If you deface it we will replace it.
Those are the words of Mayor George Harvie when I interviewed him Tuesday morning following the discovery of overnight vandalism to several Pride Month banners the city has hung along Ladner Trunk Road.
The banners, which fly high in the sky, were splattered with black paint – possibly the same black paint that was used to target the Pride flags at Ladner United Church, which the Optimist reported on last week.
If you have a sick sense of deja vu as I do in writing this column and you reading this column, you would be correct in that this is not the first time I have penned said column. I wrote a similar one this time last year when once again hate and bigotry was on full display in our community.
Mayor Harvie pointed out in our interview that those responsible for their heinous acts are a small minority and involve people who do not represent Delta. I hope he is right.
I love living and working in this community. I, like all of us, want to feel safe and welcomed in this community, but these incidents against Ladner United and the 2SLGBTQI+ community does not make anyone feel safe or welcomed.
It is so sad that these incidents, which Delta Police are investigating as hate crimes, continue to happen.
But there is some good news in all of this. The community has rallied around Ladner United with a resident putting up a Love Wins banner out front of the church last week. Students from Delta Secondary armed with boxes of chalk, filled the sidewalks and church steps with messages of love and support.
And that’s what we should be talking about – love, support and community – a community for all.
