The first article I wrote for the Collegian was titled “A Disappointing View of The Zoo.” I discussed what it was like moving from Atlanta to Amherst, and how reality failed to live up to my expectations. In the South, New England is regarded as a liberal safe haven, seen as a place brewing with tolerance and acceptance. When I arrived, I realized this wasn’t entirely the case. Here, bigotry still exists, but it exhibits a dangerous characteristic: discretion.

Many people who live in Massachusetts believe they’re exempt from their own bigotry solely because of where they live. Some people here will smile to your face and hold polite conversation, knowing full well they don’t respect you or believe your identity is valid. In the South, it is relatively easy to deduce which people to stay away from. in New England, bigots are skilled at masking their prejudice.

In another one of my earlier articles, entitled “People Over Property,” I discussed negative reactions to the sexual assault protests at the University of Massachusetts. I explained how many of the students targeted online were queer. I was surprised to see this rhetoric in a place that regularly boasts about its “tolerance” and even more surprised hearing these ideals echoed throughout campus. For the sake of these students’ safety, I will not reveal their names or the sources of the online backlash. I will, however, discuss my own experience dealing with adverse reactions after the protests.

During the protests, The Boston Globe ran an article in which I was pictured at the very top. At the time, I had very distinctive purple hair causing me to be a target on the anonymous social media app, “Yik Yak.” After the article was circulated, I began noticing posts on Yik Yak about “the purple-haired thing.” About a week after the protests, there was one instance when I was sitting in Worcester Dining Hall and I noticed multiple posts about me on Yik Yak. One stated “Guess the pronouns of the purple haired person at woo.” Replies ranged from one person calling me a “Creature,” and another playing on he/him by labeling me “Psy/cho.”

After my article ran, a barrage of tweets and emails flooded my inbox. One email referred to me as a “thing,” and reminded me that I’m nothing more than “a pink-haired coward.” The sentiments I received on Twitter ranged from people calling me a woman to words most sane people would not feel comfortable repeating. The things said to me in these couple of weeks, however, were nowhere near as disturbing as what some other students received. One aspect we all shared was that we displayed traits that are seen as stereotypically queer. This issue is not only prevalent in Massachusetts, but all over the country. Queer people in America are an easy target, and one that many hateful people go after time and time again.

So, if you’ve ever found yourself excusing hateful behavior because you reside in a “liberal area,” you are part of the problem. Liberal elitism dilutes people into believing that hateful acts in New England don’t mean anything because “At least it’s not the South.” Bigotry does not disappear in Massachusetts, and the hate here is just as dangerous as the hate in Georgia.

To any queer person reading this: Never try to explain or justify your existence to someone who won’t be bothered to listen. And never stay in a situation where you feel unsafe because you want to be polite. Your safety and comfort come before anything else.

Zach Leach can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @ZachLeach12.