THE BOSTON GLOBE REPORTS ON INTOLERANCE IN PROVINCETOWN:
Police say they logged numerous complaints of straight people being called “breeders” by gays over the July Fourth holiday weekend. Jamaican workers reported being the target of racial slurs. And a woman was verbally accosted after signing a petition that opposed same-sex marriage, they said.
The town, which prizes its reputation for openness and tolerance, is taking the concerns seriously, though police say they do not consider the incidents hate crimes. . . .
“I’ve been here for eight years, and I think in that time the population has changed a bit and there is a little less tolerance,” said Simply Silver store owner Bill Mitchell, 53, who said he is gay. “There has been a little more tension.”
Meanwhile, Jamaicans say the intensifying debate over immigration is making racial issues worse.
Winsome Karr, 45, originally from Jamaica, has worked in town since 2002. Lately, she said, the off-color comments stem from gay visitors who mistakenly believe that all Jamaicans share the views of an island religious sect that disagrees with homosexuality.
Karr’s strong accent reveals her Jamaican roots.
“After a while people from here get used to you, and it changes,” said Karr, who works at a Tedeschi Food Shop not far from Commercial Street. “It’s just because of the image that gay people have of Jamaicans. People — no matter who they are — get defensive of their lifestyle.”
On same-sex marriage, the clashes have occurred as the state Legislature grapples with whether the electorate should vote on a measure to limit marriage to heterosexuals. A group that supports gay marriage, knowthyneighbor, has created a website displaying the names of more than 100,000 signers of a petition that calls for the state Constitution to be amended to prohibit same-sex marriage.
Knowthyneighbor’s tactics are controversial, with critics alleging that knowthyneighbor is making the names of same-sex marriage opponents public in an effort to expose or intimidate them. The group’s founders say they are simply promoting civic discourse.
I hope that Provincetown’s leading residents will encourage calm, understanding, and a freedom from racial and other stereotypes. (Via Squaring the Globe).