Calgary City Hall’s Pride flag cut down in act of vandalism

At the start of the Sochi Olympics, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi decided to raise a Pride flag at city hall because he’s not a giant asshole. (Hint hint, Ford.) It was a clear display of solidarity with Russia’s LGBT community, so of course someone shit all over it.

According to the Calgary Sun, the Pride flag flown at Calgary City Hall was cut down in an act of vandalism sometime on the afternoon of Friday, Feb 21. Somewhere in his office, Rob Ford drummed his fingers, muttering to himself, “Excellent. Excellent . . . ”

Nenshi has since addressed the vandalism, calling it “completely distasteful and inappropriate.” He said that the vandalism only validated his raising the flag: “A hateful act like this reinforces why it was important to raise the Pride flag in the first place.”

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the Pride flag to be restored to its rightful place. Regan Ogilvie, a spokeswoman for Councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart, tweeted an image of the repaired flag along with the caption, “Good news! That didn’t last long. City’s quick response, new flag going up this moment! #yycpride #yyc.”

First of all, is it in any way possible for us to trade mayors with Calgary? No? Okay then. Second, seriously? Is it so important for someone to not see a Pride flag that they’d cut down a message to Russia’s LGBT community? What a bunch of dickbags.

Keep Reading

Trans issues didn’t doom the Democrats

OPINION: The Republicans won ending on a giant anti-trans note, but Democrats ultimately failed to communicate on class

Xtra Explains: Trans girls and sports

Debunking some of the biggest myths around trans girls and fairness in sports

How ‘mature minor’ laws let trans kids make their own decisions

Canadian law lets some youth make medical or legal decisions for themselves, but how does it work?

To combat transphobia, we need to engage with the people who spread it

OPINION: opening up a dialogue with those we disagree with is key if we want to achieve widespread social change