Ongoing Vandalism at VE Halifax

(TW for transphobia and neo-nazi references)

At the beginning of February our storefront was vandalized with transphobic graffiti scrawled in sharpie. Glitter Bean, also a queer run business, received the same message outside their cafe - and we loved their response.

In mid-February we were targeted again, as was Glitter Bean. We did not post about it, hoping that lack of attention would discourage further incidents.

Last Monday morning, before business hours, we received multiple concerned messages giving us a heads-up that our storefront window was spray-painted with a vile statement of defamation.

Before we dig into this, we want first to express our deep gratitude for all the love, support, and care we have received over the past month. We have so much love for our communities; it is overwhelming in the most joyous way to feel that reciprocated. It has been comforting to know that there are friendly eyes on our shop, and that people have our back. Thank you, we appreciate it SO much. 

Now, we are going to talk about the specific vandalism and hateful actions we have experienced, and share a photo of our storefront from last Monday. The first instance of graffiti stated "this business supports child grooming"; the second stated “this business supports child grooming/destroy pedo freaks". Both times this was done with a permanent marker on painted parts of our storefront, and we were able to paint over it quite quickly.

The most recent incident happened Monday morning when we found "pedo filth" spray-painted in large letters across one front window, and a handwritten letter in our doorway. The letter contained explicit nazi symbols, referenced book burning - we are a bookstore - and the "extermination" of queer people.

We recognize that the graffiti and letter are cries for attention, and an attempt at intimidation. While we do not want to feed into that, we do believe it is important to let our community know that this happened. We are asking you all to bear witness, sit with us in anger, and take action. There are unfortunately people out there who are far too comfortable expressing transphobic and white supremacist ideologies, and we want to talk about how their "groomer/pedophile" language is being weaponized against trans people.

This homophobic and transphobic talking point is wildly inaccurate, but has a long and harmful history rooted in moral panics and misinformation. False claims of abuse and grooming have been used to justify discrimination, censorship, and violence against 2SLGBTQIA+ communities at various points in history including nazi Germany, the Lavender Scare in the US, the LGBT Purge in Canada, "Save Our Children" campaigns, and modern attacks on inclusive school curriculums. Primarily recognized as a far-right conspiracy theory, groomer/pedophile language has resurfaced in mainstream conservative discourse, targeting trans and gender-nonconforming people and drag performers in particular. In its current iteration it falsely equates 2SLGBTQIA+ visibility, inclusion in schools, and simply existing in public life, with "grooming" children. 

So, is there really a 2SLGBTQIA+ agenda then? Sure. It is the dream of a world in which kids are safe and free to explore who they are, who they want to be, their interests, their self-expression, and to be regarded as people with bodily autonomy, not property. The need for inclusive school environments and education is so that all children may see themselves and their experiences reflected and not fear those who are different. Comprehensive and age-appropriate sex education teaches kids and teens about their bodies, social and physical changes that come with growing up, gender identity, healthy relationships, consent, and safer sex. Access to this information gives kids the knowledge to identify appropriate versus inappropriate interactions with others, including adults. Ignorance, misinformation, and lack of information are factors that can actually make children and teenagers vulnerable to very real harm whether that is from others or to themselves. For more on this, please read this statement from YWCA Halifax.

In hopeful recent news, a Thunder Bay drag performer and a local 2SLGBTQIA+ community group won a defamation case against a blogger who accused them of being "groomers". This case sets a precedent around the understanding that accusations of grooming and pedophilia toward the 2SLGBTQIA+ community are defamatory hate speech. While this will not be the last case of its kind, it is an important reminder to hold onto hope for better worlds. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. We know how scary and exhausting it is to have access to information constantly telling us about the terrible, racist, transphobic, and hateful things happening in the world, let alone here in our small city. We want to remind folks of some tangible, positive ways to take action in your community:

• • Celebrate and applaud organizations, businesses, and institutions that champion and uplift 2SLGBTQIA+ people and voices. Tell your local librarian you appreciate their pride book display, thank your health clinic for displaying a rainbow welcome sticker. On that note, we are still giving out stickers to public-facing shops and services, please come pick one up!

• • Write to those in power, your elected officials at all levels. Whether it is about the need for safe and inclusive schools, adequate interventions on the increase in hate symbols in the province (recently flagged by Lunenburg Pride), or anything else you are concerned about you can make your voice heard. 

  • Venus Envy has a pay-it-forward gender-affirming gear program funded by community generosity, please donate if you can. Gender-affirming gear is not financially accessible to everyone, and our pay-it-forward fund is used to cover costs for those who need it, no questions asked. E-transfer: payitforward@venusenvy.ca

• • Speak out against hateful speech/behaviours. Although conversations with friends, family members, colleagues, schoolmates, and strangers can be daunting, we must try. Not only is this important to help provide a safer space for everyone, but it can be a meaningful opportunity for learning.

As an education-based space, we operate with the understanding that life is a process of learning and unlearning and relearning. We know making mistakes is a part of life's journey, that not everyone has been given the opportunities or resources to adequate information, and that people are capable of change. That being said, we do not take lightly nor tolerate hateful, violent, white supremacist, nazi sentiments and behaviours. We will continue to work towards liberated futures, to speak out against injustices, to support our 2SLGBTQIA+ community, to advocate for trans rights, and to fight for a world where trans people of all ages can exist simply as ourselves. 

With love and rage,
VE