So, here’s a thing that happened in the year 2017…
Nelson Santos is the executive director of the New York arts-based HIV/AIDS advocacy non-profit Visual AIDS. According to its site, Visual AIDS “utilizes art to fight AIDS by provoking dialogue, supporting HIV+ artists, and preserving a legacy, because AIDS is not over.”
Last week, Santos says he was completely “thrown for a loop” when he received a bizarre fax message from an unknown sender. The message was addressed to “Faggot” and was sent from someone who identified themselves as “Mrs. Gas the gays” from a company called “F*ck off n*gg*r.”
Here’s what it said:
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“Getting this by fax reminded me of the file of faxes and letters Visual AIDS would get in the early years of the AIDS crisis—and also a stark reminder that the racism, homophobia and hate is not over,” Santos wrote on Instagram.
He later told Mic, “I haven’t gotten a hate fax in an awful long time. No one really sends faxes—and particularly a hate fax. It was so odd.”
We’d say “odd” is an understatement.
“I wanted to brush it off,” he continued, “but as soon as I walked out the door, I did feel more unsafe than I did before. It’s always those reminders of that, like, there are people out there that hate you.”
“I don’t necessarily think the person who sent this is waiting for me outside, but it does trigger that very uncomfortable idea of, I don’t know, maybe that person is threatening us.”
They definitely weren’t waiting for him outside since they would have had to be connected to a landline to send the fax, but we get what Santos is saying.
Hate faxes aren’t cool. Not even in an ironic way.
Related: Professor who heckled Ivanka is receiving feces-covered hate mail
profiteering
I would be more impressed if they had sent their hate by carrier pigeon.
Low Country Boy
That was awesome!
1EqualityUSA
Tweeting’s not enough? Now he’s faxing?
natekerchel
I did not know you could still get faxes! Unfortunately, we are living in a world of hate, and we can expect this type of reaction when the so-called ‘president’ gives hate filled speeches and attacks the human and civil rights of minorities in an attempt to roll back the hard won advances to equality over the past 40 years. What is even more disgusting is that there are people on this very site who claim to be gay and yet will defend this ‘president’ and his actions. Even if the person sending that fax is just nuts – and that is not even up for debate – it still scares already vulnerable lgbt people. All the more reason for us to remain united in refusing to accept a return to the pre-Stonewall days.
mhoffman953
Kind of stupid on the fax sender’s part to include his phone number and the fax shows his IP address. With some quick snooping around online, I was able to find his approximate location and city.
andy_d
According to whitepages.com:
“You can call with confidence. (940) 765-3558 appears to be a valid caller that presents practically no risk of scam or fraud. ”
I did no want to pay to get the name and address. You can, if you want.
Evji108
Why do they even still have a fax machine? Who still has a fax machine? Who even knows what one is?
Heywood Jablowme
Faxes are still used routinely in a lot of businesses. The alternative would be to open an attachment to an email (i.e. risk of viruses, or it simply gets overlooked & ignored) and then print it (i.e. inconvenient when you already have a fax machine with a dedicated landline number).
My guess is this sender number belongs to a legitimate business where a low-level employee played a “prank.”
Artiewhitefox
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