Balarama Holness Says A Racist & Violent Email He Got Was Like An 'Emotional Concussion'

Montreal mayoral candidate Balarama Holness told MTL Blog he was "disappointed and saddened" by a racist and violently hateful email that was sent to him.

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The email, which he posted to his social media accounts, claims to be from a "proud Quebecer." It repeatedly calls Holness the N-word, refers to him as an "immigrant" and wishes violence upon him.

"It feels like an emotional concussion. You know, I wasn't expecting it," said Holness.

"There's a tremendous amount of pressure when you're running for mayor of Montreal and with everything going on, it did affect me. I get a lot of these things with the N-word, but never to this point of talking about suicide and giving someone a gun to shoot me [...] This was over the top."

Holness received an outpouring of support in his comments sections, as well as from his political opponents Denis Coderre and Valérie Plante on Twitter. But the email has shaken the mayoral hopeful.

"I'm not fully confident that people are ready to build a society where everyone can come as they are," he said.

"I'm taking some time to digest everything."