(photo: courtesy)
By Renee Ghert-Zand - May 13, 2015
Originally appeared here in the Times of Israel
Standing at a burly 6’2″ and sporting a shaved head, cool shades and a black vest, Corey Fleischer looks like an action film hero as he moves around Montreal. His fight is against the bad guys who paint hateful graffiti on public and private property, and his weapon is a power washing wand.
Fleischer simply cannot turn a blind eye to the anti-Semitic, anti-gay and racial slurs and symbols he sees all over. The owner of a power washing company he opened after graduating from university with a women’s studies degree, he dedicates many hours of his personal time to removing the markings.
For the past five years, Fleischer has been on a one-man mission to rid Canada’s second-largest city of visual hate speech. But with word having gotten out in the media about what he’s been doing, demand for his services has risen dramatically in recent months. What started as a sort of hobby for Fleischer has turned into an extensive undertaking that will require more manpower, not to mention water pressure.
As a result, Fleischer is trying to develop a cadre of like-minded people to fight the blight wrought by spray paint can-wielding bigots. He’s launched a fundraising and awareness campaign with the aim of creating a network of hate graffiti removers across Canada. Read More