Airdrie Pride Rainbow Pathway vandalized for the fourth time

The Airdrie Pride Society’s Rainbow Pathway at Nose Creek Regional Park was vandalized and defaced yet again, prompting an investigation from the Alberta RCMP.

This comes just two weeks after a banner hanging outside a Calgary church that represented the LGBTQ2S+ community was defaced and damaged.

The rainbow pathway was vandalized with the message: “There is only two genders. Get over it.”

Airdrie Pride President, Kiersten Mohr, says the messages are very concerning and affects the community.

“This is the fourth time we have dealt with vandalism and have to redo it or manage a situation. So we certainly do see more. I think to keep a positive tone on it, we also see in conjunction with that is the community standing up against it,” said Mohr.

“There’s exponentially more support that is coming out and people are just standing up and saying, ‘it’s kind of independent of the group or community. We don’t want to see hate in our community.’ And that’s what people are really standing up against.”

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Mohr says messages like those contribute to hate speech rhetoric towards marginalized and underrepresented communities such as the LGBTQ2S+.

“I worry about those that are out there absorbing it out there on their own. Whether this is one person, three people, or five, it doesn’t matter. It’s still a hard message to see so visible and throughout social media. We get really concerned about an organization and how it’s impacting our community,” said Mohr.

MacEwan University professor and leading national researcher on gender and youth, Dr. Kristopher Wells, says this recent incident is disheartening and unfortunately is happening more often.

“Fortunately there is a connection that suggests the more visible you are the more you’re going to be victimized,” said Wells.

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Wells says it’s concerning seeing some anti-LGBTQ2S+ redirects taking place around the world.

He also adds while there is growing support for the LGBTQ2S+ community, there has also been a rise in anti-gay rhetoric.

“From the United States and the U.K. and how it’s seeping into our experiences here in Canada,” said Wells.

Florida’s governor recently signed a bill into law, dubbed by opponents as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Kindergarten through Grade 3.

This policy has drawn intense scrutiny from critics in the U.S. who argue it marginalizes LGBTQ2S+ people.

“Unfortunately we know in Canada that hate crimes continue to be on the rise and that includes targeting the LGBTQ2S+ community and is a symptom of a larger problem,” said Wells.

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Wells says significant progress has been and continues to be made, adding that you can measure your success by the resistance you receive.