A B.C. woman has come under fire for a series of racist, threatening comments that she posted on social media.
In reference to the killing of George Floyd by a white Minnesota police officer last month, Alysha Stewart, who lives in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, wrote in a Facebook post that she, "would have done the same thing" - but only worse. Stewart also uses the N-word, and says that she wouldn't have taken her foot off of Floyd.
Black Vancouver shared an image that shows some of the comments that Stewart made beneath her original post. In them, she says that, "The only humans who have colour are technically white folk."
In a conversation shared by Black Vancouver in the post below, Stewart continues to use extremely disturbing and threatening racist language.
A Change.org campaign was launched that calls for an RCMP investigation of the posts, mandatory workplace diversity and inclusion training under supervision before returning back to work, and a revoking of her healthcare licence.
The campaign says that Stewart, "uttered racial threats toward black people. As a former Vancouver Island Health employee her words were not only a threat to BIPOC but also threatens the integrity of the health care system and the BC provincial government ministries she represents."
As of 5:45 p.m. on June 11, 4,768 people have signed the campaign.
Const. Gary O'Brien, Media Spokesperson for the Nanaimo RCMP, tells Vancouver Is Awesome in a phone call that Stewart has issued a heartfelt apology and recognizes the severity of her actions. However, he says that her posts do not meet the criteria for a hate crime and therefore the investigation has been closed.
In response to her apology, Blake Egan writes in the petition that, "We want to make sure she is still held accountable. An apology is a first step but she needs to get help and proper training in racial ethics."
While a number of people have stated that she works in health care on Vancouver Island, Island Health say that, "With regard to the recent racist comments from an individual in our community: This person is NOT an Island Health employee. We condemn racism of any kind and expect our staff to uphold the C.A.R.E. values of our organization."
Stewart has temporarily removed or deleted her Facebook.
