Gay Monument in The Hague Vandalized with Anti-Gay Graffiti
Dutch News, a website that reports on news from the Netherlands in English for an international audience.The graffiti painted at the monument site and on the benches included drawings and anti-gay slogans, including “fuck gays,’ “fuck Pride,” and “weg met pride,” or “down with Pride.”The IHDH noted that the monument’s rainbow faces have been defaced multiple times before, ever since it was unveiled in 1993.“For example, the bench at Huijgenspark has been destroyed several times. The rainbow flag was also regularly pulled out of the ground last year, resulting in the arrests of two teenage boys.The IHDH said the monument will be repaired as soon as possible.Mariëlle Vavier, the alderman in The Hague who handles anti-discrimination issues, called the graffiti “unacceptable.”“It is a serious form of vandalism that stems from homophobia,” she said, according to the NL Times. “The Homomonument is a symbol of acceptance and freedom.