HOLYOKE — A Facebook post showing hate mail sent to Alex Morse, Holyoke’s first openly gay mayor, went whipping around social media on Friday.
Morse shared a photo of the note, which reads: “Alex, you are one of the most selfish people that I know due to your ‘gay’ lifestyle. You are going down.”
Morse, who supported Hillary Clinton for president, called the words a testament to Donald Trump’s America.
“Anonymous hate mail isn’t uncommon and doesn’t typically bother me,” Morse said in the post. “But given we have a president-elect who just announced the appointment of an attorney general who will do nothing to protect LGBTQ Americans and people of color, it’s important to bring to light the progress we need to protect and the challenges still ahead.”
Morse shared the post Friday morning and by early afternoon it had over 1,000 reactions and 500 shares, including one from Easthampton City Councilor Jennifer Hayes.
“This is why we do,” Hayes wrote in her post.
Hayes condemned hateful incidents happening here and around the country in the wake of the election during the Easthampton City Council meeting on Wednesday, pledging to form a human rights committee for the city.
Reached by phone Friday, Hayes praised Morse for being bold and calling out discrimination.
“I thank him for having the courage to share it and really show that discrimination can happen to everybody,” she said. “Everybody.”
Morse is scheduled to speak at an anti-Trump rally at Holyoke’s Kennedy Park that begins at 4 p.m. on Friday.
Amanda Drane can be reached at adrane@gazettenet.com.