What would you do if you returned to your car and you found it vandalized? Worse yet, what if you found yourself a victim of a hate crime? Both of these things happened to Erin Davies, and instead of searching for revenge, she decided to take action. When she found “fag” and “u r gay” spray painted on her car, she chose to take it across the country, spreading awareness of hate crimes. On Feb. 19 she shared her story with the Elizabethtown College campus community.
Davies was initially shocked when she found that her car was vandalized, stating that the only reason for the act could have been a small rainbow sticker on the back of her car. Initially Davies thought about getting it removed, but eventually decided to keep it there in order to make a statement. From her travels she produced a documentary entitled, “Fagbug” which has won many awards and is available on Netflix or Hulu. She shared a clip from the film with the audience and stated, “with this film, I want to share the honest reactions that I received from people.”
In one story, she talked about how, within one hour of parking her car on a college campus, multiple complaints were made about Davies’ vehicle. She was contacted by security and asked to move the car as they said it was a disturbance to the public. Instead of leaving, she decided to move the vehicle one block over. She wanted to make people feel the shock that she felt on the day her car was first vandalized.
While many reviewers seem to support her cause, many are also against it, and a large number of them are members of the LGBT community. They have sent her Facebook messages and letters asserting that Davies is using the Fagbug as a cry for attention and that she is just trying to profit off of the situation. “People think that I am making all of this money,” Davies said, “but my documentary is still in the negative.” If she comes across someone with something to say, she asks them for an interview. Those who are recorded sometimes leave feeling differently. Davies also shared some of the hardships she faced. She travelled on her journey alone, without a camera crew or a co-pilot, filming the entire documentary on a borrowed camera, often asking others to film her. She was also running on limited funds and her car broke down multiple times. Luckily, Davies was able to get support from those who believed in her cause. “It’s a bizarre reality that I have some personal friends that don’t support me, but yet I have hundreds of strangers who do,” she said. As an example, one supporter stationed in Iraq paid for her to get a laptop when she needed one to complete her documentary.
It has been many years since the beginning of Davies’ journey and unfortunately, some of the publicity she has received from the “Fagbug” project has been difficult for her. The bug is her only means of transportation, so she is constantly noticed by those around her. She has been frequently threatened and found herself in difficult situations that have had the potential to jeopardize her life. With this in mind she is unsure of where the future will take her, but she is certain that she will continue to fight for the same cause.
As the event dwindled down, Davies shared some last words of advice. “I’m here to tell you that no matter what you do in life, there will be resistance,” she said. “But if you are willing to branch out, support will be there.”