Calgary man speaking out after homophobic and transphobic encounter – Calgary | Globalnews.ca
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A Calgary man is speaking out after being a victim of a homophobic and transphobic hate incident on Tuesday afternoon.
Ryan Massel, also known as Mr. Fabulous on social media, tweeted earlier in the day that he was admiring the Pride crosswalk while on a walk near Central Memorial Park when he was verbally abused by a man.
In a video posted on Twitter, the man called Massel a “f—-t” and yelled out transphobic slurs before walking away.
Global News has not yet been able to verify the identity of this person in the video.
“I felt really sad. I felt sad for everybody else that experiences this on a daily basis,” Massel told Global News.
“What made me feel unsafe was when the script was turned back on me and he said I was being aggressive when I was just minding my own business.
“I decided it was important to share this with as many people as possible so they can see this is still happening. We are not asking much as LGBTQ+ people other than to live our lives and love who we want to love.”
Massel said he is pressing charges and will pursue the incident under the Criminal Code of Canada. He said he shared the incident on social media so LGBTQ+ people will see they are not alone.
“In the moment I didn’t realize it was awful … I was floating above my body for a million miles when it happened,” he said.
“When I rewatched the video, I realized how hateful and hurtful and how scary the situation is and how scary it is when people attack you for no reason.”
“Am I safe here? Am I safe in this city? Am I safe in the world? The answer is no. Our community is not safe in this world. We don’t have equality, we don’t have the same rights as other people and we live in fear.”
Massel added the incident highlights why Calgary needs Pride parades, events and protests.
“We’re ramping up for Pride, and we will be attacked now more than ever. We are attacked throughout the year, and we will be attacked five times harder during Pride. It’s a reminder to our community to continue to celebrate, continue to come together, support each other and share who we are and love,” he said.
Global News has reached out to the Calgary Police Service with a request for comment but did not receive one in time for publication. A statement will be added when one is received.
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