A Sydney couple have issued a challenge to vandals after their rainbow-striped 'Yes vote' letterbox was defaced and poo placed on their doorstep.
A Sydney couple have issued a challenge to vandals after their rainbow-striped 'Yes vote' letterbox was defaced and poo placed on their doorstep.
A Sydney couple has put out a rainbow-striped "Yes vote" letterbox to support same sex marriage, only to have it defaced with black paint and poo dumped on their doorstep.
Arts producers Fiona Winning and Harley Stumm, who just wanted to express their support for LGBTIQ friends in same sex marriage, are shocked at the vitriolic attack.
In response they have placed a note by the letterbox outside their inner city suburban home, challenging the vandals, news.com.au reported.
"If you don't like our letterbox - make your own," the note reads.
"Please don't deface ours or put poo on our doorstep.
"We invite you to knock on our door and chat about why we say yes and you say no."
A Sydney couple have put out a rainbow-striped "Yes vote" letterbox to support same sex marriage, only to have it defaced with black paint and poo dumped on their doorstep.
Ms Winning, who is the Sydney Festival's Head of Programming, told news.com.au she chose the brightly coloured letterbox from a selection made by Sydney artist Mickie Quick.
Mr Quick had made around a hundred letterboxes which sell for $75 each. He is donating the proceeds to Camp Out, a kids camp for LGBTIQ teenagers.
Placing the brightly coloured letterbox in a prominent position on their front fence at Waterloo was Ms Winning and Mr Stumm's public show of support.
But within days, someone had spray painted the exterior black.
Ms Winning refused to be deterred by the mystery vandal, who she described as "a bullying 'No' voter", and Mr Quick offered a replacement letterbox while the other is being repaired.
Then, last Friday night, someone tipped the letterbox over so only its white underside and none of the rainbow stripes or the "Yes" decals were visible.
Fiona Winning and Harley Stumm (above) were happy to 'take the heat' for their LGBTIQ friends. Photo / Facebook
The vandal then trespassed onto the couple's property and walked up eight steps to place dog poo on the front doorstep.
An incensed Ms Winning penned the note for their front fence and said she has had some surprising, and heartwarming responses, though nothing from the "No" voting vandals.
"All these people have to do is make a statement of their own," she said.
"We had a man from [the same] street tell us how he had a rainbow flag at the church cut down and burnt down.
"We had a beautiful letter from a woman who said she was really sorry to see our note, and that she has been too afraid to put up a rainbow flag because she has a small child."
Ms Winning said that despite the "acts of hate" by the vandals, she and Mr Stumm had gladly been on the front foot for their LGBTIQ friends.
"In some ways we were happy to take the heat," she said. "What's happening to us as allies is nothing.
"For LGBTIQ people, for them these small acts of hate are bringing up past terrible experiences they went through growing up LGBTIQ."
Mr Quick's Rainbow "Yes" letterboxes are made from plain Bunnings letterboxes and spray-painted.
On his Facebook page, Mr Quick says they are designed to have the "Yes" decals removed once the same sex marriage survey has been completed, leaving a "fabulous queer rainbow letterbox remaining on show".
