Tennessee Protester's 'Sacrifice the Weak' Sign Condemned Online

A sign held by an anti-lockdown protester in Tennessee has gone viral on Twitter for its blunt message: "sacrifice the weak, re-open TN." The sign was spotted at one of several rallies all over the U.S. in the last week, where Americans called for public spaces to be re-opened in spite of the coronavirus pandemic. Even for some who agree, this sign took it a step too far.

The sign was held by a person wearing sunglasses and a face mask, obscuring their identity. Its message was so shocking that many on Twitter wondered if it could even be real, with some suggesting that it was a parody or an attempt at trolling. Others argued that this was the very real mentality of those protesting this weekend, even if it was more extreme than most.

"Sacrifice the Weak" – imagine not just thinking of this but actually writing it out AND taking it out on the street in Nashville, Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/dLPutBoJzG

— Conor Blennerhassett (@ConorBlenner) April 22, 2020

The idea that the sign was "faked" or "planted" in some way was not entirely without merit. According to a report by The Washington Post, some of the protests could be traced back to far-right political activist groups, and were organized for the purpose of political agitation. Meanwhile, according to a tweet by journalist Steve Krakauer, there were more media requests for coverage of Maryland's protests than there were protesters, suggesting that the size of some protests may have been over-stated by the news. Still, the sign in Tennessee was enough to grab lots of attention all over the nation, and most of it negative. Here is what Twitter is saying about the "sacrifice the weak" sign at a Tennessee protest.