Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri is praising the Peterborough Police Service for arresting a man accused of hurling homophobic slurs and burning a Pride flag — a move that drew the ire of some social media users who condemned her as a “fake” Conservative.
A 48-year-old man was arrested last week on two charges of criminal harassment after he was accused of stealing a Pride flag, burning it and — according to police — “screaming” anti-gay epithets.
The arrest demonstrates that “hate has no place in our community and our country and will not be tolerated,” Ferreri said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
Dozens of social media users responded to Ferreri’s praise of the arrest with a stream of homophobic slurs. Others said the man’s arrest was unjustified and that as a member of a party that supports free speech, Ferreri was out of line.
One social media user, Shawn Quenneville, told Ferreri in an online post that “they’re pedophiles” — an apparent reference to members of the LGBTQ community.
At least online where these people conflate being able to spew hate speech as free speech, the vast majority don’t even understand its only about protection from the government.
They think they’re able to say anything they want and be free of consequences from everyone else in society, but that’s not what it is, and then cry afoul when they face it.