Three gay friends wearing "Hoes For Harris" T-shirts
L-R: Dennis, Cody and Mike (Photo: @allthegaynz/X)

If you want an example of the difference between real life and online life, a posting by a gay fitness instructor over the weekend provides a topical example. 

Cody Ditto is based with his fiancé, Dennis, in Pittsburgh. They and their best friend, Mike, hit Provincetown over Labor Day weekend. All three are voting for Kamala Harris this November. 

They purchased some T-shirts online with the slogan “Hoes for Harris” across the front. They thought they were purchasing a lighthearted item to wear out over the weekend. Ditto tells Queerty they received nothing but complimentary comments while enjoying themselves in P-Town. 

“Everyone here loved the shirts. We were stopped about 50-60 times the day we wore them by people wanting photos and expressing support of the shirts and Kamala.”

Then Ditto posted a photo to X. And the hate started. 

This is some of the more polite criticism. Others blasted the men’s assumed sexual health or HIV status.

It’s worth pointing out that other commentators loved the shirts and the tweet has received over 7K likes.

“Disheartening”

Ditto told Queerty he was not all that surprised, given X’s reputation, by the nasty comments. However, even he was taken aback by some of the flack.

“I’ve been active on Twitter for many years,” he said via email. “I’ve seen how innocent tweets or images can devolve into toxic cesspools, rapidly, so we were not surprised. 

“It’s certainly disheartening that something done in lighthearted fun can become so ugly. The negativity has been a mix of far-left, virtue-signaling small profiles spewing hate for clout and extreme MAGA cultists. The amount of hate referencing HIV, AIDS and Monkeypox is disgusting. We lost a whole generation of gay men to the HIV epidemic and more continue to be infected today. This cynical response is the lowest form of bullying.”

“We are everyday working gays”

Ditto says he and Dennis (to his left) hope to marry next year.

“Mike is our best friend. We are not a throuple. That was one of the many assumptions people made on the post, though, in an attempt to belittle and silence people like us, and we will not. 

“This election has too many consequences for our country. We are not political advocates; we are everyday working gays, we pay our bills, own homes, take care of our dogs and like to have fun on vacation. “

Ditto says they bought the T-shirts online.

“Sadly, the campaign did not benefit, but we have donated multiple times and continue to do so until she wins this election.”

Kamala Harris edges ahead in polls

Since President Joe Biden stepped aside and endorsed Kamala Harris to replace him, the Harris campaign has benefitted from several fundraisers aimed at different groups (Women For Harris, Blacks For Harris, Men For Harris, etc). Harris has overseen a surge in campaign donations and has closed the gap with Donald Trump in the polls. 

According to The Hill, Harris is, on average, a couple of points ahead of Trump across recent polls. This includes most of the swing states. 

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