Grandpa Didn't Mean License Plate To Be Antisemitic — But DMV Will Still Ban It

LOS ANGELES, CA — The state Department of Motor Vehicles is stripping a grandfather of his custom license plate after advocates complained the plate — LOLOCT7 — was intended to mock the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

That's despite the fact that the man says the plate refers to "Lolo," the Tagalog word for grandfather; "CT," a nod to the Tesla Cybertruck the plate is attached to; and "7," the number of grandchildren he has, KTLA reported, citing an interview with the man's son.

Tagalog is a major language spoken in the Philippines and one of the most common languages spoken in Los Angeles County besides English and Spanish, according to U.S. Census data.

The ordeal began last week, after the watchdog group StopAntisemitism posted a photo of the Cybertruck's license plate on X, saying it had been spotted at the intersection of Jefferson and Sepulveda boulevards in Culver City. The implication was that the plate was saying to "LOL" — or laugh out loud — at Oct. 7.

"StopAntisemitism is appalled by the sickening display on a Cyber Truck plate in California, celebrating terrorism against the Jewish people," the post reads. "Demand the (DMV) recall this license plate that celebrates the October 7th terrorist attack—a vile mockery of the 1,200 innocent lives lost and the countless others scarred."

The DMV announced hours later that it was "taking swift action to recall" the plate, which it called "unacceptable and disturbing."

After interviews with the plate owner's son revealed that the plate was meant to honor the man's status as a grandfather of Filipino heritage, the DMV said alternative interpretations of the plate matter in considering whether it's offensive or not.

"While the plate's owner has shared that "LOLO" means "grandfather" in Tagalog, and the configuration was intended to honor their Filipino heritage, we recognize that the same combination of letters and numbers has been interpreted by others as offensive, particularly within the Jewish community," a DMV spokesman said. "Given the DMV's commitment to ensuring that personalized license plates do not carry configurations that can be interpreted in a manner prohibited by our regulations, in line with established protocols, we will recall this specific plate configuration.

"We understand that language and symbols can hold different meanings across cultures and communities. What may be a term of endearment in one context can be perceived differently in another."

The DMV is "reviewing and strengthening its internal processes for evaluating personalized license plate applications" in response to the plate, the spokesman said.

The son of the truck's owner said the explanation for the meaning of the plate was included in the application, as is required.

"We have great empathy for anyone that's experienced that hatred," the man said. "We'd really appreciate in turn for anyone that's seeing this or hearing this to have empathy towards our family because we have no ill intent."

City News Service contributed to this report.