“I know that the good always always outweighs the bad,” wrote openly gay Mayor Alex Morse of Holyoke, Massachusetts, on his Facebook page after receiving a homophobic and threatening message earlier this week. And yet, there’s a pretty clear line between constructive criticism and hate speech.
“Alex, you are one of the most selfish people that I know due to your ‘gay’ lifestyle,” began the anonymous note, which was delivered to his home. “You are going down.”
No stranger to criticism both negative and positive—it comes with his job—Morse decided to post this note on Facebook on Friday, November 18, “to make the message public to bring awareness to what he sees as the challenges ahead, as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to enter the White House, reported The Boston Globe, which picked up the story the same day.
“It’s a more threatening message than usual, and given the context of the culture that seems to have been elevated since the Trump election, I thought it was important to shine a light on this language and behavior,” Morse told the Globe. “It’s different than writing a note that says, ‘I don’t support gay marriage,’ or ‘I don’t support rights for someone.’ But to demean someone’s humanity based on their sexuality takes it to another level.”
Says the Globe:
The note, which makes no direct mention of a Trump presidency, came a few days before the incoming Republican president selected Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama for the job of attorney general.
Sessions faced turmoil in 1986 when he was nominated as a federal judge. He was accused of making racist comments while serving as US attorney in Alabama, according to the Associated Press.
Morse, who was born and raised in Holyoke, is concerned about Sessions’ potential role in a under Trump administration. On Facebook, beneath the picture of the note that was sent to his house, Morse wrote that Sessions will do “nothing to protect LGBTQ Americans and people of color.”
Morse said people seem to have been emboldened by a Trump victory, and the United States could be entering an era that will leave many, including minorities and people of color, feeling that their government won’t protect them.
“That’s a pretty disappointing feeling,” he said. “It’s more important than ever before to speak out and come together.”
Morse plans to talk with the city’s police chief about the note, to document the incident in the event it becomes a recurring theme, he said.
Since he received the message, Morse said, there has been an outpouring of support from his constituency. People have called and left messages at his office and expressed concern, he said. More than 400 people have left comments on Facebook, calling the note “sick” and “disgusting.”
“Like any community, be it in Holyoke, Mass., or anywhere else across the country, there are going to be people who are small-minded and bigoted,” he said.
We just hope that more public officials like Morse—or, hey, how about some of the newly elected ones, especially at the national level—step up, show some real leadership, and decry this hateful speech and actions—and apparently top-level appointments—for what they are.
