Sapna Shah, a mom from South Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, was recently sent a hateful note by an anonymous person after she had a mural painted onto her garage door. The mural depicted rolling green hills and constellations in the night sky, a peaceful scene that seems unlikely to devalue property values in the area. However, the person who wrote the note accused Shah of being tasteless and blamed her for “devaluing” the property values in the neighborhood.
In the note, written in all capital letters, Shah was accused of compromising everyone’s property value and resale opportunities with her paint job. The note went on to suggest that she should have put the mural inside her house rather than forcing everyone to have to live with it. Shah received a second note that told her, “You do not live in a house! This is a community.”
Shah took to Facebook to share the “nasty message” and received an outpouring of support from the community. She also commented that the letter had “undertones of racism, elitism, and classism,” which the critic hid behind a thin veil about property values. Shah, who is a brown family, was especially upset by the use of the term “low-income ghetto” in the note.
In response to the harassment, Shah took security measures to protect her home, including filing a police report and installing security cameras. She also made it clear that she would not remove the mural from her garage door because it was her property, and only one person seemed to have a problem with it.
Shah’s six-year-old child was understandably upset by the hateful note and could not comprehend why someone would write such a message to their family. Shah’s attack on the hater gained a lot of traction on Facebook, with many people around Toronto showing their support and appalled by the hateful letters.
The incident serves as a reminder that while freedom of expression is important, it is equally important to respect each other’s choices and not harass others for expressing themselves. Shah had the right to paint her garage door with a mural, and the person who wrote the note had no right to harass her for it.
Shah’s story is an inspiring one of resilience and strength in the face of hate. Despite the anonymous note, she refused to back down and even took extra steps to protect her home and family. Her decision to keep the mural up despite the criticism shows that she is unafraid to be herself and express her creativity, even when others try to tear her down.
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Source: AWM