A bill advanced by Florida Republicans on Wednesday would ban teachers and other government employees from displaying a rainbow flag – even wearing one as a lapel pin for a day – but they could hang the full-size flag of any “recognized nation” as long as they want, according to the bill’s sponsor.
Flag displays that depict a “racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint” would be banned from any state or local government building, including public schools and universities, under the bill authored by GOP Rep. David Borrero.
Opponents say the bill is inspired by hate. Borrero said it protects children and it would ban even lapel pins representing the flags of the LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter movements.
“Public classrooms should not be the place where our kids go to be radicalized and evangelized into accepting these partisan, radical ideologies,” Borrero said. “It’s wholly inappropriate to be putting those types of flags in front of public school students and in government buildings.”
We have to keep repeating this: These people are terrified of reality and think that it is everyone’s job to protect them from the real world. I don’t know if it’s helpful to use the term “snowflake”, but it is apt. Queer people exist in the world. There is no doubt. Trans people exist in the world. The Civil Rights movement occurred and was a big part of US history, as was slavery. If someone’s religion says that ham is a sin, we don’t ban it from school cafeterias. That, as we say, is a you problem. We have got to start hammering home that these people are afraid of reality and want big government to protect them from it. And we also have to start saying “Tough shit. Grow up. Learn to deal with the rest of the world or hide in your basement. I give zero fucks.”
They’re not scared of LGBT+ people. They’re just looking for a scapegoat because fascism requires one.
I didn’t say they were scared of gay people. I said they were scared of reality, which includes gay people, America’s history of racism, global warming, and scientists who know more than they do. These things threaten their identity, which can feel like actual physical danger. Certainly, the powerful and sleazy opportunists have used demonization of out-groups to manipulate the masses since the beginning of time, but I don’t think these maniacs screaming about pronouns at schoolboard meetings are pretending at gay panic as a clever ruse while they calmly and knowingly execute a fascism. My husband recently peeked at the facebook of one of his MAGA cousins and she is a maniac. There is nothing strategic about her behavior. She is wrapped up in an ecstasy of hate, driven by fear. It’s an old joke, but she is literally terrified that trans Muslims are going to sneak across the border to forcibly inject her with 5G. Literally.
And to be clear: I don’t care what is going on in their heads. It is unknowable. What I care about is how they are understood and defined by the ambient culture, and my recommendation is to relentlessly portray them as scared diaper babies desperate for their government daddy to come and save them from the big scary world.
As soon as Republicans stop wearing AK 47 pins in the halls of Congress.
He now, they are just showing their support for either East Timor, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso or Mozambique.
All of which have them on their national coat of arms.
Gotta take all the flags out then. It was about the 5th or 6th grade when I stopped standing for the pledge and national anthem. The fact it’s implied as mandatory is so gross.
Flag displays that depict a “racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint”
IANAL but wouldn’t the stars and stripes also fall under that definition?
I keep hearing how it is the symbol of democracy, which I am fairly sure is a political ideology.
Aren’t flags in general political? Not just what they depict, but literally flags.
theyre political unless a flag is something super generic (e.g ones that might be used for a sport or something) to be used as an indicator off sorts.
I dunno. I once made this nifty flag for a pirate costume… I don’t think that was particularly political? I mean, I was like…12.
Y’arrr, ye be part o’ the Republic o’ Pirates now!
Pirates were pretty democratic, that’s political.
Now it’s for stealing media and games, Sony and other movie theaters will destroy you…
so if they fly a pirate flag in a movie…
does that make it okay to pirate the movie?
- The Christian Fish
- That tree flag
- Those purity type flags
- …
“…they could hang the full size flag of any recognized nation as long as they want.”
Hmm. So hanging a bunch of flags from random countries altogether like this would be okay:
(There aren’t great colour options in the flag palette and you’d probably have to overlap them too but whatever. You get the idea.)
Notice the wording: “racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political ideology viewpoint”
So if rainbow flags were somehow part of, say, religious iconography… would it be okay in that context?
Sounds like a job for the satanic temple
The cowardservative party, yet again, proving to the world that there’s nothing they’re not afraid of.
What happens when it rains but is slightly sunny outside?
. . . but they could hang the full-size flag of any “recognized nation” as long as they want, according to the bill’s sponsor.
Sounds like a great day to explore vexillology in the classroom and accidentally-on-purpose ROYGBIV some large recognized nation flags across the wall. Like China, East Timor, Bhutan, Brazil (or Saudi Arabia, but you know MAGAs lose their shit when they see Arabic), Somalia, and possibly Belize to fake the violet, or sneak in a bit of Iroquois Confederacy.
Seriously, just talk about flags. Why this or that color? Why stripes, why solid fields? What does the symbolism mean? That would be very, very cool, IMO.
EDITED TO ADD: Wikipedia has a list of flags by color and there are even more elsewhere on the web; look them over and see if you too can construct a clearly ROYGBIV flag assembly consisting of “recognized nation” flags for the suffering kids in Florida getting propaganda instead of real education. It’s fun! (But I might be prejudiced, I really like flags, lol.)
Every accusation is a confession.
I’m so glad Double Rainbow Guy didn’t live to see this
Dead at 57
Wait! Really? Rainbow dude is dead?
Edit: Holy fuck! The Internet does say the dude died!
Florida GOP lawmakers seek to ban THEMSELVES from schools, saying they’re bad for students
I think Mauritius’ flag 🇲🇺 is the closest. I could learn to see it as a pride flag.
If they allow city flags, the flag for Cuzco is a rainbow flag I believe.
Next up: Republicans calling for the US to invade Mauritius because it promotes a gay agenda
This would fail any proper challenge for the racial element.
The shitty thing about US law is that there is minimal protection against sexual discrimination, at least outside of employment matters.
