The Mayor of Lincoln is issuing an apology for an 'insensitive' sign posted in the community.
Mayor Sandra Easton commenting after several organizations expressed anger at a sign at a towing company's property in Vineland reading "Are we still using tranny fluid? Or is it gender neutral now?"
"On behalf of the Town of Lincoln Council and our citizens I extend apologies for the insensitive nature of this message. Our community supported vision embodies the principles that support Growth Prosperity Belonging. We decry this tasteless humour and the harm it represents."
Representatives for OUTNiagara say they are disappointed transgender people were used as a punchline on a JNE Recovery and Towing sign.
The message was also posted to the company's Facebook page, but the post was taken down several hours later.
The physical sign was also changed reading 'Sorry Kurtis did it."
Chair of OUTNiagara Celeste Turner says, "This so-called humour is harmful and deflating to a community that faces daily struggles."
The statement from OUTNiagara notes transgender people face much higher rates of discrimination and higher risk of suicide and suicide attempts than the general population.
Turner adds they anticipate what some public reaction to their statement will be. "We'll be told the sign was just a joke and we have no sense of humour, or we're liberal snowflakes. Or we're self-righteous and annoying social justice warriors, or everyone is offended by everything. We've heard it all before. There always seems to be some sort of predictable pushback when we make the simple request to respect and value someone’s lived experiences."
Several other groups have come forward to challenge the sign: Transgender Niagara, Positive Living Niagara, OPIRG Brock, PFLAG Canada Niagara Chapter, and the Niagara Falls Community Health Centre.
Colleen McTigue of Transgender Niagara says, "The word 'tranny' is a vicious slur against the trans community, and its use in this context is deeply offensive. The use of this term in this way serves to encourage bullying and other discrimination against the transgender community, and undermines efforts to educate the public about the positive contributions made by transgender people in society. Such use cannot be tolerated in a just and diverse society."
Executive Director of Positive Living Niagara Glen Walker writes, "We at Positive Living Niagara are greatly disturbed by the posting of insensitive and disrespectful messages against the Transgender community. We have made such progress in breaking down the walls of discrimination within our communities but this type of message demonstrates how much more work we need to do to. We stand in solidarity with OUTniagara in their efforts to call out language and actions that perpetuate discrimination."
Executive Director of Niagara Falls Community Health Centre Laura Blundell states, "Niagara Falls Community Health Centre (NFCHC) works to removes barriers to health and wellness for all, including transgender individuals who we know experience increased instances of discrimination, even within healthcare systems. Comments such as these continue to set a precedent that being transgender is something to be discriminated for, which is entirely unacceptable. We are committed to ensuring this is not the case at NFCHC and have dedicated staff to support Niagara’s LGBTQ2+ community. We stand in solidarity with OUTniagara regarding their position on this issue."