WeHo council member hopeful Sepi Shyne, took her Instagram account today to share some of the hateful messages she faces while she campaigns for her run to become the first lesbian Iranian-born council member in the the City of West Hollywood.
“Last night and this morning, I received vile, threatening, hateful, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-Iranian, and misogynist messages spewing disgusting hate about me, my mother and Jewish Iranians from two different men that I do not know on Instagram,” she told her Instagram followers.
Her Instagram post below starts with a trigger warning:
“I want to share and talk about what I and many female candidates and candidates of color experience.
Last year when I ran, I received several hateful messages including a post from a man who called me a terrorist and threatened to mace me if I knocked on his door to talk about my candidacy simply because I am an Iranian American.
Last night and this morning, I received vile, threatening, hateful, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-Iranian, and misogynist messages spewing disgusting hate about me, my mother and Jewish Iranians from two different men that I do not know on Instagram.
I share the text of their posts to show people how much work we still have to do to ensure we live in a country that respects everyone. HATE IS A REAL AND PRESENT DANGER for so many communities.
No matter how many threatening, bullying, and hateful messages I receive as a candidate for office whether they are direct or even micro-aggressions, I am and will continue to be a:
Proud Iranian American Woman and non-practicing Muslim;
Proud Immigrant;
Proud Ally to the Jewish community;
Proud ally to Black, Indigenous and other people of color;
Proud Lesbian And proud ally to my Transgender, Non-Binary, Two Spirited, Bisexual, Gay, Intersex and Queer siblings;
Proud supporter of Labor;
and a proud feminist..
I have no tolerance for hate and will continue to stand for others, for my family, and for love.
If you would like to join this campaign and stand up to hate with me, please consider contributing to our people-powered campaign at www.sepishyne.com“
You may want to note that these two accounts fit a pattern of being unauthentic, at least from an outsider’s perspective (as the accounts are private). There are a lot of accounts on social media that are either hacked or created through hacked internet connections (to appear as coming from the US). As an information security professional with a PhD in this area, I have observed a alarming increases in this type of activity since late May. This not only includes unbiased tools that directly track incidences of activity, but also first hand knowledge of major wide spread and geographically… Read more »
Although I am not endorsing Sepi, I find this to be repugnant. I do not think anyone should fear throwing their hat in to try to help our city. Please know that regardless of who I am voting for, and I am sure this stands for most men in Weho, we do not condone this and hate that Sepi must endure this. Good luck, and I hope the shenanigans stop.