We Call Bullshit on LAMAR

 

Did you catch the recent Spokesman Article? —> “Lamar Advertising removes anti-mask billboards, declines to display 3 of 4 ads from anti-racism group”

Let’s cut through the narrative a bit. LAMAR is a racist company.

(Or at minimum, expressing racist behavior in the speech they support.)

When asked about why they chose to display the John Birch anti-mask billboards, which posited an unsourced opinion with no citations, that is a threat to public health, and in direct conflict with the state-mandated mask orders they said, “it was an issue of free speech.”

But when SCAR is trying to bring awareness to policing issues in our community which are a direct threat to public health, with well sourced information they said, “there were a couple that we weren’t totally sure could be backed up by facts.” Really? Cause we provided sources. Legit sources.

NOTE: The only billboard they approved stated “Black Spokane Residents are 5 Times More Likely to Be Arrested”. That’s the only fact they are willing to believe?

Notice the difference there? Let’s be crystal clear: John Birch gets “freedom of speech”, but a POC ran group whose billboards presented verifiable and directly sourced facts is held to a different standard and then sill not believed? Here’s the company policy they quoted to us:

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We ask you, how can the fact that “Spokane has the 5th deadliest police force in the nation” not represent the exact moral standards of our community, when that is precisely what our community is allowing to happen?

Well, you can’t take one incident and make assumptions. Let’s see what else we can find…

Turns out LAMAR has a history of turning down Black Lives Matter billboards and they give away FREE space for “Blue Lives Matter” billboards. This behavior is very problematic. Here’s why:

  1. Why the “All” and “Blue” Lives Matter Arguments are Invalid and Wrong

  2. Here’s What’s Wrong With #BlueLivesMatter

  3. The Blue Lives Matter movement is more than just an attempt to undermine Black Lives Matter

LAMAR owns a vast majority of America’s outdoor advertising and by their own words understand that their work has the potential to silence voices. They are choosing to advocate aggressively for systems that perpetuate racial disparities in our country and we’re embarrassed to have them operate in this way in our community.

Here are all of SCAR’s billboards that were submitted:

 
SCAR