Hate Comments On Union Co. Pride Post Prompt County Response

UNION COUNTY, NJ — A recent Facebook post from Union County, announcing the opening of Tëmike Park — a new inclusive LGBTQ+ space — and a series of "Pride in the Park" events, gained dozens of hateful and homophobic comments two weeks ago.

The "Pride in the Park" event, which took place on Saturday, June 18, included a ribbon cutting for the new inclusive park, followed by a Drag Queen Story Hour, a Drag Queen Dance-Off and a slam poetry performance.

Tëmike Park is located at the northern end of Union County’s Cedar Brook Park in Plainfield, which features design elements that welcome kids of all identities and abilities, according to the post.

The post received nearly 300 comments — many of them criticizing the Pride events, claiming they were inappropriate for families and referring to drag queens participating as "pedophiles."

Union County Commissioner Chair Rebecca Williams commented on the post, reiterating that the park is meant to be a safe space for all:

"Amazing amount of hate from homophobes and haters. Temike Park is for EVERYONE. However, as LGBTQ+ children and adults are at higher risk for bullying and hateful comments (case in point, some of the folks posting here), we wanted to make sure that it was understood that this park is a welcoming and safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. The playground is purple, the color of anti-bullying, and the swings and other aspects are designed for inclusiveness for differently abled children and adults. Tax dollars at work? LGBTQ+ residents pay taxes, too. Despite your hate, though, the park opened successfully yesterday, and was well-attended by folks from all over the county. Happy Pride," Williams wrote.

In addition to the purple playground equipment, the park includes a meditation labrynth, a rainbow garden and willow trees planted in the shape of a triangle in remembrance of the Holocaust.

Just as the Nazis forced Jewish people to wear a yellow Star of David sewn into their clothes, they also forced people labeled as gay to wear inverted triangles, Williams explained at the Pride event.

Director of Public Information Kelly Martins told Patch that the comments were initially hidden because "so many came in so quickly." Martins said there were some comments that were derogatory, and in some comments, videos were being shared.

"The posts were hidden for a short period so we [could] determine if these were allowed to stay up on social media due to the nature of the posts," Martin said. "When speaking about the issue the next morning, we unhid the comments until we looked further into policies. After careful consideration with Counsel, it was determined that even though there were many distasteful comments, they should be up for the public to view — even if they are deemed hateful."

According to the New Jersey League of Municipalities, the ability to delete comments on a municipality or county page is on a case-by-case basis and can become quite murky.

"If your municipality uses social media to engage in public discussion and discourse then those platforms could very likely be considered a public forum or limited public forum and you would be restricted from deleting or limiting comments," NJLM states on its website.

But they also add, "In any case it is permissible and certainly good practice to establish rules of decorum and a policy which clearly outlines the rules and limitations on allowable comments."

NJLM states that it is vital that a municipality creates a social media policy.