Is The Pride Flag Dividing The US Or Are Conservatives Just Awful, Hateful Human Beings?

The answer seems pretty obvious here.

This weekend, Ben Shapiro, Tim Pool, and other top minds of the internet went absolutely ballistic over the Pride flag being displayed at the White House. Was anyone surprised by this? No. Of course not. It's kind of their whole deal. Someone does something to support or acknowledge any group of people other than cishet white men and they immediately go for their smelling salts.

However, we're still going to address it, because what I do think is interesting is the way they are twisting themselves into knots in order to present this as anything but what it is — hate. They want so desperately to have a very rational reason for why they are freaking out over the Pride flag other than the fact that they simply hate LGBTQ+ people and don't want to be reminded of the fact that they exist.

For his part, Ben Shapiro claimed that the flag was illegitimately displayed because "American soldiers" didn't fight or die for it and because it is not the official flag of a government.

“Not one American soldier fought and bled for this flag. Not one American taxpayer paid taxes to the government of this flag. Not one law has been passed under a government elected under under this flag. The ideological coup is complete.”

— Ben Shapiro (@Ben Shapiro) 1686488740 

"Not one American soldier fought and bled for this flag," he wrote. "Not one American taxpayer paid taxes to the government of this flag. Not one law has been passed under a government elected under under this flag. The ideological coup is complete."

So? Lots of American citizens did fight and bleed for this flag — many died. They fought people who shared an ideology with Ben Shapiro and who were willing to hurt their fellow Americans in the name of that ideology. That is worthy of being honored. Also, shut up, it's Pride month. Of course they're going to display a Pride flag.

On FOX, Washington Examiner Deputy Editor Kaylee McGhee White also tried to make the case that those who are offended by the flag are not hateful bigots.

y    www.youtube.com 

"It might seem like just a tasteless violation of flag etiquette here, but the message [from] the Biden administration is clear: This ideology runs America. It’s the new state religion," she explained. "And a lot of Americans see this and are offended by it, not because they oppose equal rights, not because they oppose, you know 'love who you love.' It’s because they see this flag and they see the destruction of women’s sports and women’s private spaces, the indoctrination of their children, the politicization of the medical community."

Sure, except for how none of those things would be an issue if they were not, indeed, hateful bigots.

In what appeared to be an attempt at slam poetry, beanie enthusiast Tim Pool whined that the flag "divides" the US, claiming that "The president knows this flag is not supported by most Americans but dos [sic] not care."

“Does this flag divide the US? Yes The president knows this flag is not supported by most Americans but dos not care Flying a flag of ideology over the flag of country”

— Tim Pool (@Tim Pool) 1686491111 

The second part of this is objectively false. The vast, vast majority of Americans support LGBTQ+ rights — which, frankly, is exactly why people like Pool and Shapiro are trying to pretend that this is about something other than opposing LGBTQ+ rights, somehow. The first part is just ridiculous and insulting. Someone, I forget who, was also on the "it's divisive!" trip last night over the fact that a cereal mascot posed with a trans woman on the Tony's red carpet.

I am so terribly sick of hearing this. It absolutely wounds me to think that Tim Pool thinks that the thing that is dividing us is a Pride flag on the White House. In my heart of hearts, I just want him to know that there is no flag on earth that could change how I feel about him — and not just because he seems like he might smell like soup and Axe Body Spray.

Because whether or not there is a damn Pride flag on the White house is incidental to the fact that he and those who listen to him suck — and there are just so, so many reasons besides this to hate them.

What they mean when they say this is that they do not like being reminded that they are not the center of the universe. They wouldn't feel upset about all the divisiveness if it were a Confederate flag or an NRA flag or a Trump flag or something we don't care much for. They wouldn't feel upset if it were the Ten Commandments. It's not "divisiveness" they're upset about. What they're upset about is the fact that things like Pride flags and Pride month remind them that they are not the only people in this country.

Every time the Right talks about "divisiveness," that is what they are talking about. They want to pretend that they live in a country full of only people just like them, who share their terrible beliefs and ideas. They want other kinds of people to hide and make themselves small so that they are better able to live this fiction. They don't want to be "woke," they don't want to be made aware of other people and their lives and struggles. They want to keep their horse blinders on and for everyone to graciously assist them in creating a world in which they always feel centered and special.

It sounds dramatic, but the more you look at the things that appeal to them, the more it becomes clear that this is true. They like being called Real Americans, they like being told they are the "silent majority," they like being told that the Second Amendment exists so that they can overthrow the government and that making America great again means keeping them at the top of the social hierarchy.

But as long as they oppose inclusiveness, all they're going to get is divisiveness. That's just math.

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