Re: Racism in Federal Hill.

Submitted by frog20-1 t3_11l0xfh in providence

This is in response to the " racism in Federal Hill" post. My 80 year old immigrant father put up a flag yesterday not knowing it's meaning. I can assure you, my father is not a racist. He took it down immediately once we told him what it represented. He is beyond devastated when we told him the meaning, and apologizes to all that were offended. The disgusting flag was burned by my father last night. Please have compassion for an old man's ignorance.

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Buffaloafe t1_jbaour3 wrote

Why would anyone fly a flag without knowing it’s meaning? Why go through the effort of hanging it without a bit of research first?

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citylightmosaic t1_jbar6u4 wrote

Replying to silvio_burlesqueconi (#2,179,734)

There’s a lot of people who say the Confederate Flag is a piece of historic/heritage based pride as a euphemism for idolizing racist American roots and slavery. Someone who is 80 and maybe not overly aware of the conversations happening and maybe talks to other ignorant older people could genuinely buy into that garbage

Edit: Based on further stuff posted in this thread it’s clear this dude is full of shit, so clearly this isn’t the case

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boop-snoot-boogie t1_jbaraml wrote

Replying to Proof-Variation7005 (#2,179,849)

Seriously - between stuff like this (innocent mistake or not), fighting off scammers, getting them the hell off the road, getting them to the doctor, providing “tech support” literally daily - all while they put up a fight for every single one of those. It’s like herding fucking cats.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_jbasf32 wrote

Replying to citylightmosaic (#2,179,933)

I think it's equally possible that someone is 80 and just mistook it for something else or thought it looked good. At that age, being fully aware and every action being a reasoned choice made with intent is not something you can really guarantee.

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Buffaloafe t1_jbat08m wrote

Replying to Proof-Variation7005 (#2,179,959)

Enough time to feel like most folks in their 80s aren’t getting on a step ladder for a cause they don’t understand at all. FWIW, I live in the area, I’ve read the article on Geno, and before yesterday considered him a “cute feature” of Federal Hill. I assume either A: someone bought him the flag and told him to fly it or B: he knew exactly what it meant when buying it/taking it out of storage and felt it was worth the effort to fly on his property. Either way it’s unfortunate to see and at the very least I hope he’s learned something.

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playfellow_ t1_jbatbug wrote

Glad to see this situation resolved. I’m glad that you taught him what it means and took it down.

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BarRegular2684 t1_jbatmeq wrote

Thanks for the update. It can be hard to deal with that population. My grandmother only knew one name for a certain type of nut in English and no one told her it was offensive until I was maybe 8. (I still don’t know the proper name for them. She was so horrified she stopped buying them.)

Good for your father for burning the treason flag. Hope you’re both doing well.

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wenestvedt t1_jbauizu wrote

Replying to Buffaloafe (#2,179,828)

> Why would anyone fly a flag without knowing it’s meaning?

Well, if you're not American, you might think, "It's red and white and blue -- just the the 'regular' flag. Must be OK!"

(Not defending, just guessing at Grampy's frame of mind.)

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ajg040 t1_jbavmbc wrote

People wanted this guy to get physically hurt/killed....for a flag.

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whatsaphoto t1_jbaw0gt wrote

Good on you for speaking up, and good on your father for receiving the explanation in good faith and acting accordingly and with respect for those it harms. The world could do with many, many more people like your father!

edit: Alright jesus fuck you guys message received lmao. Sorry for having an ounce of faith in yet another story of a boomer not knowing any better before this thread turned cynical.

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Buffaloafe t1_jbaw1i4 wrote

Replying to Proof-Variation7005 (#2,180,060)

I hear you, I really do. I don’t work exclusively with senior citizens and all my grandparents are long gone. I’m in my mid thirties and I’ve never met another senior citizen in New England who flies the confederate flag.

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BOKEH_BALLS t1_jbawpay wrote

80 years old in possession of a Confederate flag and consciously hung it up somehow has no idea? Press x to doubt.

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whatsaphoto t1_jbaws23 wrote

Replying to ajg040 (#2,180,129)

Just wait until you find out how many people have actually died as a direct result of that flag and what it represents. Many of whom were targeted for the mortal sin of being born with the wrong skin color.

No one should have to be hurt over flying a flag, but fly a confederate flag that high and that proudly in any other context other than OP's fathers and you're sending one hell of a message to your neighbors about many, many atrocious ideals.

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JustSomeoneLikeYou t1_jbawxwg wrote

Was there any merit to the person that said they spoke to this guy and he was saying racist / bigoted things? There are people also claiming your father was threatening to shoot people? Is this just random people on Reddit telling lies?

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huh_phd t1_jbb01i6 wrote

OP, thank you for the follow up. I believe in evidence based science, and now that I am more informed, it's okay. I'll be blasting Skynryd tonight. RIP Gary

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LionMcTastic t1_jbb4z97 wrote

I'm very glad that it was just a misunderstanding, but it's a little sus that OP hasn't clarified what his dad thought the flag was

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_jbb4ze1 wrote

Replying to Buffaloafe (#2,180,144)

I think it's easy to forget the the mind and the body really don't deteriorate at proportional rates. It's easy to assume a confused old person might also be physically frail or whatever, but I assure you it doesn't always go hand in hand like that.

Even if I hadn't heard someone else shocked and surprised this guy did that, I'd be more than willing to buy the confused old man explanation

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blitzkreigbop9 t1_jbb6bsh wrote

So the dozen or so people on the other thread claiming they know of this guy and saying he’s been super racist consistently were all full of shit or this guy is? I mean people were straight up commenting the location of the house stating this dude has been problematic for years.

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Previous_Floor t1_jbb6uaq wrote

Replying to JustSomeoneLikeYou (#2,180,186)

>Was there any merit to the person that said they spoke to this guy and he was saying racist / bigoted things? There are people also claiming your father was threatening to shoot people? Is this just random people on Reddit telling lies?

I think so. Telling lies and trying to incite violence, IMO.

Edited to add: The person who made those statements has at least one post in a subreddit that "officially endorses the New Black Panther Party and the Black Hebrew Israelites".

Both of those groups have been classified as violent hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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sophware t1_jbb6xh2 wrote

Replying to pmk0286 (#2,180,411)

What part of the USA Today BLM fact check don't you buy and why would it matter anyway?

What people mean when they fly a BLM flag is clear and has as much to do with your BS as people buying Christmas trees has to do with some German candle scam conspiracy theory I could drum up. (Check out the history of Xmas trees coming to the USA.) Maybe I could add in that the profits from the German candles go to a child sex traffic ring.

Here's one: We all must conclude the GOP hates gun rights with The Mulford Act as evidence.

The only problem with that one is that as BS as it is, it has much more truth than the money laundering craziness.

Your racist credulity around BLM trolling is what it is. Racist. It's also stupid.

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Buffaloafe t1_jbb89co wrote

Replying to Proof-Variation7005 (#2,180,465)

Totally understand. It seems like you read the comments on the other thread, which prompted my first post here. Lots of other comments referencing hateful actions towards POC that I was shocked to read alongside others’ experiences of the sweet old guy on Federal St. If there’s any truth to that stuff that I, as a white man, cannot corroborate, this whole thing feels a bit more gray to me. If he’s a confused man who has learned something, good.

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thehillshaveI t1_jbb8wbk wrote

why does anyone believe this lmfao

yeah, my octogenarian dad totally went out and accidentally bought himself the racist flag and climbed his ass up on a wall to put it up. trust me bro.

EDIT: HE SEEMED PRETTY SHARP WHEN HE TALKED TO CHANNEL 10 FOUR MONTHS AGO

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D-camchow t1_jbb9dgi wrote

It can happen. When I was a kid in Florida my friends mom bought his little preschool aged brother a t-shirt that had the flag on it along with a little cartoon and the text "mommy's little red neck"

They were Mexican. She didn't know what it meant lol.

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Funocity t1_jbb9qny wrote

Replying to BarRegular2684 (#2,180,035)

I second you are probably talking about Brazil nuts. My very tall, barrel chested grandfather used to yell across the produce section when he saw 'oh look, X toes are on sale!' Genuinely excited, they are a yummy nut, and he also grew up calling them that. We were able to curb this, but damn that was rough for a bit.

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ihavebigboobiezz t1_jbbafsx wrote

I have a feeling this isn’t real because what elderly man chooses to undergo the physical labor of putting up a flag when he doesn’t even know the meaning of the flag?

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IamGro00ot t1_jbbblgz wrote

Replying to JustSomeoneLikeYou (#2,180,186)

I was one of the people who said I recognized him and that he threatened myself and others when we walked by in 2020. I moved from that neighborhood 2 years ago and haven't been by that house since, but from the picture I saw posted yesterday I swear it was him. From my memory, the racist guy on Federal Hill is elderly, white, lives in a white house on Vinton St, it has a decorative cement-looking fence, usually a lot of plants and a garden area on the right side of the house, and the fire hydrant out front is painted like the Italian flag. The picture posted only showed the left side of the house with the man facing away, but I recognized the fencing. If this was a different house, then my bad. Maybe whoever posted the picture can clarify where they were.

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BadLvckBrian t1_jbbbtla wrote

I deleted my post because there was people making threatening comments and I do not support that shit at all, but still I find this entire post suspicious. And I’m sorry even if you are 80 years old you don’t just go hanging flags up that you know nothing about, especially when he took the American flag down to do it. And it’s easy to say he burned the flag last night especially with no evidence.

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thehillshaveI t1_jbbbzbd wrote

Replying to ihavebigboobiezz (#2,180,712)

also buying the flag. he didn't walk into a shop on atwells and walk out with that.

judging by the size and location of that building i would guess that most of it is rented out, and someone in this family realized a housing discrimination claim would be ruinous.

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FoleyisGood t1_jbbc34r wrote

I have a bridge for sale if anyone is interested!

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thehillshaveI t1_jbbf1h1 wrote

Replying to BadLvckBrian (#2,180,781)

this entire post is beyond suspicious. their father gave an interview about his nativity set he puts up every year to channel 10 four months ago. he's lived in RI for four decades, so "immigrant" isn't an excuse here, it's not like he just got here. and he's sharp enough to be putting up an enormous nativity set a few months ago. this is bs

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Chelsea_023 t1_jbbf2lr wrote

Idk about this being your dad and him not knowing what it meant (lol) but I can confirm I walked by that house yesterday and it wasn’t up anymore

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BadLvckBrian t1_jbbgjms wrote

Replying to thehillshaveI (#2,180,932)

Yeah this entire post is bs, I live in the neighborhood and the American flag is back up but now it is upside down. And I know it’s not unintentional because he’s had the flag up before for months even years right side up.

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Previous_Floor t1_jbbgone wrote

A lot of ageist comments in this thread.

And the bottom line is the flag was removed. Let it go.

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Parking_Jello7737 t1_jbbildm wrote

So like, what about the allegations of him threatening minorities and protestors that'd he'd shoot them when they went by his house

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Previous_Floor t1_jbbmd3k wrote

Replying to Throwaway1231200001 (#2,181,233)

>Wait for the post from OP about his father not understanding the significance of an upside down US flag.

"According to the U.S. Flag Code, flying the American flag inverted is legal, as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."

^ Considering the tone of yesterday's threads...

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thehillshaveI t1_jbbmzoz wrote

Replying to GoodJibblyWibbly (#2,181,267)

there are people taking this entirely implausible narrative at face value and praising him for burning the flag, like idk what it would take for people to realize how dumb this sounds. do we actually need "and everybody clapped" at the end?

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DiegoForAllNeighbors t1_jbbnhvj wrote

I hope the above response is sincere and accurate. Stranger things have happened than an 80 year old doing something they didn’t quite understand. Much stranger things have happened but that’s just my personal assessment based on my life experiences. EVEN IF he sort of meant it: to “commiserate” with the “Lost Cause” but didn’t realize it’s implications… especially in the wake of things like domestic terrorist attacks in Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, Charleston, Washington DC, etc etc etc… my sense is we should extend as much grace, mercy, knowledge, and compassion (which is different from forgive and forget— I like forgiving, forgetting not as much) toward even our bonafide enemies, we might get farther in changing their hearts and the hearts of their children, over time. Or we could just call our neighbors our enemy and be pissed which IS understandable too… Providence is a great city. That’s still my takeaway.

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radarmy t1_jbbnr8a wrote

This country was founded on the ignorance of old men

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teachei t1_jbbtqu8 wrote

Plot twist , he was a dukes of hazard fan

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vegemouse t1_jbbtrxn wrote

If your dad is 80 and doesn’t understand what the confederate flag represents why did he hang it up? Sounds like he caught flack from the post and removed it.

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thehillshaveI t1_jbbtuve wrote

Replying to Previous_Floor (#2,181,435)

>What's wrong with you people...

i don't like liars.

>I suppose you'd prefer if someone went and beat the old man to a pulp?

nice strawman. quality engagement.

>How about growing the fuck up, giving him the benefit of the doubt, and letting it go.

how about not getting your panties in a bunch because of reddit comments. you're putting words in my mouth and getting embarrassingly aggressive.

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thehillshaveI t1_jbbw1kj wrote

Replying to Proof-Variation7005 (#2,181,673)

>He’ll take some pieces out and put new pieces in," said Pereira. "He will go out there no matter what. He does not realize he’s 80 he’s got that Peter Pan Syndrome. We tell him he’s 80 and he’s like 'Nah, nah, I’m good."'

>Milano said the display takes a lot of work, but it's always worth it.

>“This my hobby and this my tradition left by my father. Nobody can stop what is my dream," said Geno. “Mentally it’s hard to do, because you have to know exactly how you have to build everything, painting, because you have to prepare all these things on time for Christmas."

>The display, which consists of over 400 pieces, is very detailed.

well he and his family seem to think he is, when they're not claiming he's just too old and italian to understand racism

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_jbbyu0w wrote

Replying to thehillshaveI (#2,181,697)

Going just from listening to him talking and multiple people's firsthand accounts that are not just some anonymous person on Reddit, I'm not sure the dude is playing with all his marbles.

And the narrative that an 80 year old immigrant just randomly is going all "THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN" while living in Rhode Island doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, especially since he's living in an area with a shit-ton of black and brown people living nearby and passing by his house everyday.

Hell, are we even 100% positive that he is the one who put the flag up? Or have we learned nothing in the past 2 weeks since this

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SockGnome t1_jbbz4nq wrote

I simply don’t believe this man is your father and if he is, unless he is suffering from the terrible affects of mental decline, he knew what that flag means because he’s been around for 80 years!

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Silentjosh37 t1_jbbzx1m wrote

Replying to ihavebigboobiezz (#2,180,712)

I have a feeling you a very well right. This person just happened to see the post about their racist father doing racist shit outside of his house and decides to create a reddit account just to "explain" dad isn't racist just confused. You would have to be living under a rock for his whole life for that to be the case, and the fact that they are now flying "Old Glory" upside down, which is another go to of the "totally not racist" crowd.

Day old account with no post history and hasn't responded to a single post on here. Or they have with their alt account "defendin pops" and that everyone should just lay off.

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thehillshaveI t1_jbbzzwq wrote

Replying to Proof-Variation7005 (#2,181,801)

>Hell, are we even 100% positive that he is the one who put the flag up?

there's the video of him doing it

i mean you see this guy hanging a confederate flag and you're willing to believe this complicated story about how he just didn't know better instead of the much simpler explanation that he wanted to hang it.

we could go back and forth all night but the fact is you see him fly a symbol of owning black people and you're willing to give every benefit of the doubt.

>And the narrative that an 80 year old immigrant

he's lived in the states longer than either of us have been alive. you think it's more likely he avoided learning what this flag was for more than half a century but randomly raised one yesterday without knowing. i find the idea that he just likes it much more plausible

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Silentjosh37 t1_jbc1rp8 wrote

Replying to Tordek_Battlebeard (#2,180,759)

...oddly a lot of the "Merica" first crowd. They don't realize what the flag and this country stands/stood for. They just use it as a tool. Thats why you see them flying it in ways that are far outside of flag code or turn it into weird shit like a speedo or mud flaps.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_jbc2ohg wrote

Replying to thehillshaveI (#2,181,855)

>there's the video of him doing it

There's a video of a flag that's already up and him climbing and reaching for the rope. That could just as easily be him taking it down. I really don't know.

​

>i mean you see this guy hanging a confederate flag and you're willing to believe this complicated story about how he just didn't know better instead of the much simpler explanation that he wanted to hang it.

we could go back and forth all night but the fact is you see him fly a symbol of owning black people and you're willing to give every benefit of the doubt.

I believe in Occam's Razor and a random octogenarian decided to knowingly antagonize everyone who passes by his house and paint a target on him and his home, but only for like....a couple of hours before changing his mind? That isn't the simplest solution. Frankly, it makes no sense at all.

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thehillshaveI t1_jbc3f8c wrote

Replying to Proof-Variation7005 (#2,181,987)

>There's a video of a flag that's already up and him climbing and reaching for the rope. That could just as easily be him taking it down. I really don't know.

what i like about this reply is you're trying even harder to defend him than his family. in your version he's now the hero pulling the flag down! it's beautiful!

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[deleted] t1_jbc4gc6 wrote

Replying to BOKEH_BALLS (#2,180,173)

Immigrant senior in progressive city chooses to invite public backlash by openly displaying his support for the American slave system.

And then he burns it becuase..? Sounds equally dubious

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_jbc54p6 wrote

Replying to thehillshaveI (#2,182,020)

I can not stress how little I care about this. I do care about common sense though and I feel like people are sidestepping past that because of the inflammatory nature of this.

People are acting like they're going to attack an 80 year old or his home over this and it's kind of fucked up. Even if the absolute worst case scenario is true, what's the endgame of this outrage train?

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Silentjosh37 t1_jbc7urc wrote

Replying to thehillshaveI (#2,180,787)

Exactly, not like you can just pick up a Confederate flag at stop and shop while you are picking up your groceries. Its not a thing you can accidentally buy or even order through Amazon. You have to go to some pretty specific stores to "accidentally" stumble upon one. There were a bunch of stores that sold flags like that and others of that ilk that said something along the lines of like "Let's Go Brandon", which I think is a reference to the dog from Punky Brewster, but I digress, that had gone out of business sometime last year, though they might still be lurking out there. The Venn diagram of the people that frequent that store and racists is almost a virtual circle.

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Silentjosh37 t1_jbcau7a wrote

Replying to thehillshaveI (#2,182,282)

Yeah its not like you go to Jo-Ann fabrics, and start flipping through the novelty flags like, Easter Bunny with eggs, New England Pats, Spring has Sprung, racist dogwhistle, St Patricks shamrock... etc

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Previous_Floor t1_jbcc23k wrote

Replying to canibringmydog (#2,182,273)

>I love how you post literally every crime in Providence but also defend this old fuck? What’s wrong with us? What the heck is wrong with you?

I'm not defending him. I also have serious doubts about his story, but I have a real problem with the mentality I'm seeing here. It's pretty clear to me that several people want this old guy to be physically harmed. That is not ok. And that is something I absolutely won't support.

And what on earth does this have to do with posting crime articles?

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Major_Fang t1_jbcdaru wrote

why dont you guys understand these boomers dont know any better

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edogg01 t1_jbcei4h wrote

He "didn't know" that the Confederate flag is offensive? LOL not credible.

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ELOFTW t1_jbcelql wrote

I'm from the South, your dad is racist bud.

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new_delusion t1_jbchnfe wrote

I posted that and I don’t believe you. Kindly sit on a cactus.

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UsedCollection5830 t1_jbcjfv5 wrote

Out of all the things an 80 year old immigrant can gravitate to he gravitated towards a rebel flag 😏 come on racism is so fucking exhausting and destructive it's like a fucking virus that has no cure worse than cancer

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thehillshaveI t1_jbclpl6 wrote

Replying to Previous_Floor (#2,182,762)

>Although you kind of already did when you said "call the cops then nerd"

try not to hurt yourself with that stretch guy

three comments ago i was encouraging violence. then i was implying it. now calling you a nerd is apparently a threat to this old man.

keep squirming, this is fucking hilarious

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thehillshaveI t1_jbcr1rp wrote

Replying to canibringmydog (#2,182,273)

what's even funnier is he's already been banned before. this is at least his second account. can you imagine what kind of life the guy so determined to post dumb crimes stories leads? this is the most divorced man on this sub

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zergsalad t1_jbcryko wrote

Lmfao this post reeks of shit. "Had no idea its meaning" yeah ok, if he hadn't taken it down, I can assure you it wouldn't have lasted long anyway. Fuckin EVERYONE knows where your "dad" lives bro

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