Even with threats and vandalism, political leaders and LGBTQ groups see growing support
Last week, a group of people in Westlock, Alberta, who were celebrating Pride Month by painting a rainbow crosswalk did so for the first time in the town’s history.
Even though some people were worried that protests would mess up the event, it went off without a hitch.
At the event, Mayor Ralph Leriger said, “I know this is a kind, loving, and caring community.” “I believed they would show up to help, and they did.”
The Thunder Alliance, a group that helps LGBTQ people at R.F. Staples Secondary School in the town 90 kilometers north of Edmonton, came up with the idea for the crosswalk project.
In May, all of the council members agreed that the crosswalk on 106th Street between the town hall and the Royal Canadian Legion should be painted. But on June 12, some angry people showed up to a council meeting to say they didn’t agree.
Protesters wanted to know if the town should use its power to help a group. One person wrote to the city council and said that the Pride crosswalk was like the Nazi flag and that it was just a way to push an agenda.
Heidi Mills, a school social worker and lead teacher with the Thunder Alliance, said at the crosswalk-painting event, “We did get a lot more pushback than we expected.”
“Even though we’ve gotten a lot of hate, look at this crowd,” she said, pointing to the more than 200 people there. “Right now, it’s giving me chills.”
In June, small towns all over Alberta, like Westlock, celebrated the LGBTQ community with crosswalk paintings, parade floats, and events in the open air, just like Westlock did.
Every year, more and more places celebrate Pride. But politicians, police, and LGBTQ groups are getting more and more worried about hateful backlash that comes from people speaking out.
Hate incidents on the ris
In June, there were more hate crimes reported to the Alberta RCMP than in previous years.
By the end of the month, 14 incidents involving LGBTQ people had been reported to the police. In June 2022, only five incidents were reported. Graffiti, the theft of a Pride flag, and tire burnouts on rainbow crosswalks were all things that people said they saw.
“This year, more sidewalks were built than ever before, which is great,” said Mike McCauley, who is in charge of the RCMP. “But it’s causing more damage and more acts of hate, which is sad.”
He said that vandalism had happened in Okotoks, which is south of Calgary, and Ponoka, which is north of Red Deer.
At the end of May, black tar was splattered on a rainbow that was painted on the front steps of Ponoka United Church. Every year since 2018, the steps had been painted, but this was the first time they had been damaged. They got a new coat of paint on June 1.
Chris Struik, a member of Ponoka’s Pride Society, said that the backlash has made LGBTQ people feel unsafe.
Struik said, “Those voices are getting louder to drown out ours.” “We need to show the community that we really care about it, not just a little bit, but loudly and clearly.”
The website stophateab.ca, which keeps track of hate crimes in the province, has also seen a rise this year in reports of hate against LGBTQ people.
“Pride has gotten more attention in previous years. Irfan Chaudhry, the group’s founder and researcher, said, “It’s still there this year, but I think this year we’ve also seen the most conflict.”
“I don’t think that we want to go backwards.”
- Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, says that Bud Light didn’t stand by her during the backlash.
- Boycotts, threats, and how far “corporate pride” can go
Politicians are finding it harder and harder to stop people from saying hateful things.
On June 26, speakers came to a city council meeting in Leduc, which is south of Edmonton. They were against a rainbow crosswalk and the city’s decision to put up a Pride flag.
Leduc had painted a crosswalk with the Progress Pride flag. This flag adds a brown and black triangle to the rainbow to show support for people of color. The colors light blue, light pink, and white show support for the transgender community.
People in the gallery cheered when a man spoke out against the flag at the council meeting.
Coun. Ryan Pollard told the person speaking to follow the rules and watch what he said. Then another person stood up and said that there were rumors that the flag had something to do with crime and sexual abuse.
A few minutes after she started talking, the meeting stopped being shown online.
Pollard said that a break was called to let everyone calm down, but when he left the room, he could still hear people screaming.
People kept ignoring requests to leave, which messed up the meeting. Pollard said that some people in the crowd started to threaten people who stand up for the LGBTQ community.
He said it was the first time that city staff and council worried about their safety and couldn’t stop the speakers.
‘Particularly hard year
Since the restrictions phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron has noticed that people are more likely to spread hateful messages.
She said that political differences in the US have made it easier for people to be against LGBTQ people.
“This has been a particularly hard year,” said Heron, who is also the president of Alberta Municipalities.
St. Albert has been painting a rainbow crosswalk every June for a few years now. This year, the city made a flag called “Progress Pride.” Heron said that it had to be painted more than once because tire marks had made it look bad.
“As mayors and community leaders of any kind, you have to stand up, say this is wrong, and help those who need help,” she said.
Heron has talked to people in other Alberta towns where rainbow crosswalks have been painted.
‘Loved and accepted
When Westlock’s Pride event happened, people from the group Outloud St. Albert went there to join in the fun.
One person came to protest. Most of the people there were there to paint and have fun.
“All of these kids, who are going through the same things I did, know from this crosswalk that they are loved and accepted,” said Shaylin Lussier, 17, a recent graduate of R.F. Staples school and member of the Thunder Alliance, which proposed the crosswalk.
“I would have liked to have that.”
In Ponoka, Pride organizers said that the positive feedback they got this year, like from now-MLA Jennifer Johnson, kept them going despite the vandalism and anti-LGBTQ comments.
During the provincial election campaign, a recording from September 2022 leaked that showed Johnson comparing transgender children in schools to putting feces in a batch of cookies.
Johnson ran for the United Conservative Party but is now sitting as an Independent.
During Pride Month this year, a teen wrote to the Ponoka Pride Society to say that the local events gave them the courage to tell their parents they were gay, said member Jessica Jones.
She said, “We do think that this Pride has been the best one we’ve seen in Ponoka’s history.”
