A Vancouver heavy metal music promoter is taking a stand against racist gestures and symbols after a concert-goer was seen giving what appeared to be a Nazi salute in the mosh pit at a recent show.
Journeyman Productions social media manager Nikki Gould said a friend alerted her after spotting a young man making what he believed to be the âSieg Heilâ salute at a Dec. 8 performance by Death Preacher at Pub 340. The gesture was adopted in the 1930s by the Nazi Party to signal allegiance to Adolf Hitler.
Gould said she put down the concert merchandise she was preparing and confronted the man.
âI was like, âMy friend told me what you just did and I think you should leave.â He started ignoring me and getting really rigid. He didnât seem apologetic or surprised that he had been confronted,â Gould told ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝.
She said she later saw the man being escorted out of the venue after she raised the issue with a bartender and security.
âI think I kind of let him off easy by kicking him out of the show and telling him to go. Had he stayed longer and got in a fight, that could have been really bad,â Gould said. âNazis and things like that donât represent the metal scene. We want everyone to feel safe and included, and have fun. Nazis arenât fun.â
the following day to outline their zero tolerance policy on hateful gestures and speech.
âWe want to make it 100 per cent clear in writing that there are no âSeig Heilsâ allowed in the pit,â the post reads. âThis as well as any Nazi symbolism on clothing will not be tolerated. This wasnât clear to someone last night and he wasn't too happy when he was asked to leave the venue, so we wanted to make a post to prevent further confusion.â
Journeyman Productions owner Joey Hockin said this is the first time something like this has happened at one of his shows. But the incident didnât come as a complete shock in light of the recent white nationalist gatherings and counter-protests in the U.S. and Canada, he said.
âIâm not too surprised, just because of the way things are going in North America lately,â Hockin said. âThere are a lot of far left and far right people making their voices heard. Itâs really dividing a lot of people.â
Hockin and Gould said the reaction to the policy has been mostly positive, though some have questioned if the move limits free speech.
âWeâve been contacted by a lot of people. Some people saying, âIâm Jewish. Thank you for doing this.â Or my family saying my grandpa would have been proud of me because he fought in the wars,â Hockin said. âAnd then some apologists whining about free speech.â
âIf you see anyone wearing a swastika or . . . just saying racial slurs, homophobic slurs too . . . we take all that very seriously,â Gould said. âAs far as Iâm concerned, Iâm not trying to put you in jail for that. Iâm just saying not at our shows.â
Hockin said the policy is meant to establish that this type of behaviour is not okay before it becomes a reoccurring issue and causes damage to public perception of heavy metal music.
âWe already have so many negative stereotypes that we are fighting against,â he said. âWhen things like this happen, it just kind of encourages those stereotypes.â
With a report from CTVâs Breanna Karstens-Smith in Vancouver
Thank you to everyone that came out to Pub 340 last night to witness the Wheel of Metal! It was so much fun that we will...
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