Truck covered with racial slurs pulls into auto body shop, workers jump into action

Auto body shops are typically busy, noisy places. Such was the case at Collision Masters in Buffalo NY, last week, when all of a sudden, the place went quiet. The business owner, Frank Todaro later said, "You could hear crickets." The abrupt silence was because a pickup had just pulled in, covered in racist hate graffiti. Air tools stopped, no one spoke. The staff was horrified by what they saw. The pickup's owner, Mr. King, obviously wanted the graffiti removed, and Todaro quickly put two workers on the job. Cleaning that much graffiti would likely take a full day.


That's when the rest of Collision Masters' staff chipped in. They all stopped their own work in order to help with the pickup. Inside of 30 minutes, the job was done. Mr. King had his pickup back, cleaned of hateful graffiti at no charge to him courtesy of Todaro and Collision Masters.

Word spread of the conscientious workers at Collision Masters. Because of their kindness, State Rep. Tim Kennedy bought the shop staff lunch, and Mayor Byron Brown stopped by with an official proclamation hailing their good deed. A social media report of the quick, free graffiti removal got thousands of 'likes,' 'loves,' and 'shares' on Facebook.

He risked his life to chase down the perpetrator of a hate crime

Olathe Kansas resident Ian Grillot was at a local bar last month, watching a basketball game. A man entered the bar and made disparaging remarks to two other patrons, whom he assumed to be of Middle Eastern descent. He was heard to yell, "Get out of my country!" and was promptly ejected from the bar. He returned, gun in hand, and shots were fired.

On instinct, Grillot ducked beneath a table but kept his presence of mind. He counted 9 shots, and assumed the shooter's magazine was then empty. So he stood and gave chase, intent on catching the gunman before he could harm someone else.

Turns out there was another bullet left. It pierced Grillot's hand and lodged in his chest, narrowly missing major arteries and his spinal cord. He was hospitalized for weeks. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with medical expenses.

It turns out the two men shot in the bar were of Indian descent, both aviation engineers employed locally for years by Garmin. One of the men died of his injuries, the other was critically injured.


A few days ago, Grillot's decision to act was honored by the Indian-American community in Houston. He was presented with a check for $100,000 in recognition of  his "selfless act beyond the call of duty."

Grillot insists he just did what anyone else would have done. He couldn't live with himself if he didn't try to stop the shooter from continuing his rampage elsewhere. And the man who was critically injured? He's doing well, and looking forward to the future with his pregnant wife.

The shooter has been arrested and charged with first degree murder and two counts of attempted first degree murder.

Tattoo artist covers hate tattoos for free

Dave Cutlip owns and operates Southside Tattoo near Baltimore. He was approached by a man who had 'grown up' and no longer wanted his racist tattoos. Because the series of tattoos were so prominent across his face, Dave was unable to cover them. He referred him to someone who could remove them with laser, an expensive procedure, but he felt bad about not being able to help.

When he told his wife the story, they came up with an idea - the shop would cover up racist, gang-related, or hate tattoos for free. They posted the offer on the tattoo parlor's Facebook page and the requests poured in. Many folks had gotten hate tattoos when they were 'young and stupid,' in order to fit in with a particular group. As adults, they found themselves branded socially and in the workplace. Dave's offer gives them a chance at a fresh start.

On a recent day, a man in his 20's showed Dave his tattoo: a Confederate flag with a noose below and the words 'Southern Pride' scrolled above. With no questions asked and free of charge, Dave covered the image with an eagle.

The idea is not new - the Southern Poverty Law Center has funded tattoo removal in the past. But Southside's offer went viral, and Dave is encouraging other parlors to join in. A GoFundMe site has been set up to offset the costs involved.

Dave and Elizabeth only ask one thing of their customers - pay it forward. They want to cover hate with kindness and love.