Mayor takes to social media to lash out at racist emailer

Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie has taken to social media to denounce racist and misogynistic comments sent to him last weekend.

The comments were emailed by an anonymous writer to Guthrie through his www.mayorguthrie.com blog prior to the tragedy in Quebec City, but Guthrie didn't see them until early Monday morning.

He said there were three of them, including the following, which he posted on his Twitter account:

“Cam, there is no #MuslimBan you should get your facts straight instead of going on social media and playing into the Left’s Propoganda! (sic) Maybe you should dye your hair purple and hold up a Vagina Sign and then hastag (sic) #guelphproud. WTF is wrong with everyone? And just to clue you in a little bit…. It turns out that Increasing diversity (which often means reducing the white population) actually makes society weaker. Multiculturalism does NOT work. Also if you have done your research you would find that Saudi Arabia has a refugee (sic) camp that can house 3 million. It has tents with air condition (sic) and all tents are fire proof. They can feed, educate and take care of almost all the refugee’s but not a single refugee is allowed? Where is the outrage? Maybe you should instagram that instead of trying to remain relevant and popular to a bunch of feminist, left wing guelphites that have held this town back for decades. Way to lead!"

To which he responded:

"Dear Citizen,
I will not remain silent.
I support #Guelph's diversity.
If I lose your vote for that, I never wanted it to begin with.
Cam.

— Cam Guthrie (@CamGuthrie) January 30, 2017"

“I could not believe that someone would take the time to send something like that," Guthrie said in an interview on Monday.

“I’m shocked. Not just as Mayor, but as a fellow human being."

Guthrie said he will not ignore such comments, nor should anyone else. He said it is important to address such a "disturbing" train of thought.

“We all – not just the Mayor – we all have an obligation to point this out. To reject it. To rebuke it,” Guthrie said.

“These tiny little miniscule episodes of hate will not stop the trajectory that Guelph is on in embracing our diversity and helping those in need.”

He said Guelph is known for how welcoming and open it has been to immigrants and that the words of a few will not change that.

“We have to call this type of dialogue out but also can’t forget that Guelph has been, is and continues to be a welcoming place for all.”

Guthrie said when he attempted to respond to one of the emails, it bounced back as not a valid email address.

“But they are local for sure, which is why we need to remain vigilant against these types of attitudes.”

Guthrie echoed a sentiment he said at last year's vigil following the killings in an Orlando nightclub.

"Bullets come from guns, but bullets also come from our mouths and bullets come from our keyboard," he said.

The Mayor said he has been thrilled by the response from people on Twitter, with his rebuke of the offending email being the most retweeted item he has ever posted on social media.

“Obviously it struck a chord with people that we are much better than that,” he said.

@CamGuthrie .@cityofguelph is a great community with great people. #multiculturalism does work. Hatred and bigotry does not. @CamGuthrie #greatreply

— Greg B (@Gregsbelle) January 30, 2017

@CamGuthrie Thank you!! #ProudOfMyMayor Majority of Guelph people don't think like that jerk!!!! #Guelphproud

— ❤ Laurie Worby ❤ (@LaurieWorby) January 30, 2017

@CamGuthrie sad to see that response from our community.

— Chris Saunders (@CanadianChris) January 30, 2017