On Monday morning, Lisa Levitt checked the letterbox at her Belleknowes home.
She encountered an ugly surprise — a cut-out article about the Green Party with racist comments and a condom attached.
"I was quite taken aback. It was shocking and very racially offensive."
Ms Levitt thought the note had been placed in the letterbox in relation to a Green Party hoarding out the front of the property.
Partner Paul Campbell said he was "appalled" to read the note.
"I was quite disgusted. I thought how could this be happening in Dunedin?
"Racism is not something I experience in my day-to-day life. It’s very sad.
"We’ve lived in the United States for many years. The state of it [racism] over there is awful."
Ms Levitt said the note had not soured the upcoming election.
"It’s nothing to do with the election, it’s to do with an individual who is a racist and has no regard for others."
The couple had sent photos of the note to the Green Party, and hoped raising awareness of the incident would bring light to the wider issue of racism, Mr Campbell said.
"While it was unpleasant to receive, this is not about us. We’re a middle-class white couple.
"We’re much more annoyed this sort of racism is in our community and we’ve probably been naive about the existence of racism here."
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Comments
It may not be in your direct community, it could be someone passing. You are likely not a target. It may even be a young person who thinks it's a funny thing to do. Sad there are such narrow and vindictive people around but its nothing new- just a sad waste of time in our short time on earth. Better to put that energy into preserving the earth- as you and many others are.
Downplaying is not helpful, either. There have been white racist letterbox drops, admittedly from Christchurch National Front, in Dunedin.