Corey Fleischer has been removing hate graffiti for seven years, but when he got a call about something at Saint-Pierre Park in Pointe-des-Cascades, west of Montreal, he says what he found was shocking.
“There was an anchor painted extremely nicely by Pointe-des-Cascades in three colours, beige with a white circle in the back of a black painted swastika,” he said.
READ MORE: Outremont residents sketch hearts on parked cars to counteract swastikas
He said there is no excuse for having something he sees as hateful in a public place, so he decided to remove the paint on the engraved swastika.
But while he was doing it, someone tried to stop him.
“The mayor showed up,” he explained. “He warned me to leave.”
He said the mayor called the police and that he was charged with destruction of property.
READ MORE: Signs with swastikas carved in them removed from Saint-Lazare park
Some people, like Cathy Bonneville, say that the swastika actually predates the Nazis, and has different meanings.
Get breaking National news
“I’m a quilter,” she said.
“I’ve seen it before. It’s a quilting pattern also.”
READ MORE: Côte Saint-Luc swim team target of online hate messages
She says she doesn’t use it and knows other quilters who won’t either because people don’t like it.
“If you’ve lived through the war, for you that’s bad – bad memories will come back,” she explained.
Nevertheless, she believes schools should teach the full history of the symbol.
READ MORE: After two years, swastikas still on community mailboxes
For Fleischer, other meanings of the swastika don’t matter much anymore.
WATCH BELOW: Hate speech in Montreal
He says the slaughter of six million Jews by the Nazis makes it still too painful to show publicly.
“Whatever value or whatever sign it had before this atrocity that happened in the 30’s and 40’s, is now gone,” he insisted.
READ MORE: Kirkland man faces two charges for allegedly posting hate speech on social media
In a statement, the city said that section of the park is an outdoor museum focusing on the village’s history, and they will install new plaques to better explain where the anchors came from.
There is at least one other anchor with a painted, engraved swastika.
When Fleischer found out about it, he said he’d like to remove the paint, but his lawyer advised him to stay away for now.
READ MORE: Hate crimes spike in Montreal after Quebec City mosque shooting
He’s considering taking the matter to court, to have any anchor with a swastika removed from the park.
Comments