Pride Flag
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Always good to see one trick ponies vacate.Norwich Township politician quits in protest as colleagues approve ban on Pride flags
'I refuse to participate in this any longer,” Alisha Stubbs said. “The dog whistles and blatant discrimination.'
Author of the article:Calvi Leon • Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Published May 24, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
A local politician who led a push to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion in Norwich Township quit mid-meeting Tuesday night as her council colleagues gave final approval to a ban on non-government flags, including Pride flags, on municipal property.
Coun. Alisha Stubbs told her colleagues she’s resigning immediately after politicians in the rural Southwestern Ontario township voted 3-2 to formally approve the flag-flying ban that’s drawn widespread attention on the community southeast of London.
“I refuse to participate in this any longer,” Stubbs said. “The dog whistles and blatant discrimination. I refuse to participate in this. The hypocrisy of decisions made for peace while many citizens here feel fear. I refuse to participate in this.”
Stubbs also said she refused to be part of “negative talk and slander” about her after meetings and a “lack of leadership by this council that panders to religious groups.”
Her announcement, which concluded with parting advice for council, drew applause and cheers from members in the gallery, who were earlier told by Norwich Mayor Jim Palmer to leave because of their pushback to politicians’ remarks during a debate.
Norwich Township, population 11,000, has drawn unprecedented attention after council voted last month to restrict flag-flying on its turf to government banners – effectively banning Pride flags – and for rejecting Stubbs’s move to designate June as Pride month.
Coun. John Scholten, who introduced the ban, said at the April 25 meeting that flying only government flags would “maintain the unity” of the township.
Many activists and residents disagree and have pointed to the Netherlands Reformed Congregation, a local church in the community, as having an influence on the council decision.
The bylaw passed Tuesday states the township has “an obligation to maintain political, religious and cultural neutrality” and that messages displayed on civic buildings and streetlight poles “may be considered community-messages.”
A lengthy debate over whether to defer the vote broke out after politicians quibbled with a section of the bylaw stating the flag ban did not apply to banners for the community’s junior and minor hockey teams.
“This just opens up the floodgates here,” Coun. Shawn Gear said.
“I just made a shortlist the other day. Like baseball banners? They’re down in Otterville Park. Then we start getting into our sponsorship banners that are around our parks and in our arenas. We get into our Christmas decorations,” he continued, listing off examples.
“Even if I was in support of this, I couldn’t stand behind the simple literature of it.”
Councillors Scholten and Adrian Couwenberg agreed one hockey team shouldn’t be singled out and supported tabling the vote.
“I agree with this bylaw up until the number one (point). We just want to stay politically, religiously and culturally neutral,” Couwenberg said, drawing opposition from the gallery.
Two local residents, including a member of a group called Norwich Residents for Love and Acceptance, presented delegations Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to dissuade council from passing the ban.
Gear and Stubbs voted against the ban. The mayor, Couwenberg and Scholten voted for it.
The council term is barely halfway through its first of four years. It wasn’t immediately clear how council would fill the vacancy. Stubbs left her now-former colleagues with parting words before the meeting ended.
“Advocate for people the same way you advocate for roads. Use your power for good. When you hear of people in our community that feel unsafe, believe them. Just like you always believe the people who say that the roads are a mess,” she said.
“Read more, learn more, and then do better.”
cleon@postmedia.com
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
Rural politician quits in protest as colleagues approve ban on Pride flags
A local politician who led a push to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion in Norwich Township quit mid-meeting Tuesday night as her council colleagues gave final approval to a …torontosun.com
And now, another group of Alphabeteers are whining because some Catholic school won't hoist their tribalistic symbol and have gone crying to Doug Ford in an attempt to FORCE said school to hoist their tribalistic symbol.
What's it called again, when people try to FORCE you to go along with their shit?
It's crap like this that is drawing public support AWAY from the Alphabet Community.
What's it called again, when people try to FORCE you to go along with their shit?
It's crap like this that is drawing public support AWAY from the Alphabet Community.
Same thing happens when the extremists in the Religious communities do shit to drive people away too.
Happens everywhere.
FWIW, it's Catholic schools, they're anti-Pride and shouldn't be forced to put up a flag if it's against their religious indoctrinations. Those who are angry and are trying to push it to happen are fuckheads.
Except the govt didn't proclaim a "special month" for them and didn't make them a "protected class".
And how much of it is backed by the govt?
It's not just Catholic schools though. During the NHL season people in the Alphabet Community (and/or their supporters) were almost apoplectic because some hockey players wouldn't go out for warm-ups sporting a pride jersey. Some unhinged commenters even went so far as to suggest said players should be suspended or face some kind of sanction. Some even called for their outright expulsion from the NHL.
The thing is, the pride flag is not a symbol of inclusiveness, it's a symbol of exclusivity. Who, outside of the 4-5% of the population who make up the Alphabet Community does that flag represent? No one. We have lots of Chinese people here. What if they started demanding the Chinese flag be hoisted over govt property? What if Black people started demanding the Black Power flag be flown over govt property during Black History Month? We have lots of Americans who live here. Should the American flag be hoisted above govt property on July 4th?
Where does it end? Because if you're doing it for one group, you can't very well deny another group the same thing. That would be discriminatory, and we can't have that now can we.
Missed the point.
Missed the point.
Yep, proof that there are idiots in any/every group. Or wait, should I ask if they were "backed by the govt"?
If that's how you want to look at it.
So... question then: who, outside of the X% of the population who make up the Acadians, does the Acadian flag represent?
Same deal. Just the Pride Flag gets flown in a lot more places.
Or the Ukranian flag! I mean, there's a war over there right now, what if we flew the Ukra...
Oh.
Nevermind.
Already happens Jin. Maybe not in your area of the world, but in others, it happens. Even my little border community flies flags of 'Minority" type groups. The town gives reasons why the flag is up, if people bitch, they keep it to others like them and overall, people just go about their business. It's a flag, whether Acadian, Pride, Ukranian or whatever.
I wonder why? Extremism?
COLUMBUS — Students with an LGBTQ service-oriented organization at Ohio State University think the campus is a generally safe space.
But they've heard their peers question why a character in a movie had to be gay. They've also seen roommate postings requiring that the person must be straight.
So they weren't altogether surprised when a recent report signaled decreasing comfort levels with LGBTQ people among young non-LGBTQ adults.
“People are still saying that they support equal rights, because they have the potential to be socially isolated if they don’t support equal rights,” said Ohio State senior Hannah Messer, co-president of Students for Diversity in Education through Service, or SDES. “[But] saying that you support equal rights and being an ally are two very different things.”
Just 45% of adults ages 18 to 34 said they were comfortable interacting with LGBTQ people in 2018, according to the recent Accelerating Acceptance survey conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD. That’s down from 53% in 2017, and 63% in 2016.
It’s a downturn that’s upsetting to LGBTQ advocates, nationally and locally.
“We can’t take anything for granted,” said Grant Stancliff, communications director for LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Ohio. “There’s an implicit assumption that we are on a course of progress, and that time is the most important factor [and] that kind of no matter what we do in our day-to-day, that it will get better just by the nature of time passing.”
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis sounded a similar alarm, pointing to a contentious political climate and culture. GLAAD and other organizations supporting LGBTQ people have said that the Trump administration’s “discriminatory policies and targeted rhetoric” have helped pave the way for others’ intolerance.
“The younger generation has traditionally been thought of as a beacon of progressive values,” Ellis said in a written statement released with the report. “We have taken that idea for granted, and this year’s results show that the sharp and quick rise in divisive rhetoric in politics and culture is having a negative influence on younger Americans.”
The survey results were surprising to Erin Upchurch, executive director of Kaleidoscope Youth Center, which supports LGBTQ youths ages 12-24.
“That doesn’t seem to reflect my experience with that population, that age group,” she said. “I have way more questions than answers.”
She pointed to the interactions of her teenage son and his friends, for example.
"It goes beyond being inclusive," she said. "They just create environments where everyone can belong.
"When I feel surprised by research, that is why.”
More generally, representation and acceptance of LGBTQ people has seemingly increased — from more LGBTQ characters in television and movies to growing numbers of gender-sexuality alliance clubs in local schools. Kaleidoscope defines those groups as student-run clubs that provide "a safe place for students to meet, support each other, talk about issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, and work to end transphobia and homophobia."
When marginalized people move closer to having rights and full equality, others outside that group can feel as if they’re losing something, Upchurch said. “There could just be folks who feel like it’s being pushed in their face, honestly, and it’s moving too fast,” she said.
That might not present itself in outright hateful comments, said Ryan Cloutier, president of Pride OSU, a campus social organization aimed at providing safe and welcoming environments for LGBTQ students and allies. But he sees hints of discomfort from time to time, such as when someone gives a funny look or makes a comment about the rainbow stickers on his laptop.
"A lot of people don’t want to be outwardly hateful, especially on college campuses," said Cloutier, a junior. "[But] I can definitely pick up on discomfort or other sort of avoidance or other sort of subtle things that make it clear that they’re not OK with me or other people in my community.”
Cloutier thinks the divisive political climate has in part led to young adults' decreasing comfort toward LGBTQ people reported in the survey. But he also suspects that the downturn could be because survey respondents are starting to think of transgender people when they hear LGBTQ, when in previous years they might have thought primarily of gay people.
"Now the trans-rights movement is having a really big push into the mainstream," he said. "People are finally thinking about trans people and how they feel about trans people. I think a lot of people are having to confront transphobia … and have to deal with trans people trying to actually be part of society.”
Advocacy groups are looking to the new report as a catalyst.
People shouldn’t lose sight of the young people who truly are working toward a more accepting and inclusive world, Upchurch said. Yet it shouldn’t be taken for granted, she added. “It just shows our work is not really done,” she said.
SDES at Ohio State, which has more than 20 members, already had a goal of becoming more visible on campus, its leaders said. “This report just puts even more fire behind that,” Messer said.
The future looks bright.
Poll: Youth acceptance of LGBTQ people drops from 63% to 45%
COLUMBUS — Students with an LGBTQ service-oriented organization at Ohio State University think the campus is a generally safe space.
But they've heard their peers question why a character in a movie had to be gay. They've also seen roommate postings requiring that the person must be straight.
So they weren't altogether surprised when a recent report signaled decreasing comfort levels with LGBTQ people among young non-LGBTQ adults.
“People are still saying that they support equal rights, because they have the potential to be socially isolated if they don’t support equal rights,” said Ohio State senior Hannah Messer, co-president of Students for Diversity in Education through Service, or SDES. “[But] saying that you support equal rights and being an ally are two very different things.”
Just 45% of adults ages 18 to 34 said they were comfortable interacting with LGBTQ people in 2018, according to the recent Accelerating Acceptance survey conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD. That’s down from 53% in 2017, and 63% in 2016.
It’s a downturn that’s upsetting to LGBTQ advocates, nationally and locally.
“We can’t take anything for granted,” said Grant Stancliff, communications director for LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Ohio. “There’s an implicit assumption that we are on a course of progress, and that time is the most important factor [and] that kind of no matter what we do in our day-to-day, that it will get better just by the nature of time passing.”
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis sounded a similar alarm, pointing to a contentious political climate and culture. GLAAD and other organizations supporting LGBTQ people have said that the Trump administration’s “discriminatory policies and targeted rhetoric” have helped pave the way for others’ intolerance.
“The younger generation has traditionally been thought of as a beacon of progressive values,” Ellis said in a written statement released with the report. “We have taken that idea for granted, and this year’s results show that the sharp and quick rise in divisive rhetoric in politics and culture is having a negative influence on younger Americans.”
The survey results were surprising to Erin Upchurch, executive director of Kaleidoscope Youth Center, which supports LGBTQ youths ages 12-24.
“That doesn’t seem to reflect my experience with that population, that age group,” she said. “I have way more questions than answers.”
She pointed to the interactions of her teenage son and his friends, for example.
"It goes beyond being inclusive," she said. "They just create environments where everyone can belong.
"When I feel surprised by research, that is why.”
More generally, representation and acceptance of LGBTQ people has seemingly increased — from more LGBTQ characters in television and movies to growing numbers of gender-sexuality alliance clubs in local schools. Kaleidoscope defines those groups as student-run clubs that provide "a safe place for students to meet, support each other, talk about issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, and work to end transphobia and homophobia."
When marginalized people move closer to having rights and full equality, others outside that group can feel as if they’re losing something, Upchurch said. “There could just be folks who feel like it’s being pushed in their face, honestly, and it’s moving too fast,” she said.
That might not present itself in outright hateful comments, said Ryan Cloutier, president of Pride OSU, a campus social organization aimed at providing safe and welcoming environments for LGBTQ students and allies. But he sees hints of discomfort from time to time, such as when someone gives a funny look or makes a comment about the rainbow stickers on his laptop.
"A lot of people don’t want to be outwardly hateful, especially on college campuses," said Cloutier, a junior. "[But] I can definitely pick up on discomfort or other sort of avoidance or other sort of subtle things that make it clear that they’re not OK with me or other people in my community.”
Cloutier thinks the divisive political climate has in part led to young adults' decreasing comfort toward LGBTQ people reported in the survey. But he also suspects that the downturn could be because survey respondents are starting to think of transgender people when they hear LGBTQ, when in previous years they might have thought primarily of gay people.
"Now the trans-rights movement is having a really big push into the mainstream," he said. "People are finally thinking about trans people and how they feel about trans people. I think a lot of people are having to confront transphobia … and have to deal with trans people trying to actually be part of society.”
Advocacy groups are looking to the new report as a catalyst.
People shouldn’t lose sight of the young people who truly are working toward a more accepting and inclusive world, Upchurch said. Yet it shouldn’t be taken for granted, she added. “It just shows our work is not really done,” she said.
SDES at Ohio State, which has more than 20 members, already had a goal of becoming more visible on campus, its leaders said. “This report just puts even more fire behind that,” Messer said.
The future looks bright.
Quoted so Seeryahoo can read it and weep.
Foghorned, screamed, cancelling people and reality, promoting butchering of children usurping parental Rights.
Keep it up cookie.
Exactly. Given the freedom to let their Klan flags fly, the denizens of the world's only football team with its own university are Trumping out.
Wow. I couldn't have asked for a better demonstration that those who claim homosexuality is none of their business but they oppose trans people are lying.
You are quite correct. But petros chose to mingle "LGBTQ" with "promoting butchering of children usurping parental Rights."
I am quite confident there are many people who understand the difference between gay/lesbian and trans. I'm equally sure there are a ton of 'em who commingle and hate and fear anybody who's not cis-hetero.
There is. There's lots of differences between everyone that's GLBTQIA+. That's WHY there's an "alphabet soup".
Personally I don't like all the specific break downs of it, because it causes problems, but I also get why it became this way so... whatever. It doesn't bother me that much that I bitch about it like some do.
Look on the bright side, Serryah. If the terrified straights have their way, there'll be the corpse of a gay kid hanging on every rural fence in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.
I remember looking at a tinder add on Reddit (it was in with a Memes), and it was a Trans Woman that would only date Biological Women with 6 figure incomes.
Some funny comments like that add was the closest proof that Trans Women were Women (re the only with 6 figure incomes).
No problem here......They can do as they like and I can ignore it all.
Oh, and the meme.......
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