Inner city tweeter finds poster alleging two men are purposely spreading HIV
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CALGARY – An inner city resident who lives in an area notorious for crime keeps a public online journal documenting everything he sees.
“I just throw it on my twitter account – videos of people doing things on the street, fights, drunk people, police things – I put it up there.”
Because of what he witnesses, he chooses not to identify himself, but his latest discovery was particularly disturbing him, prompting him to go to the police.
On his way to work recently, he noticed dozens of stacked flyers on a street corner near his home. They had a clear picture of two men, their names and phone numbers with a warning – that a gay couple was out to infect as many people with HIV as possible.
Our tweeter didn’t know what to think.
“Who knows, it could be a joke, it could be someone that hates someone and they want to get back at them – I have no idea.”
A question Calgary Police are trying to find an answer to as well. They have launched an investigation into who is responsible for creating the posters.
“A false complaint like this could be very detrimental to someone’s life,” says Sgt. Lynn MacDonald. “On the other side of this, it’s a very serious allegation. The threat of spreading HIV purposely to unknowing individuals – we take it very seriously.”
Linda McKay-Panos, a law professor at the University of Calgary, works with youth who are homosexual and dealing with discrimination. She says whatever the motive; something like this only perpetuates stereotypes.
“That seems to me a form of inciting hatred against people on the basis of their sexual orientation or at the minimum leading to discrimination against people,” says McKay-Panos.
The men on the poster cannot be reached by the phone numbers posted but their faces are clearly pictured.
Police say any warnings of this kind should be left for them to deal with and that taking matters into your own hands could warrant a charge of harassment.
“Any vigilante action taken towards these individuals will be investigated thoroughly by the Calgary Police Service,” says Sgt. MacDonald. “If you’re a person who comes across something like this, take it down, exercise your own freedom and get rid of it.”
