When Mandy Large decided to fly the Pride and transgender flags atop her downtown Victoria food truck, she wanted to send a simple message: everyone is welcome.
But an act of vandalism has left the Bannock Room owner feeling unsafe and worried for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
On Wednesday morning (Aug. 20), Large arrived at her truck outside the Royal BC Museum to find two of her flags ripped and shredded, the poles bent out of shape.
“It was pretty heartbreaking,” said Large, who believes the incident is a hate crime.
For nearly two years, Large’s truck has been stationed on Belleville Street, a stone’s throw from the Inner Harbour, the Legislature, the Empress Hotel and other landmarks. She occasionally moves to other locations for special events.
“Of all places this should be a place of safety,” said Large, who identifies as two-spirit.
But this is not the first time Large’s flags have drawn hostility.
“A lady just came up and said, ‘I don’t like your flags,’” she recalls.
On another occasion, a person criticized her for flying a Canadian Indigenous flag, telling Large she should have a “normal” Canada flag instead.
“Unfortunately, I do lose a bit of business because of the flags,” Large said. “But I think it’s more important that people feel safe and know that everybody’s welcome here – we deserve a safe space.”
The more recent incident has left Large shaken, but it has also brought a wave of encouragement from friends, customers and staff at the Royal BC Museum, who offered her their Pride flag to replace the damaged one.
By late morning, it was flying proudly again.
“It took me a while to kind of really think about things,” she said. “But around 11:30 a.m. I decided to put it back up.
“It’s making me feel a little bit better and supported, but yeah, it’s kind of scary being out just in the public here.”
This is the second incident involving a 2SLGBTQIA+ owned business.
On Monday evening (Aug. 20), a person kicked a hole through the window of Friends of Dorothy Lounge, located on 537 Johnson St.
The incident was caught on camera and the venue has shared the video on their social media page, appealing for help to identify the suspect. A person wearing a dark-coloured hoodie, pale-coloured pants and dark shoes can be seen kicking the window once before running off.
“It’s tough, we don’t know if this was random vandalization or a targeted anti-LGBTQ2S+ attack,” said a statement by the venue on social media.
“Thanks to the community that’s already stepped in and helped us make sure we’ve stayed on our feet. Our spirit is a little shaken, but we’ve got new glass coming and we can’t be intimidated.”
Victoria Police has confirmed both incidents are under investigation.
“It’s too early at this point to determine whether they are connected, or what the motivation may be,” said an emailed police statement.
