Out gay mayor of Massachussetts town gets note: ‘You’re going down’
The out gay mayor of a town in Massachusetts has received a note saying his gay “lifestyle” makes him “selfish”.
The mayor of Holyoke Massachusetts, Alex Morse, has received plenty of messages, notes and tweets criticising him, but a note he received this week went further than those.
It reads: “Alex, you are one of the most selfish people I know due to your ‘gay’ lifestyle… You are going down.”
He told the Boston Globe that he felt that the tone of the note was “threatening”.
The out gay mayor, who was elected the mayor of Holyoke when he was just 22, added that he wanted to use the opportunity to show an uptick in these sorts of incidents since Donald trump won the US Presidential race last week.
He said: “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 behaviour.
“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.”
Going on, he said he felt people of colour felt let down by the result, and that they would be even less protected by their government.
“That’s a pretty disappointing feeling,” he added. “It’s more important than ever before to speak out and come together.”
Morse has said he will file a criminal report about the note.
