{"id":7597,"date":"2017-06-25T09:52:46","date_gmt":"2017-06-25T04:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pahichan.com\/?p=7597"},"modified":"2017-06-25T09:52:46","modified_gmt":"2017-06-25T04:07:46","slug":"these-heroes-stayed-up-all-night-to-make-sure-nobody-vandalized-their-citys-pride-crosswalks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/these-heroes-stayed-up-all-night-to-make-sure-nobody-vandalized-their-citys-pride-crosswalks\/","title":{"rendered":"These Heroes Stayed Up All Night To Make Sure Nobody Vandalized Their City’s Pride Crosswalks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kathmandu (Pahichan) June 25 – After two Pride crosswalks were repeatedly vandalized<\/a> in Lethbridge, Alberta, these heroes took it upon themselves to stand guard the night before the city’s Pride parade to make sure nobody fucked with them again.<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Calgary-based blogger Mike Morrison was in Lethbridge the night before Pride when he saw these four champs sitting on the sidewalk in lawn chairs.<\/p>\n

“In my head, I thought they’re either there for a really good reason or a really bad reason,” Morrison told BuzzFeed Canada.<\/p>\n

“I went over and asked what they were doing. They said, ‘Oh, these were vandalized this week so we’re just going to spend the night watching it.’ They said they just wanted to make sure everyone had a great Pride, and then I just started bawling.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0Just weeks earlier, the crosswalks painted in the colours of the pride and trans flags were intentionally damaged with skid marks.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Facebook: LethbridgePrideFest<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0After that, someone threw black paint across the rainbow crosswalk.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Police initially<\/a> believed it to be a mixture of tar and manure, but it was later determined to be paint.<\/p>\n

Organizers of Lethbridge Pride Fest called the acts of vandalism “a direct attack on the LGBTQ+ community and specifically the Transgender community.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0According to Lethbridge News Now<\/a>, most of the crosswalk guardians are athletes from the University of Lethbridge.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Shot putter Peter Millman told the news outlet<\/a> they felt a sense of obligation to guard the crosswalks from any further damage the night before the Pride parade.<\/p>\n

“If us sitting out here overnight is a bit of a deterrent, then it’s the least we can do, I guess,” he said. “Hopefully everybody will have a really happy Pride today.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Morrison, who tweeted his appreciation for the athletes, said the whole thing was very emotional for him. “I’m so happy I saw it,” he said.<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\u00a0So amazing. After the @<\/span>LethPrideFest<\/span><\/a> sidewalks were vandalized, this group is spending the night making sure no one does it again!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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Morrison added that LGBT rights are still not universally celebrated in some parts of Alberta, and it’s always positive to see people, including allies, standing up for the queer community.<\/p>\n

“It’s about supporting your neighbours and supporting your peers,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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CORRECTION<\/span><\/div>\n