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Bus Driver Suspended Over Anti-Semitic License Plate
A San Diego Unified School District bus driver, whose vanity license plates on his car have stirred quite the controversy, has been suspended and the California DMV has asked that he surrender the plates.
The plates read "NOT SEE," a thinly veiled spelling variation for "Nazi." But wait, there's more! For the driver who might miss the less-than-subtle connection at first glance, there's a swastika above the plate too.
By the time reporters at ABC 10News were able to track him down, Shawn Calpito had removed the plates from his car. He'd also removed them from his Facebook page.
"This is a guy who is promoting racial hatred," civil rights attorney Jim McElroy told 10News.
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As a San Diego Unified bus driver, Calpito works with dozens of kids each day. McElroy said the DMV regulates all vanity plates, but that this particular set was changed up enough to slip through the cracks.
While many San Diego parents are outraged at the discovery, some argue Calpito should be able to keep the plates because of his free speech rights.
There have been several complaints at the district's transportation facility about the car. The license plate was only recently added, but the swastika has been on Calpito's BMW for months.
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