People in Minto, Ont., Support the local LGBTQ community after Pride’s decorations were cut and destroyed in acts of vandalism that police call hate crimes.
Between June 4 and 13, Pride flags at schools in Listwell, Harriston, Drayton and Mapleton were torn down, cut and slashed, Ontario Police (OPP) said.
During the same period, the streets of Palmerston and Harriston were twice deprived of almost all the decorations of Pride, Const. Joshua Cunningham told CBC News.
“The focus seems to be to eradicate all of them,” Cunningham said in Palmerston and Harriston.
Earlier this month, Minto Pride members wrapped strips of fabric around bright standards lining the streets of Palmerston, Harriston and Clifford, the communities that make up Minto, a city of about 9,000 people.
In an observation video posted on Twitter by the OPP, one can see one climbing a flagpole “and fighting, grabbing and tearing the flag,” Cunningham said. A photo released by police shows a rainbow flag torn at the sides and cut into six pieces.
A rainbow flag was torn from its mast and cut into six pieces, as shown in this photo by Wellington, Ontario Police. (Submitted by OPP)
“The aim did not seem to be to damage the flag, but to destroy the flag,” he said. “We treat it as a hate crime.
A message to the youth
Caitlin Hall, one of the founders of Minto Pride, said Pride flags have disappeared in recent years, but there has never been anything on that scale.
“It’s beyond petty acts of mischief to something a little more disturbing and offensive,” Hall said, adding that she was most concerned about what message was being sent to young people who had seen Pride flags taken off their schools. .
“I’m more worried about children or young people who may be thinking of going out or who have recently left and may be starting to feel it’s a safe place … to have this very visual reminder that ‘Okay, there’s still are people who have a problem with me and who I am. “
Hall has the feeling that parts of her community are still “far behind in terms of being a loving, accepting, open community that we are working hard to be Minto,” she said.
But the outpouring of support for Sunday’s Pride event has made Hall and Minto Mayor George Bridge feel optimistic that the Vandals are a minority in the community.
The community replaces the decorations
“We had over 300 people – for a small town – at our Pride picnic,” Bridge said. “In fact, we had a lot of people who came out to support the event because of the previous vandalism – they thought it didn’t reflect the true nature of what the city is, and I really believe that.”
“It was a great community show of love and acceptance,” Hall agreed.
Now some of these community members and companies are banding together to pay to replace the decorations, all of which were paid for by the Pride Committee.
Most want to remain anonymous, Hall said, and are not seeking recognition – instead donating money to replace the fabric of the rainbow, which has been torn off by lighting standards.
On Friday, they will install new strips of fabric on lighting standards in Palmerston and Harrison, in solidarity with Minto Pride.
“It’s the business and the community that really come together, not stand up for it,” said Ron McTaggart, owner of Foodland in Palmerston.
“As soon as that happened, we got the business to contact us [economic development staff] and say, “We’ll change things,” Bridge said.
“And this is an example of what this community really is.”
Foodland in Palmerston, Ont., Is one of several businesses that have teamed up with community members to replace the destroyed Pride decorations at Minto. (Submitted by Caitlin Hall)
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