Jason Ball, who is standing as the Greens candidate in the inner-Melbourne seat of Higgins, has penned a powerful response after the word “Fag” was spray painted across a window featuring his campaign posters. Taking to Facebook, Ball, explained his decision to share a shot of the the slur, writing “I post this picture not to give the haters oxygen but to send a message to young LGBTI people that I have their back. To let them know I won’t be passive or silent in the face of bigotry.”
Ball, who is a mental health sector worker and advocate for LGBTI equality, went on to touch on the response to the heartbreaking attack on the Pulse nightclub in Florida over the saying:
“This week, media commentators who have previously vilified us, leapt on the unspeakable atrocities in Orlando and used our grief as a battering ram to prosecute their own agenda against another minority. Then they wring their hands and offer us their “prayers and sympathy” whilst conveniently ignoring the fact that acts of hate and violence are the logical conclusion to a public ‘debate’ that maintains we are abnormal and not worthy of the same rights and respect as our fellow citizens.”