Unarmed Indigenous men are being urged to wear the image of a non-threatening white man on their backs to avoid being shot in the back by armed white men who think Indigenous backs are very menacing.
The warning comes after two high-profile court cases where juries allowed armed white men to walk free after shooting Indigenous men in the back.
“We all know that the backs of unarmed Indigenous men appear very, menacing to armed white men,” said John Greenland, a researcher in the University of Ontario’s criminology department.
“Wearing a shirt that bears the image of an NHL player or even Mr. Dressup or some other non-threatening white man on their backs could save Indigenous men’s lives.”
It’s unclear if the unarmed-Indigenous-back-fear is a learned behaviour or somehow genetically imprinted into armed white men.