Fagbug is activism on wheels
David on May 23rd 2007
We’re honored to bring you this guest blog by Erin Davies.
On the 11th annual National Day of Silence (April 18, 2007), I was faced with an unfortunate tragedy, being victim to a hate crime. Because of sporting a rainbow sticker on my VW Beetle, my car was vandalized in red spray paint with the words “fAg” and “u r gay” placed all over the hood and driver side of my car. Despite immediate shock and embarassment, I’ve decided to embrace what happened and keep driving my car as it is in order to bring more public awareness to the blatant homophobia that exists in our society.
My mission is to drive my fagbug on a cross country trip and take it to as many diverse communities as possible. The goal is to get at least one million people to add fagbug rainbow stickers to their cars so that no one else will be targeted like I was again. Until that happens, my car will stay as is!
I’m working with a TV Producer in LA to get the “Fagbug Across America” turned into a reality series by a national cable TV Network. The more visible this becomes, the more we can educate and create a dialogue around tolerance, and learn more about why we are so intolerant.
In our society we’re taught to cover something like this up right away, whether it be being a victim of sexual abuse, domestic violence, or a hate crime, we are taught to cover it up and carry that guilt and shame around with us on the inside. Had I covered the words on my car right away, (even though no one else would see them) I would still be haunted by them every time I looked at my car. By keeping them on, I’ve made a decision to give the general public immediate access to them, which has evoked a charged dialogue. Lots of people think I should take my rainbow sticker off, lots of people think I should keep it on, lots of people think they’d beat the crap out of the person who did this, lots of people want to kill that person. What I am doing is sending a non-violent message to that person. By keeping the words on my car, I am hoping to find out who did this and be able to have a dialogue with them about what motivated them to do such a thing. Perhaps by uncovering the layers behind one person’s hate, I can prevent another’s from developing.
In making my decision to do the cross country fagbug trip, I’ve received over 2,000 letters of support from across the US, Itlay, Belgium, Spain, the UK, Australia, Germany and Mexico. Again, had I covered it up right away, I would’ve had very little support but now I’ve been able to connect with people around the world I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.
At first I wanted to take my rainbow sticker off my car, and have nothing to do with it, but the more I thought about it the more I realized how important of a decision it was and that it had the power to not only impact me but the community at large.
Ways you can help with the fagbug campaign?
If you’d like to donate to my fagbug cross-country trip please send a check to Erin Davies / PO Box 683 / Albany, NY 12201
Another way to help is to buy a fagbug rainbow sticker and put it on your car! They are available through www.fagbug.com.
Stay tuned,
Erin Davies
Fagbug Driver
