This woman had the perfect response to her neighbor’s homophobic letter
After Baltimore resident Julie Baker received a very homophobic note chastising her for her “relentlessly gay” yard, she decided to fight back in the most kickass way: By starting a GoFundMe campaign to make her yard even more “relentlessly gay.”
According to a post on Facebook, the note (from an anonymous neighbor) read, “Your yard is becoming Relentlessly Gay! Myself and Others in the neighborhood ask that you Tone It Down. This is a Christian area and there are Children. Keep it up and I will be Forced to call the Police on You! Your kind need to have respect for God.”
The “relentlessly gay” decor in question was a set of rainbow solar light jars, spelling out “Love” and “Ohana” (the Hawaiian term for family) in Baker’s front yard.
“Needless to say, I need more rainbows,” she wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Many, many more rainbows.”
The campaign has received an incredible amount of support so far, raising over $33,000 from more than 2,500 backers — far more than Baker’s original goal of $5,000. Clearly, Baker’s message struck a chord; and tons of people have voiced their support that she decided to respond to something so negative in such a fun and positive way.
Many have offered to contribute to Baker’s campaign in other ways, as well — from helping paint her stairs to sending her some rainbow decor, free of charge. According to the GoFundMe page, Baker has promised that if she raises enough money, she’ll even try to get a rainbow roof (“Because my invisible relentlessly gay rainbow dragon should live up there in style!”).
The success of the campaign is in part thanks to Baker’s friend Eleanor Justice, who posted the offensive note to George Takei’s Facebook page on Wednesday, where it quickly went viral. (To date, the post has received over 9,000 likes and has been shared almost 23,000 times.) But more than that, the campaign has caused such a stir because it’s such a beautiful response to something so unnecessarily hateful.
“Put simply, I am a widow and the mother of four children, my youngest in high school and I WILL NOT Relent to Hatred,” Baker wrote. “Instead, I will battle it with whimsy and beauty and laughter and love, wrapped around my home, yard and family!!!”
We couldn’t think of a more amazing message. You can find out more about the campaign at Baker’s GoFundMe page right here.
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(Images via Facebook.)
