Dear Editor:
RE: Local company receives threats, harassment over planned drag show, Jan. 19.
I’m surprised that Marty Van Vliet assumed that the “hateful” posts were from far right Christians and conservatives when the posts are opposite of the Christian message.
Why does he blame local people if the messages are from the States? Are the members of the LGBT community who identify as Christian and conservative also included in this accusation?
He puts down the people of Canada for (as he puts it) having a “strong religious right.” Canada and Elora were founded on Christian principles and there are many people who would call this hurtful and unwarranted.
I know people who identify as gay who are opposed to drag shows, LGBT advertising, pride parades, etc. They just want to live their lives without all the attention.
Van Vliet seems to commit to protecting children by stressing that the drag shows are not sexual and that no children have attended past shows. Perhaps future shows can be age of majority only, in order to continue protecting children.
Finally, disagreement in beliefs does not equal hate. It’s important to be aware of one’s anger in reaction to these posts because anger can turn into hate and then one commits the same crime that others are called out for.
Carol O’Neil,
Fergus
*Editor’s note: Not all the messages received by the business were from the U.S. Most were from Canada, including the local area (one caller was from the Mount Forest area). The article mentions only far-right Christians and conservatives.