I will admit it. I would have been up all night trying to figure out why this license plate was racist. I still wouldn’t have gotten it.
VA License Plate: 14CV88
It seems that Virginia uses a computer to root out off color, racist and other types of messages that the state doesn’t want dotting its hiways and by-ways. Sometimes, however,, expressions that aren’t quite as obvious slip through.
According to the Washington Post:
The owner of a Ford truck bearing the license plate 14CV88 will have to find a new message after the DMV on Wednesday canceled its earlier approval of that series of letters and numbers.
A photo of the truck hit the Web a few days ago, went viral on car and other blogs and finally came to the attention of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group for American Muslims. On Wednesday morning, the group complained to the DMV that the plate contained a white supremacist and neo-Nazi statement.
A few hours later, the DMV agreed that the plate contains a coded message: The number 88 stands for the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, doubled to signify “Heil Hitler,” said CAIR’s Ibrahim Hooper. “CV” stands for “Confederate veteran” — the plate was a special model embossed with a Confederate flag, which Virginia makes available for a $10 fee to card-carrying members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. And 14 is code for imprisoned white supremacist David Lane’s 14-word motto: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”
“If the license plate had been on a VW Beetle with nothing else on it, or a Volvo station wagon, no one would probably have noticed,” said Hooper. “But when the Confederate flag is thrown in . . . it shows the convergence of anti-government and anti-Islamic sentiments that unfortunately seem to be growing.”
The DMV would not release the identity or location of the vehicle owner, citing privacy laws. Virginia has the highest percentage of personalized plates in the nation
The giveaway that something was amiss, Hooper said, was the truck itself. An enormous photo of the burning World Trade Center towers covers the entire tailgate, with the words: “Everything I ever needed to know about Islam I learned on 9/11.”
It certainly wouldn’t have offended me. I wouldn’t have gotten it. I have a hard time decoding plates that are n’t even off color or racist. I am sort of impressed that VA has the highest percentage of personalized plates. That is sure making some money for someone. On many of the plates, the addtional fees are due each year.
A panel can convene to judge ‘expressions’ that might not be too obvious. I don’t think that would be a good job for me. How many people on this blog have personalized plates or vanity plates? I am too cheap. And why is 88 a reference to Hitler? [best Jon Stewart voice: sillll eeeee]
