For the second time in under a week, the Calgary Pride flag crosswalk on Stephen Avenue was vandalized.
It was defaced with a violent message: “Shoot A F*****.”
“Seeing it, especially when it’s a really violent message was really hard to see and really frustrating is the best word I can use to describe it,” said Nolan Hill, who spotted the message early Sunday morning.
Last Wednesday, messages that read “Lost” and “Lust” were spray-painted on both crosswalks, with Zoom Painting later having to re-paint the flags.
Again, Zoom Painting was called into action to paint over Sunday’s hateful message.
Though the words were erased, it continues to leave Calgarians perplexed as to where the hate is coming from.
“Hate really has no place in the world and especially for where it was painted,” Nolan Russell said. “It’s 2019 and I think we can all get along at this point and settle our differences.”
As pedestrians made their way down Stephen Avenue on Sunday afternoon, a group of people were looking to spread a different type of message.
They wrote words of support for the LGBTQ community that read “You are loved” and “You are perfect” among others.
“We are just really frustrated and angry that we’re living in a place where our lives are threatened on a daily basis for being who we are,” Sam X Bruce said.
“We are here and so are other people in town who are supportive and are part of the community and can help facilitate the love and the community connection and all the things we really need.”
The Calgary Police Hate Crimes Unit is now investigating both cases of vandalism.
Anyone with information on the vandalized crosswalks is asked to call police at 403-422-1234 or contact Crime Stoppers.
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