The perpetual protester

A born-again Pentecostal Christian who claims to have been sexually assaulted at the Jewish General Hospital has been protesting outside of McGill’s Roddick Gates since June.

Lloyd Davidson came to Canada in 1981 from Spanishtown, Jamaica. He says he was fired from the Jewish General Hospital after being sexually harassed by a female employee. Davidson worked in the laundry department for 28 months, where he says the woman repeatedly grabbed his buttocks and made obscene gestures with a lollipop.

The woman complained to her supervisor after Davidson told her to stop and made comments that the woman perceived as threatening. Davidson was fired the next day.

“I told her that if she continued behaving like that God would take care of her, and she ought to be nice and polite to people because she never knows what life holds. She could even go to bed and have a heart attack one night. I also told her if she wanted to know Jesus, she should continue behaving the way she was.”

After an arbitrator ruled that the hospital was correct to fire him, he decided to protest rather than filing a civil suit, stating that his Christian beliefs oblige him to do so.

“It is my civic duty and moral obligation to inform the public of the danger at the Jewish General,” he said last Friday.

However, many McGill students feel that Davidson’s signs are anti-Semitic. His signs, which he systematically rotates, say things like “Christianity is the true Jewish religion”, and describe the “Inevitable emancipation of the Jews.”

Laura Burton Bloom, a second-year political science student, says she’s sick and tired of seeing Davidson day in and day out. “He’s just spewing the same garbage all minorities have been facing for years,” she said. “If you’re going to be hateful, at least be original.”

For his part, Davidson denies being anti-Semitic, saying that to hate Jews would be to hate Christ, but soon after said that “Jewish decision makers” must “discontinue” in the workplace.

“He’s been out there since classes ended last spring,” said Simon Bensimon, Executive Director of Hillel Montreal. “I’m not exactly sure what his motivations are, but the things he’s saying, while offensive, are so outlandish that I don’t think anyone is taking him very seriously.”

Some McGill students have taken matters into their own hands, protesting alongside Davidson with signs that read “Who wants to play follow the intolerant prick?” He also claims to have had sandwiches thrown at him, and been spat on.

Davidson is undeterred by the negative responses he has received, saying “I will stay here all winter if that’s what it takes.”

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