Pride rainbow vandalised with vile ‘filthy perverts’ and ‘burn in hell’ graffiti
The wall was only finished last week (Penzance Town Community Action/Facebook)
A Pride rainbow has been vandalised with homophobic messages including “scum” and “burn in hell.”
The beautiful painting, which combined the Pride symbol with Cornwall’s flag, was completed just a week ago by local youngsters who fundraised £20 to get enough money for paint.
This is the second such incident to take place in Cornwall in the space of a few weeks, after someone used human faeces to write: “F***ing Queers” on a rainbow park bench in Newquay Town.
The vandalised Pride bench at Killacourt, Newquay (Cornwall Pride)
The graffiti on the rainbow wall in Penzance calls queer people “disgusting,” “fag scum,” and “filthy perverts,” adding that they should “burn in hell.”
A spokesperson for Penzance Pride, the group which created the mural, told PinkNews that the team was “absolutely disgusted.
“Even in this day and age there are still such homophobic people that would write over something we spend hours upon hours planning and creating.
The finished product, with its creators (Pride to Penzance/facebook)
“The wall was a symbol of pride for the local LGBTQ+ community which is often met with this sort of horrific language; it was there to bring awareness and teach people more about it before they discriminate so quick.
“We have had many people express their positivity towards the wall before this happened and to see the graffiti has just ruined it for all,” the spokesperson continued.
“As a result of this event, many people have expressed their anger and disappointment towards those who did this.
The group holding a bake sale to help pay for the paints (Pride to Penzance/facebook)
“We are humbled by the many people who have reached out to us to offer their aid and we greatly appreciate it,” they added.
The vandalism was brought to light by Penzance Town Community Action, a Facebook group run by Thomas Galea, who also said he was “absolutely disgusted” to see the graffiti.
“Please remember that there is a strong neighbourhood watch overlooking the park and has many active CCTV this is a hate crime which will be sent to police to be investigated,” he warned.
A local resident, Marianne Morgans, wrote on the post: “My daughter and the others in her group worked really hard on that.”
Another view of the abuse (Penzance Town Community Action/Facebook)
She said the painters had already suffered for their activism, writing that they came home “daily stinking of human piss because people thought it would be funny to urinate on it at night knowing they’d be back the next day.”
The group announced that the painting was finished last Friday (August 24), writing: “Walls finally complete! Took longer than expected but it’s now fully painted.
“Thanks for all the donations and positive feedback. To show your support head down to the wall for a photo with the hashtag #poseforpride.”
Perhaps local authorities in Penzance can copy Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who made rainbow crossings in the city permanent after they were vandalised twice in a week.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo (LUCAS BARIOULET/AFP/Getty)
Last month, anti-gay graffiti was left near the site where a 16-year-old girl was stabbed to death during a Pride parade.
16-year-old Shira Banki was killed at Jerusalem Pride in July 2015, when ultra-Orthodox Jewish man Yishai Schlissel went on a stabbing spree.
The Hebrew message quoted the condemnation of homosexuality in the Torah, saying: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: It is abomination.”
And earlier this month, police in Toronto launched an investigation after a swastika was found painted onto a rainbow walkway in the Gay Village neighbourhood.
