Concerned Rocky resident speaks out on signs of bigotry

A Rocky Mountain House resident has recently been voicing his concerns about hate symbols and speech in the community.

Liam Bolton has appeared before town council, as well as with trustees at Wild Rose School Division (WRSD). Bolton reached out to council recently after he was shopping in Rocky and noticed a swastika cutout in a floor grate. Bolton says he asked representatives of the organization to cover it up, but they allegedly refused. He would later reach out to town council and the mayor about the problem. One councillor, according to Bolton, would later convince the organization to cover up the swastika.

Bolton believes, the Town of Rocky Mountain House should establish a bylaw that bans hate symbols. However, during a February council meeting, councillors voted against the proposed bylaw because the federal government could be passing a similar law country-wide.

Bolton also attended a Board of Trustees meeting for WRSD on April 26, which would see trustees ban any signs of bigotry.

“The progress that WRSD is committed to, makes me hopeful that central Alberta has a chance to eventually become a leader in social justice and anti-bigotry. WRSD’s plan to implement show that they value students who are being targeted for their identities, and that they will no longer pretend that bigotry no longer exists,” added Bolton.

Bolton plans on continuing to have difficult conversations with people in his personal life, as well as engaging in more letters and emails to politicians at many levels of government in the future.

He also acknowledges, however, that not everyone that uses hate symbols means to hurt anyone.

“I want to acknowledge that not everyone that uses hate symbols means to hurt anyone. I know that a lot of people are unaware of what a Confederate Battle flag represents, for example,” explained Bolton. “Some erroneously believe that it represents southern (U.S.) culture or being rebellious. It is not these people’s intention to hurt others; however, their actions can still make others feel unsafe, and even dehumanized.”