Carnes: Pride flag phobia proliferating
Here we are in Happy Valley, about to start the wonderful month of June, full of hiking, biking, fishing, camping, picnics, concerts and, of course, the annual blooming of hateful bigotry toward anything and everything involving rainbows.
It must be really hard for these people to look outside after a rain shower.
This weekend’s “Pride in the Park” in Avon will be the fourth year for the event to promote LGBTQ+ pride and equality, and the also the fourth year for a select few to share their homophobic pride by ranting and raving over some religious-based hogwash about rainbows and flags, specifically the town of Avon raising a Pride flag during the month.
Pride Month also provides perfect opportunities on a national level for elected nitwits like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert to once again prove that small minds are truly incapable of large thoughts as each desperately attempts to steer the bandwagon of corporate cancel culture.
“Experts think that Target won’t suffer the same fate as Bud Light. What they don’t realize is the guys, who quit Bud Light, wives shop at Target,” Greene tweeted (her punctuation, not mine), while Boebert shouts, “Let’s make it as shameful to wear North Face as it is to drink Bud Light!”
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Why is it those who claim so fervently to be against cancel culture are the most prolific at promoting canceling culture?
Anyway, back to our local flag issue.
With hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills currently being considered across the country, this is just more elected officials, almost exclusively on the far right, telling people what they can and cannot do behind closed doors and with their own bodies, leading to my conclusion that governments, especially at the local level, should refrain from playing the role of making sure everyone gets a yellow ribbon, and should instead stay in their lane of collecting taxes to pay for infrastructure, fire, police, etc.
In other words, the town of Avon, while to be applauded on one hand for expressing their First Amendment right to fly the rainbow flag, should use the other hand to slap down further attempts to use their public pulpit for community expressions that can easily be misconstrued as personal agendas and most certainly are not representative of the entire community.
I’m all for the Pride events, and like all the religions in the world, have no issue with their existence as long as they show compassion for and don’t try to force anything upon others who think differently (yes, I have rose-colored dreams too, but whatever).
As a Vail Daily letter said last week, the Avon Town Council makes the decision on the use of flagpoles “based on values they feel are reflective and appropriate for the Avon community…” Well, they shouldn’t, as what values are appropriate varies greatly in a diverse community such as ours. I know some of my friends on the council might disagree, but no local council is ever going to please everyone all the time, as the thin-skinned and easily offended are so prevalent nowadays, so stop trying to and stick with what you were elected for in the first place — making decisions for the long-term benefit of the entire community.
The United States, Colorado and town of Avon flags should fly alone, and leave the marketing of morals and ethics up to the individual, or at least a Chamber of Commerce.
Richard Carnes, of Avon, writes weekly. He can be reached at poor@vail.net.