with a severe lack of purpose in life decided to "troll the liberals" by making people think that the OK sign—something super commonplace and innocuous—was a symbol of white supremacy. (Seriously, people. Get a life, please.)
Then, because white supremacists are stupid, they actually started flashing it during their pity party rallies and it actually did become a symbol. The symbolism was solidified when a photo of the mosque shooter in New Zealand flashing the sign became public. One can no longer argue that a sign is a joke when someone flashes it after having committed a white supremacist massacre.
Is that fair? No. Is it reality? Yes. Will people blame the "PC police" for this? Yes. But let's put the blame where it belongs—on 4chan fools and white supremacist idiots for creating this ridiculous controversy in the first place.

Here are the Proud Boys, a far-right neo-fascist organization, flashing the symbol.

Some more Proud Boys throwing up the OK.

via Thicc Beat / Twitter

Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant flashing the symbol.

Alt-right raconteur Milo Yannopolis throwing up a big "white power" in his Trump hat.

via Thicc Beat / Twitter

RELATED: Yes, the OK sign can be used as a hate symbol. No, we don't need to stop using it altogether.

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative non profit student organization, that's been called "alt-lite" by The ADL.

via Thicc Beat

According to the ADL, the OK symbol also makes a W and P, which to some, stands for "white power."

via ADL

A Universal Studios Orlando actor dressed as Gru from "Despicable Me" lost his job recently after it was discovered he flashed the symbol on the shoulder of a biracial six-year-old girl earlier this year.

via Yahoo News / Twitter

Tiffiney Zinger, 35, an African-American U.S. Army veteran and her husband, Richard, who is white, took their daughter and three-year-old son to have breakfast with the "Despicable Me" characters when the video was taken.

Months later, as the couple were looking through photos from their trip, she noticed the symbol.

RELATED: New Emmett Till memorial sign to be bulletproof because people won't stop being racist a-holes

"Oh my gosh. Oh no. What is this? Am I seeing what I really think I'm seeing," Zinger said she thought when she first realized what happened.

Zinger then reached out to Universal Studios and received a generic response.

"It seemed like protocol," Zinger said according to NBC News. "It didn't feel genuine."

She reached out again in September and Universal Orlando didn't seem interested in taking any action, so she sent the video of the character making the hate symbol.

"When I found this video and sent it to them, everything went into motion," Zinger said.

Theme park officials took action and fired the employee.

"We never want our guests to experience what this family did. This is not acceptable and we are sorry — and we are taking steps to make sure nothing like this happens again," Universal Orlando spokesperson Thomas Schroder said.

"We can't discuss specifics about this incident, but we can confirm that the actor no longer works here," Sschroder continued. "We remain in contact with the family and will work with them privately to make this right."

Zinger said the situation was especially painful because they are both veterans who had multiple deployments to Iraq.

"All of that hard work soldiers do for Americans...it feels awful that someone would use their freedom for hate," Zinger said.

There has been some push-back in conservative circles over the idea the OK sign can be a hate symbol. Possibly because those who are accused of flashing it as a sign of hate are Trump supporters.

But those of us who know our history understand that symbols can evolve over time. The swastika was also a sign of of well-being in ancient societies, including those in India, China, Africa, native America, and Europe, until it was co-opted by Adolph Hitler and the Nazis in 1920.

Swastika from Roman mosaic II cent. A. D. Sousse Tunisiavia Wikimedia Commons

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Feeling hopeless after Charlottesville? 16 ways you can make a big difference.

This was the scene on Aug. 12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Those are rescue workers aiding an injured, shaken woman who was plowed into by a car driven by an alleged white supremacist. In 2017. In America.

It's a difficult photo to see — as are many of the other photos taken over the weekend — but it's important we all see it and recognize this image for what it is.

The terrorist attack, allegedly carried out by a 20-year-old from Ohio who was in town supporting the "Unite the Right" white nationalist conference, left one victim, counter-protester Heather Heyer, dead. It injured 19 others.

It's easy to feel helpless in the days following an event like Charlottesville. If you're in a position of privilege, it's maybe even easier to intentionally tune out — to put on your headphones and ignore the bigger problems waiting outside your door. But it's important we act.





If you're feeling hopeless after the events in Charlottesville, here are 13 ways you can help make a difference:

1. First and foremost, make sure you are OK.

If you're a person of color or part of another targeted marginalized group, the events in Charlottesville may have been exhausting and painful to see on TV or witness firsthand. DoSomething.org has a coping with discrimination self-care guide that includes tips like mindfully disconnecting from our often chaotic world and finding ways to channel your anger into constructive actions.

2. Become a member of the NAACP.

The NAACP is working tirelessly across the U.S. to counter the hateful forces like the ones on display last weekend. Join forces with the national group or find a local chapter — like the one in Charlottesville — to get involved.

3. Follow Sesame Street's lead and go out of your way to do something nice (big or small) for someone each day this week.

Give an extra big tip to your barista, call an old friend to say hello, hug your mom a little bit tighter; a simple gesture goes a long way.

4. Donate to the victims of the Charlottesville terror attack.

Beyond Heyer's tragic death, the violence on Saturday left 19 others injured. Community group Unity C-ville has set up a GoFundMe page to help with their medical costs.

5. If you're not a person of color, take 10 minutes to learn about allyship.

A 10-minute cram session certainly doesn't mean you'll become the perfect ally overnight. But listening to members of an oppressed group — or learning from resources created by someone or people of that group — will give you a good start in understanding the do's and don'ts in allyship.

6. Speaking of being an ally — signing up for a Safety Pin Box subscription is a great first step.

The service, run by black female activists, informs users about the various systems of privilege and oppression that disempower certain groups, while also giving specific tasks on how subscribers can challenge the status quo as allies in the real world.

7. Find out how your own representatives reacted to Charlottesville.

Then make some phone calls.

If they condemned white supremacy and are actively fighting for policies that promote racial justice — from criminal justice reform to affirmative action — let them know you proudly support their agenda. If your representatives didn't speak out, remind them that their silence speaks volumes.

8. Help the country Swing Left in 2018.

Racism certainly isn't confined to one party, but the GOP — led by a president who has been disturbingly connected to the KKK and other hate groups — is emboldening bigotry in ways we haven't seen in recent American history.

Progressive group Swing Left is focused on flipping the House in 2018 by zeroing in on swing districts where the GOP is vulnerable. Even if you don't live in such a district, you likely live near one that could use your help.

9. Find a protest in your own community with the Indivisible Guide.

Progressive group Indivisible is mobilizing supporters to take part in local protests in response to the white nationalist gathering in Virginia. Learn more.

10. Report harassment online, or call on the allies at White Nonsense Roundup to step in.

Social media has become a breeding ground for racist and misogynistic attitudes. If you see others being harassed — or you're being targeted yourself — don't be afraid to report it. (Here's how you can do it on Twitter and on Facebook).

Alternately, if you're part of a marginalized group and feel targeted by others online — or even just find yourself batting away well-intentioned but problematic rhetoric — you can call on White Nonsense Roundup. If you tag the volunteer-run group, they'll jump into the comment thread to defend you and educate other commenters. Because, as the group notes, people of color already have enough on their plates — they shouldn't have to worry about educating the world, too.

11. Tune in to TV shows that tackle important issues of racial and social justice on screen.

The Trump era has given new meaning to series that routinely parse social justice issues via comedy or drama. Shows like "Black-ish," "Dear White People," and "Fresh Off the Boat" aren't just good TV — they're making a positive impact, with people of color working behind the scenes and in front of the cameras to tell their stories. Support these types of series and see what the world looks like in someone else's shoes.

[rebelmouse-image 19530820 dam="1" original_size="750x498" caption="The cast of ABC's "Black-ish." Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for NAACP Image Awards." expand=1]The cast of ABC's "Black-ish." Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for NAACP Image Awards.

12. Use VolunteerMatch.org to commit to volunteering once a month with a group doing social justice work in your area.

You could be an ESL tutor to immigrants in Chicago, for example, or volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club in Naples, Florida. There are plenty of online tools like VolunteerMatch.org that can pair you with reputable nonprofits in your own backyard.

13. Systemic racism is one thing. But what should you do when bigoted harassment or violence is unfolding right in front of you?

This helpful guide by the Southern Poverty Law Center, "Ten Ways to Fight Hate," details how each one of us can respond in concrete ways when we witness bigotry in our neighborhoods.

"Slurs often escalate to harassment, harassment to threats, and threats to physical violence," the guide reads. "Don’t wait to fight hate."

14. Sign up for Common Cause's Sessions Watch to keep an eye on Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Jeff Sessions was too racist to become a federal judge in 1986. Yet, thanks to Trump, he's our attorney general, heading the Justice Department.  

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

Sessions' racist (and homophobic, misogynistic, and anti-Muslim) history is alarming for many marginalized groups. To help keep him accountable, sign up for Common Cause's Sessions Watch, where you'll get up-to-date notifications regarding his actions as attorney general, as well as ways you can stand up to his agenda.

15. Boost the Black Lives Matter movement on social media.

There's a good chance a Black Lives Matter local chapter is active in your neck of the woods. Find out how you — as a person of color or an ally — can help the movement grow. Aside from donating or attending events, you can Like, comment, and share the messages BLM publishes on Facebook and Twitter.

16. Help Charlottesville rally past this dark period by supporting one of its incredible local nonprofits.

Author and Twitter personality Sara Benincasa shared a thread on Twitter (and then wrote an article in the same vein) listing a number of Charlottesville organizations making their corner of the world a better place.

Like the local Planned Parenthood.

Or the neighborhood Meals on Wheels.

If we've learned anything from U.S. history, it's that white supremacy can't be stomped out overnight.

It will take years of painful, exhausting work to break down the systems that keep black and brown people disadvantaged at best and, at worst, intentionally oppressed.

We have our work cut out for us. But if America truly is better than what happened in Charlottesville, now's our opportunity to prove it.

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A viral video from the 1940s is eerily relevant today.

"In this country, we have no ‘other people.’ We are American people."

The internet's latest viral video is actually more than 70 years old — and as relevant as ever.

In 1947, the U.S. War Department (which later became the Department of Defense) released this 17-minute short film, "Don't Be a Sucker," into theaters around the country. Still reeling from the recent end of  World War II, the military put together a video with a strong message about fighting the spread of fascism in America.

The film found a new, modern audience when Michael Oman-Reagan tweeted a portion of it to his nearly 25,000 followers after a crowd of torch-wielding white supremacists marched on Charlottesville, Virginia.

The film parallels our current political reality in an eerie way, highlighting the dangers of letting the loudest voices divide us.

The clip starts with a man atop a soapbox, shouting, "I see Negros holding jobs that belong to me and you! Now I ask you, if we allow this thing to go on, what’s going to happen to us real Americans?"

[rebelmouse-image 19531674 dam="1" original_size="400x299" caption="GIFs from "Don't Be a Sucker"/Internet Archive." expand=1]GIFs from "Don't Be a Sucker"/Internet Archive.

"I tell you, friends, we'll never be able to call this country our own until it’s a country without ... Negros, without alien foreigners, without Catholics, without Freemasons."

Up to that point, a man standing in the crowd was nodding along to the soapbox bellower, even remarking, "This fella seems to know what he's talking about." But once he realizes that he falls into one of the man's banned categories (he notes that he's a Freemason), he quickly changes his tune.

From there, another man, a Hungarian-born professor, steps in to deliver the story's moral.

"I have seen what this kind of talk can do. I saw it in Berlin," he remarks. "I heard the same words we have heard today."

"But I was a fool then," he says before delivering the kicker: "I thought Nazis were crazy people, stupid fanatics. Unfortunately it was not so. They knew they were not strong enough to conquer a unified country, so they split Germany into small groups. They used prejudice as a practical weapon to cripple the nation."

Extremist groups rise to power by taking aim at different demographics. It's happening today, but we can fight back.

Whether you're a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, if you don't stand on the side of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, or the so-called "alt-right," you have something very important in common. It's in no one's long-term interest for these groups to succeed in setting us against one another and continuing their rise to power — no one's except their own.

Maybe you voted for Donald Trump in November, or maybe you didn't. Maybe you agree with the policies he's laid out, or maybe you're involved in the resistance. In the end, however, we probably all share a number of goals, even if we disagree on how to achieve them. Those goals are almost certainly not shared by white supremacists, and that's why it's important that we all take a stand against this hate.

Just because you or I aren't their targets now doesn't mean the same will be true a year from now, 10 years from now. There are people who need our support right now, and it's for the sake of the country as we know it.

You can watch the full video below or at the Internet Archive.

We asked 3 Airbnb hosts how they felt about the company banning white supremacists.

Airbnb's decision to issue lifetime bans to users planning to attend a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday is winning the company plenty of fans locally.

The move, which drew immediate scorn from the rally's organizers and "alt-right" sympathizers — earned praise from residents who share their homes on the service.

In conversations with half-a-dozen Airbnb hosts in the Charlottesville area, none said they'd been contacted by members of the rally group, though most said they were relieved that the company was taking steps to ban them. A rally in May, led by writer Richard Spencer, drew over 100 torch-bearing white nationalist activists to the community. A July Ku Klux Klan rally to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue ended when local police intervened to break up clashes between rally-goers and counter-protesters.

"Most of us are on edge because the potential for violence is so great," says Aly B. Snider, who operates two Airbnb listings, including a tiny house and a cottage close to downtown. "Many don't understand why a hate group was given a permit."

City officials expect 400 people at the demonstration, according to the document, though local police have indicated they're preparing for up to 4,000, including counter-protesters.

Snider says that she's grateful the company supports her in refusing to rent to those who want to "come into [the] community and cause problems," though she and others were careful to note they support the group's right to free speech.

Attendees at a July KKK rally in Charlottesville. Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images.

Airbnb host Marybeth, who hadn't heard about the ban, agrees that while AirBnB has the right to ban whoever it wants, the protesters "have the right to peacefully assemble and say things that might offend others." She dismisses the group as a "vocal minority" and feels most of the coverage of the upcoming rally is overblown.

Airbnb recently faced criticism from users for failing to adequately respond to the discriminatory booking practices of some hosts.

A study conducted by three Harvard Business School researchers, published in April, found that potential renters with "black-sounding" names were 16% less likely to be approved for a reservation than identical guests whose names appeared white.

The company hired a director of diversity in 2016 to oversee efforts to review hiring — the room-sharing service's staff, like many in tech, is predominately white — and to help develop measures to prevent booking bias.

Photo by Lionel Bonaventure/Getty Images.

Last month, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing fined a host who dismissed an Asian guest with a racially-tinged comment, under a recent agreement with Airbnb that permits the agency to pursue such complaints.

Jason Lappa, a Charlottesville photographer who rents out his upstairs apartment on Airbnb, "fully [supports] the ban," which he attributes to the company's commitment to "community and inclusiveness."

In his view, the white supremacist protesters are simply desperate for attention. "This is their 15 minutes," he says.

Lappa attended and photographed the counter-protest of the July KKK rally — and left with a face full of tear gas after police intervened.

Nevertheless, he says, the brief scuffle failed to rattle the tight-knit community of Charlottesville, which bounced back to normal the following day.

"Nothing was different, people of all backgrounds and colors were doing what they always do, getting coffee, laughing with friends, eating great food, and ultimately, the Klan's presence had a zero sum effect," he says.

He believes Saturday's rally will be "more of the same."

Regardless of how the alt-rightists choose to send their message, they for sure won't be crashing at Lappa's place — soon or ever.

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