Say No to Homophobia, Transphobia and Fascism at UBC

Say No to Homophobia, Transphobia and Fascism at UBC
Joint statement of the BC Federation of Labour, Fraser Valley Labour Council, New Westminster and District Labour Council, and Vancouver and District Labour CouncilStand in solidarity with UBC Pride, Friday September 6, 4:30PM.

This Friday, September 6, students, faculty, staff and community members at the University of British Columbia will celebrate UBC Pride.

Unfortunately, we have heard from our friends in the community that “alt-right” groups intend to disrupt the event with their message of hate, and possibly with attempts to provoke or initiate violence as they have attempted to do in other cities such as Hamilton and Toronto.

The labour movement stands in solidarity with UBC Pride and the LGBTQ2+ community, and we oppose all forms of bigotry and discrimination, including homophobia and transphobia. We reject hate in our communities and consider it unacceptable that attendees a peaceful community event such as UBC Pride could potentially face harassment and violence.

This is part of a broader strategy of the far-right, which aims to drive LGBTQ2+ people back into the closet and women “back in their place”, intimidating all progressive groups and communities from organizing and fighting back against the broader right-wing agenda. These bullying tactics are also used as recruitment tools through broadcasting the activities on social media platforms.

The Labour Movement is part of a broad array of organizations and individuals working to counter this by calling on friends and allies to show up in massive numbers to counter the message of hate with one of love, inclusion, and solidarity.

Come and join us as allies and supporters at UBC Fairview Commons at 4:30pm on Friday to stand together firmly but peacefully against this heinous assault on the LGBTQ2+ community at UBC. Together we can show that love and solidarity are stronger than hate and division.