A Calgary man is speaking out after being a victim of a homophobic and transphobic hate incident on Tuesday afternoon.
Ryan Massel, also known as Mr. Fabulous on social media, tweeted earlier in the day that he was admiring the Pride sidewalk while on a walk near Central Memorial Park when he was verbally abused by a man.
In a video posted on Twitter, the man called Massel a “f—-t” and yelled out transphobic slurs before walking away.
The Calgary Police Service has confirmed to Global News officers have identified the man in the video. However, Global News has not not yet been able to verify the identity of this person in the video.
“I felt really sad. I felt sad for everybody else that experiences this on a daily basis,” Massel told Global News.
“What made me feel unsafe was when the script was turned back on me and he said I was being aggressive when I was just minding my own business.
“I decided it was important to share this with as many people as possible so they can see this is still happening. We are not asking much as LGBTQ+ people other than to live our lives and love who we want to love.”
Massel said he is pressing charges and will pursue the incident under the Criminal Code of Canada. He said he shared the incident on social media so LGBTQ+ people will see they are not alone.
“In the moment I didn’t realize it was awful … I was floating above my body for a million miles when it happened,” he said.
“When I rewatched the video, I realized how hateful and hurtful and how scary the situation is and how scary it is when people attack you for no reason.”
“Am I safe here? Am I safe in this city? Am I safe in the world? The answer is no. Our community is not safe in this world. We don’t have equality, we don’t have the same rights as other people and we live in fear.”
Massel added the incident highlights why Calgary needs Pride parades, events and protests.
“We’re ramping up for Pride, and we will be attacked now more than ever. We are attacked throughout the year, and we will be attacked five times harder during Pride. It’s a reminder to our community to continue to celebrate, continue to come together, support each other and share who we are and love,” he said.
Anna Kinderwater, communications manager for Calgary Pride, said the organization is heartbroken and disturbed by the incident.
She said Calgary’s LGBTQ+ community members have reported an uptick in homophobic and transphobic comments directed specifically at them.
“We’re devastated to hear this news every time it comes to us. That is something that is very intimate to each member of the LGBTQ+ community,” Kinderwater told Global News.
“This is something that’s now integrated into the daily lives of queer folks where they are scared to go out, and be out and loud and proud … We want to really make sure that people feel supported and allies are showing up to support Pride this year, because we would be nothing without the support of loved ones.”
Kinderwater added Calgary Pride is working with the Calgary Police Service (CPS) to figure out ways to make LGBTQ+ people more comfortable to report their experiences. Historically, LGBTQ+ people have been hesitant to report hate crimes to police officers due to past experiences of police brutality or fears they wouldn’t be taken seriously.
“I can’t speak for everyone, but we’re working with the Calgary Police Service to figure out how we can reach members of the community and what makes them feel safe to come forward to report these incidents because they themselves have told us that there has not been as much reporting when hate crimes are experienced,” Kinderwater said.
A city spokesperson confirmed a peace officer spoke with Massel and bystanders, and issued a ticket under the Public Behaviour Bylaw after identifying the man making the harassing comments.
The CPS said it is currently investigating the incident.
According to a CPS spokesperson, police have reviewed 156 files for hate motivation between Jan. 1 and mid-July. The spokesperson also said there is a notable shift in the motivation from race to sexual orientation or gender.
Matt Messenger, hate crime coordinator for the CPS, said he reached out to Massel an hour after the tweet was posted.
The investigation is still in the early stages, he said.
“I think victim outreach and letting them know we’re here and care what they’re going through. I think it’s vital in the work we do and hate crimes,” Messenger told Global News.
“We try to contact every victim that files an incident with us within 72 hours. Sometimes people report weeks later, and we can’t help that and we will always follow up with them anyways. Buts things like this where it’s immediate and we know about it quickly, we’ll do our best to reach out right away.”
Messenger said any hate-motivated incident may land a person a street harassment bylaw ticket or criminal charges after a criminal investigation, if the incident meets a certain threshold
A hate-motivated incident is when a person displays their hate or bias towards a person or identifiable group but the act does not meet the threshold of a criminal offence, he said. A hate-motivated crime is a recognizable crime (assault, theft, etc.) where the offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate that is based on the personal characteristics of the victim.
“At this point in time, I’m uncertain in which way it’s going to go,” Messenger said.
“Everyone has a right to be safe in Calgary, in Canada and everywhere they live. It’s important that they report hate incidents so we can help them and prevent them from happening.
“We can get the resources in place — whether it’s a victim assistance unit or it’s members of that community that we have relationships with — that they can reach out and follow up with and help them process (the incident).”
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