We proudly fly the rainbow flag at our Toronto home to show our support for queer rights but we were targeted three times. The message was loud and clear, so we put up more flags in more places.
homophobic attacks
Bashing the rainbow flag
Queer bashing is on the rise in Toronto. Unfortunately, I've seen the evidence first hand.
This fall, the rainbow flags my partner and I display on our home and car were systematically torn down, ripped up or stolen. Initially, I felt irritated and annoyed, brushing off the incident as the likely handiwork of some queerphobic kids. After the second incident I began to feel watched and targeted. The message of queerphobia and hate was loud and clear.
After the third incident -- I'm angry.
Race matters: In anti-gay protests, gay bashings, and suicides
People of colour have been missing from the conversation about attacks on the LGBTQ community. A conversation on CBC's The National was a case in point. It promoted the view that to be LGBTQ meant to be white.
Canadian news media have provided heart-wrenching accounts of the string of suicides and homophobia-fuelled violence that has occurred recently in the United States. The coverage has made clear the deep-seated hatred and violence that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people (LGBTQ) are subjected to on a daily basis, just for being who they are.