hillcrest rises: from hate to hope in 24 hours 🌈✊

how our community turned vandalism into victory & why we need you now more than ever

tl;dr: hillcrest was hit with hate crime graffiti, but our community came together to clean it up and show our strength. now we need to step up to join the fight against hate and protect our neighborhood.

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Hillcrest's finest gathered under the iconic neighborhood sign. This picture represents our community's unbreakable spirit after a day of coming together to clean up and celebrate our beloved home. Source: Benny Cartwright, Rick Cervantes, @hillcrestsandiego

hi mis amores,

i write today with some bittersweet news - i've got a story to tell you that'll break your heart, fill it with rage, and then stitch it back together with the threads of community, resilience, and pure queer magic.

on friday morning, august 2nd. while most of us were asleep, some pendejos decided to play nazi graffiti artist in our beloved hillcrest.

swastikas, slurs, the whole nine yards of hate - plastered across our walls, our murals, our trash cans. a big "fuck you" to our community, courtesy of three hooded cowards in a busted-up buick.

The damage done by the miscreants, and shots of them and their getaway vehicle. Source: @hillcrestsandiego and @sandiegopd on Instagram.

now, i don't know about you, but when i hear about shit like this, my first instinct is to curl up in a ball and cry. but you know what? that's exactly what these people want. they want us scared, silenced, pushed back into the closet.

when i look at the statistics for hate crimes in 2023, it’s really scary. hillcrest, our gayborhood, has had 25 reports of hate crimes since 2016, according to the san diego police department. and imagine - these statistics do not show you the ones that go unreported nor do all of them actually get referred to be prosecuted. i wonder who is out there cowering in fear and in silence, a victim, another casualty to inhumanity and insensate cruelty. it’s our job to step up for them and for us.

we have fought too hard and come too far to let a few spray cans and some cheap ass slurs and swastikas send us running. hate will not make us cower in fear anymore.

from hate to hope: the power of community action

so, fast forward 24 hours. it's saturday morning, i'm out on the streets of hillcrest with a bunch of beautiful humans for the cleanup & cocktails event. shout out to the kiwanis club of hillcrest all-inclusive and @hillcrestsandiego for organizing this badassery.

there i am, paired up with my squad - tonja alvis, andrew ferbert, and other fierce friends. we're digging through alleys, gutters, bushes, parks - anywhere trash might be hiding. and let me tell you, it felt good. we talked about how much we love the neighborhood. about how much we care for the people and the businesses and the spaces we have.

but the real moment of truth? that came when we stumbled upon some leftover graffiti in mural alley towards the end of our clean-up.

"fuck f**s," it screamed at us, a last gasp of hate trying to mar our beautiful queer spaces.

Our clean-up team found this graffiti in Mural Alley near 5th Avenue, next to Massachusetts Mike.

did we run? did we call for backup? hell no. we got to work.

andrew, me, and the rest of our crew, armed with water and determination, we scrubbed away at that hateful message. it wasn't waterproof, and bit by bit, our mural emerged unscathed.

in that moment, wiping away those words, i felt the full weight of our community's strength.

in the video above, you can watch as our team literally scrubbed away the filth of hate from our beloved mural alley. and i, of course, had to curtsy for the team at the end as tonja kept on cheering us on with a message of hope and courage.

this, mi gente, is what resilience looks like. this is what community means. it's not just rainbow flags and pride parades (though those are fabulous). it's showing up, getting your hands dirty, and saying "not in our house" to hate.

i wish for the day, however, that we won’t have to be resilient. i wish for the day in wish we don’t have to be strong in the face of hate. we should just get to exist, to love, to live our fabulous lives without fear and with liberty.

a call to action: from allies to accomplices

so, what now? well, i've got some thoughts.

to our allies: it's time to level up. we need you to move from ally to accomplice. don't just post a rainbow flag on instagram and call it a day. show up. clean up. speak up. be ready to ruin your favorite shirt wiping off hateful graffiti. that's what we do. that's how we fight.

to my lgbtq+ family: i know you're tired. i know it feels like we're always fighting. but we need you now more than ever. remember the words of audre lorde: "your silence will not protect you." so let's make some noise.

to everyone in hillcrest: keep your eyes open. report suspicious activity. and for the love of cher, don't let hate sit around unchallenged. see some graffiti? clean it off. witness harassment? speak up. we are the first line of defense for our community.

here’s your chance to act

and speaking of defense, mark your calendars for thursday, august 22nd at 5:30 pm. there's a hillcrest community patrol meeting at uptown tavern, organized by the kiwanis club of hillcrest all-inclusive. this is our chance to come together, share ideas, and figure out how we can keep our neighborhood safe.

remember, this isn't about becoming vigilantes or taking the law into our own hands. it's about being extra eyes and ears for our community, ambassadors ready to help those in need. it's about creating a hillcrest where everyone feels safe and welcome.

hillcrest under fire: our community's call to action 🌈

looking ahead: vigilance & celebration

now, i know what you're thinking. "edgard, this all sounds great, but i'm just one person. what can i really do?"

well, let me tell you something, mi amor. you are not just one person. you are part of a community that has survived plagues, persecution, and countless bad fashion trends. we are stronger together, and every single one of us matters.

as we gear up for cityfest on august 11th, let's carry this spirit of community with us. let's celebrate our resilience, our creativity, our sheer fabulousness. but let's also stay vigilant. let's watch out for each other. let's show those haters that love always wins.

and if you're feeling fired up and ready to do more (as you should be), here are some ways to get involved:

• join the kiwanis club of hillcrest all-inclusive. their next meeting is this thursday, august 8th at 6:30 pm at uptown tavern.

• participate in councilmember whitburn's back to school drive, running through august 25th. because education is the enemy of ignorance, honey.

• register to vote in the upcoming uptown community planning group elections. let's make sure our voices are heard in shaping the future of our neighborhood.

• make sure you're registered for the november general election. our rights are on the ballot, folks.

mi gente, we've faced worse than a few bigots with spray cans.

we've survived raids and riots, discrimination and disease.

we will survive this too. but more than that, we will thrive.

so let's get to work. let's clean up our streets, protect our community, and show the world what hillcrest is made of. because honey, we're not just gay - we're fabulous, we're fierce, and we're not going anywhere.

con todo mi amor y un chorro de sass,

edgard 🌈✊🏽💖

p.s. if you see something, say something. anyone with information about the vandalism incident can call the sdpd western division at (619)692-4800 or crime stoppers at (888)580-8477. let's catch these pendejos and show them what happens when you mess with hillcrest.

p.p.s. a huge gracias to crest cafe and the rail for providing security camera footage of the culprits. you're the real mvps, serving up justice alongside those delicious meals and drinks.

p.p.p.s. don't forget to subscribe, share this post, and download the substack app. because if we're going to start a revolution, we might as well do it with style, substance, and killer engagement metrics. 😘