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Taxi drivers attacked over decal
THRONES
CAMPAIGN
Man picks a fight over symbol in sign language Helen Pike
Metro | Calgary
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Several Calgary cab drivers had a close call with an agitated citizen Monday after he approached a group of drivers at a downtown hotel taxi stand, ready for a fight. Driver Samson Kevede was sitting in line at the Hyatt taxi stand in Calgary’s core. He wasn’t sure what was going on when a large man, who he said appeared out of nowhere, began yelling about the black-and-white decal on the side of his cab. “He was ready to punch my face and he told me, he said, ‘Want to fight with me?’” The man was upset about the symbol on the decal, a hand raised with the American Sign Language gesture for love, also commonly seen as the symbol for “rock on,” he dubbed as a symbol of the devil, yelling it was evil. In June, Checker Yellow Cabs
partnered with HomeFront, a non-profit organization that helps families escape domestic violence, to sport the sign on their cars as a way to raise awareness. “That sign is ‘I love you’ … it’s not a bad thing, but the guy was so angry about it,” said Kevede. He said he was lucky, climbing back into his car before any violence ensued, but added that other cab drivers in the same line were also verbally and physically threatened before police arrived on scene. HomeFront executive director, Maggie MacKillop, said this is one of the first negative responses they’ve had to the campaign. “When you put yourself out there in the public, people are entitled to their own opinions and thoughts,” she said. “It takes a community to end domestic violence. The symbol itself means ‘I love you’ in American Sign Language and the symbol itself is really to just say there’s a community out there that supports you.” Layna Segall, social media manager of The Checker Transportation Group, said although there have been some misunderstandings about the campaign, there have also been many positives.