GORE BAY—Residents of the town of Gore Bay are shocked, outraged, saddened and very disappointed with a spate of hate mail depicting a normal Christmas card but with a hateful message inside that has been sent to many people.
“A lot of people have been getting these (hate mail) Christmas cards,” Perry Patterson told the Recorder last Friday, a day after receiving a letter. He explained that whoever sent the cards had spent time working on them and were clever in preventing someone from finding out who they are. First off, “they are posted from Toronto and they have typed the name of the person along with the town name and postal code and taped this on the front of the card. Then when you open the envelope it is a Christmas card that has a typed note in a folded piece of paper.”
It is on that piece of folded paper that the person(s) who have perpetrated the hate mail cards produce the venomous, lewd messages. The person(s) have written messages in each that not only use vulgar words but call the person it is addressed to names, relaying what they perceive to be truths about the victim’s lifestyle, family and messages such as “everyone in town hates you, why don’t you (expletive) die.”
As of this past Saturday morning approximately 70 people have received these hateful Christmas cards, or which have been held back at the post office to notify the person who was to receive them. The cards were sent (postmarked) December 17 from Toronto.
“Lots of people have received these cards,” said Daylin Orford of the Gore Bay Canada Post Office. “And each of the cards is different on the inside,” she said.
Sue (Lanktree) Whynott, who now lives in Little Current, said she received a hate mail Christmas card at her work office in Gore Bay. “The message in the card was nasty, but in relation to many others I have heard it was not nearly as bad. It’s pretty obvious someone is unhealthy; incredibly unhappy. I hope they get help.”
Another person who has received the hate mail is Faye Floreani, who reported the incident to the Manitoulin detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
“I got a card on Thursday,” Ms. Floreani told the Recorder. “The outside of the envelope looks like a normal card,” however, “everything has been typed on the front of the card, with the name, Gore Bay address and postal code, and this has all been taped on the front of the envelope with no return address.”
“When you open the card it actually looks like a really Christmas card,” said Ms. Floreani. “But it has a folded up paper inside with the hateful messages. Whoever has done this has been meticulous in putting them together and obviously knows a lot of people in town. The messages are really, really nasty.”
“For someone to take that much time and effort to do this, and have so much hate inside them, it’s hard to believe,” said Ms. Floreani. “It’s Christmas,” she implored. “This person is trying to stir things up, but instead it is bringing people together–people are calling and texting each other and being supportive of each other.”
“I reported the card I received to the OPP right away,” said Ms. Floreani. “I know that the OPP is investigating all of this and want to hear from people who receive the cards.” She said that one of the messages she has heard of involves the hope that the receiver of the card dies this year. She also noted that the cards seem to have been sent randomly, to seniors, younger people, men and women, and doesn’t appear to focus on one age or gender of the population. “The messages are very specific and nasty,” she said.
Marie Ford, community services officer (CSO) with the Manitoulin OPP told the Recorder that police have received lots of reports and are encouraging more people to come forward with information. The police are continuing its investigation. “It is definitely concerning from the OPP perspective.”
