Man Holding ‘Racism Sucks’ Sign In St. Cloud Goes Locally Viral

Michael Nistler has been standing on various corners around central Minnesota holding up a sign that reads 'Racism Sucks!! Stop The Hatred!" on Fridays over his lunch break. He was inspired to do something after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis.

On Friday Nistler shared a post on Facebook that's been liked, commented and shared hundreds of times.

He wrote, "For too long people of color have been treated and judged differently by those around them simply because of their race and that needs to stop now."

Nistler stands on the street corner wearing a military cap and a Hello Kitty shirt. In his post he talks about how he's witnessed all kinds of behavior from passersby, "everything from those offering support to those giving me the finger and calling me any number of names...my only hope is that those same people upon cooling off later will stop and think 'which part of that sign makes me angry and why?' "

This last Friday was a particularly different experience for the post's author. He recounted some troubling events that ensued. "Today there was an organized effort by one of the white power groups in the area to attempt to intimidate me by removing their shirts to display the swastika tattoos and flashing the white power symbol with their hands as they drove by."

He says he had a huge realization. He gets to go home and turn off the hate when his lunch break is over. "For people of color there is no turning it off," wrote Nistler.

At the end of his post, he urges people to find their voice and stand up against racism in our community. As of Tuesday morning, the post had roughly 640 likes, more than 230 shares and dozens of positive comments.

Mariana Amaris wrote, "Thank you for doing this! Please keep going!"

Maria Maday commented, "love you and all respect to you"

Kristy Modrow said, "Thank you for sharing your love and care for others. Our community needs more people like you."

Darci Ulloa wrote, "That is awesome!! Thank you for standing up for my husband, my kids and everyone else that feels this everyday and everywhere they go."

You can check out the author's original Facebook post below.