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.
There was never a “good” version of conservativism. That’s a myth that conservatives desperately want to sell you. It’s always been a political philosophy driven by the singular goal of preventing the enfranchisement of the disenfranchised. It wasn’t hijacked by those people, it welcomed them with open arms, just like it’s welcomed despicable, regressive people throughout its entire history.