Aaron Warner of Hartford – 2024 candidate for selectman and VDC Regional Reporter – presented the following to the Hartford Selectboard recently.
To the Hartford Select Board:
The American flag literally represents a united people. United as in the entire country. Among the arguments LGBTQ activists make for flying their flag is that it represents diversity and inclusion.
Not as much as that flag does (points to American flag). It is the ultimate in diversity and inclusion. All men and women are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Everyone.
The “pride” flag is by definition exclusive. It excludes anyone who is not LGBTQ, which is in fact most of the country.
There is a growing “pride” fatigue around the country because “pride” doesn’t know when enough is enough. It keeps wanting more as pride often does. The problem I have with it is not a moral one but one of civic interests. Is it in our interest to dedicate a month to a self-proclaimed special group of people? We have twelve months. Who gets the other eleven? Is it first come first serve? Are we going to be like Boston and violate the constitutional rights of Christians if they want to fly a flag next? Can the town afford that? Who else are we going to consider for flag flying? Trekkies? Star Wars fans? Soccer Moms? We have a lot of those.
When does it end? Honestly, if you plan to institute this for another year I think you need to consider when it’s going to stop until the flag flying thing becomes one more divisive issue the town has to deal with rather than infrastructure and public safety – the only two things it should be focused on.
Another objection I have to the pride flag is it’s explicitly sexual nature. It’s a sex flag, let’s be honest. Every designation in LGBTQ is a sexual designation. You’re a lesbian? How do we distinguish that? Oh, you like to have sex with women. Neat. Your gay? So you like to have sex with other men. Cool. You do you bro. Oh your bisexual? So you’ll have sex with just about anybody. When I was growing up bisexual people were just experimenters who were a little slutty. We all let them figure things out on their own. What about the T? It’s Transexual – yet another sexual designation. Why the constant focus on sex here people? And why are we thinking about flying a flag dedicated to people’s sexual proclivities?
Honestly, this whole thing feels very middle school to me. I find myself wondering when the activists are going to grow up and get on with being happy they are equal to everyone else. Not special, equal.
Can you drive a nail? Can you drive a commercial vehicle? Can you type 50 words per minute? Can you code? Do you have leadership skills? These are pertinent questions to a functioning society. Not who do you prefer to have sex with? Would you please grow up. You like to have sex? Neat. Most adults do. Welcome to the human race. It’s kind of how we got here.
As for flag flying I think we all know flags almost uniquely represent nations or national causes. So far I’ve yet to see the LGBTQ nation at the Olympics. POWs and MIAs literally gave their lives for the country. Being LGBTQ is not heroic, though you might think it is. You’re another person, just like everyone else. Sure you may be different, but so are the rest of us. You may be special to your mom or your dad or whoever you like to have sex with, but to the rest of us you’re just another American worthy of the same respect we all enjoy because of that flag.
Enough of the activism. Enough of the seeking special attention please. Grow up and act like self-contained adults and not self-involved teenagers who constantly need to be affirmed.
This is not a civil rights issue. You already have them. This is a civil society issue. We’re all equal, under that flag (re: American flag). That ought to be enough.
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Categories: Opinion
The Alphabet Gang never wanted equality, contrary to their stated goal. No, what they want is special and unique treatment, and for that to be the norm.
As you stated, nobody cares what freak flag you want to fly behind your front door.
But what most people are realizing is that for the Left, it all boils down to ME. ME, ME, ME.
That’s why the armed forces are overwhelmingly conservative. Conservative values usually mean service above self, and sacrifice for the greater good. But that is entirely foreign to the Left; they put the “self” in “selfish”.
“…what they want is special and unique treatment…” Yes, like the right to share in the benefits of marriage, including the financial benefits bestowed on married couples by the Government. Like the right to NOT be criminally charged because of what they do in the privacy of their bedrooms. Like the right to NOT be discriminated against because of their sexuality.
I wonder how much of your tune you would change if you were vulnerable to criminal charges and systemic discrimination by society simply because you are a political conservative?
Is the pride flag flying all the time or just in June?
What difference does that make? I answered the problem with that in my letter.
Re: “I answered the problem…”.
I don’t think you answered the question/’problem’, Mr. Warner. You dismissed it.
Who says the “pride” flag is by definition exclusive? I didn’t. And yes, I expect the usual myopic remarks about who I choose to ‘pal around with’. But that’s not the point either.
This is not so much a matter of what a flag means to anyone in particular, or whether any flag is flying at any specific time, or all of the time, or never. The implication, at least, to Jack’s (whoever he his) question seems to me to relate more to *where* a flag is flown (i.e., “…like Boston…”).
I’ve read your piece several times and can’t find another distinction in that regard. And I suspect that answering this question will go a long way toward resolving your issue.
This *is* a civil rights case. Flying a flag *is* a 1st Amendment issue. But does the U.S. Constitution provide a government, or a government facility, with 1st Amendment protections? No. The first amendment protects individuals from government abuse by preventing the government from making laws respecting an establishment of religion; prohibiting the free exercise of religion; or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. The Constitution does not ‘protect’ government. It ‘limits’ it.
Is there growing ‘pride’ fatigue? This is a non sequitur, even while I agree with you 110%. I for one am tired of all ‘virtue signaling’. But I’m not tired of protecting and defending the U. S. Constitution and its recognition of the inalienable natural rights we all have.
When does it end?… you ask. When you address the specific instance and location of the occurrence that offends you.
pride is when people built products that were of high quality and people would buy and be proud to own///
Well said! Thank you, Aaron.
My pleasure.
I have to disagree with you on this one Aaron. The Hartford School Board is just standing up for this marginalized group. I am a part of a marginalized group in society. I am short or as I like to say “Vertically Challenged (VC)”. All through my life I have experienced discrimination. When I was in school, I usually wasn’t picked to play basketball and got passed over for the taller kids. When I would go to concerts, tall people would think nothing of sitting in front of me so I couldn’t see the performance. Many women didn’t want to date me as I am VC. Musicians wrote songs telling us we had no reason to live. The list goes on and on.
I am starting a group in called National Organization of Vertically Challenged People “NOVCP” Our initial demands are as follows:
Short people jokes and songs will be considered a hate crime
All collegiate and professional basketball teams will be required to have VC players numbers reflective of the percentages of those people in society.
No one taller than you will be allowed to sit in front of a VC person at a concert or movie
Women will be required by law to date VC men.
There will be more “Demands” but that is what we currently are asking for. We will have our own flag with the words “STAND” on it. I look forward to seeing it flying proudly in front of the Hartford schools and schools all around the country. And yes, I hope to see the STAND flag flying at future Olympic events, especially basketball.
ps.. I am fatigued too
.
Add to that lower shelves in the grocery store for VC folks. I’m tired of searching for a clerk or tall person to reach the items on the top shelf.
BTW, couldn’t agree more with Aaron.
Well said, Mark. But you know it could be worse. I’m a ginger!
The claim to be a marginalized group or as our social justice focused members of the Vermont legislature calls historically marginalized is politically motivated power grab. In reality people move in and out of this designation for various reasons. One being that the group is incorporated into mainstream society and secondly the group achieved equivalent economic outcome as the dominant culture. For example, gays and lesbians are now part of the dominant culture, with cultural visibility. They are not hindered in their economic or social possibilities and are represented in media and respected in all segments of society. So why would they need to be given extra privileges and status? Why are theyarginalized? The designation of historically marginalized should be of great concern to all Americans relative to the distribution of resources and privilege because the term is based on a historical context, which never changes. Once historically marginalized, always historically marginalized, regardless of the present moment. This means that these groups will always receive extra power, privilege and resources in perpetuity.
It’s marxist queer theory. Some know it, many do not, but it’s not actually about them. It’s about destroying nuclear families. It’s about destroying capitalism. It’s about destroying countries. It’s about depopulation. It’s about destroying faith in our creator. It’s about destroying westernism. Long story short, God wins.
Bravo!!!! Best article I’ve seen on this topic. Those sex flags in front of our schools have got to go! Well said.
” Every designation in LGBTQ is a sexual designation. You’re a lesbian? How do we distinguish that? Oh, you like to have sex with women. Neat. Your gay? So you like to have sex with other men.” Quick question, if two people of the same sex are in a committed relationship don’t have sex, does that mean that they aren’t gay?
Answer – homosexuality implies sex. In the exceedingly rare case, if there even are any, where two men or two women live together and remain completely abstinent from any sexual contact (kissing, sex, etc.) they are practically priests and nuns at that point. It’s not a sexual relationship they are committed friends apparently. However this is another straining of gnat in order to try and make the case in favor of homosexuality. The example you give isn’t homosexuality at that point it’s a platonic friendship. You won’t fined LGBTQ-PF-+ flags anywhere. You don’t understand the movement. It’s about SEXUAL liberation and always has been. It’s proponents have always argued for boundary-less sexual freedom and gratification. The flag is a statement of their coalescing to form political power as means of justifying more political power. Period. It’s not about love, it’s about sex. Like you they play word games to obfuscate and gaslight what’s really motivating the movement. Power and freedom to re-write the natural order. Hence Transgenderism tossing actual biology out the window to create new non-scientific (re: made up) gender categories that effectively eliminate male and female. Like you just did they trot out the extreme exception such as “what about intersex or hermaphrodites?”, less than 1% of babies born with such an anomaly, to justify widespread indoctrination of children that leads to the now highly profitable transgender industrial-medicine complex. Using the exception to manufacturing transgenders rather than letting nature have it’s very limited anomalies and letting doctors help those. It’s utterly immoral and unethical, yet seemingly intelligent people like you rush to defend it. I wonder why?
An honest evaluation is LGBTQ+ are all sexual designations and no one believes gay men and women or bisexuals are simply living in cohabitative arrangements. Nor is anyone transitioning without it impacting their sexual organs or sexual expression.
You’re not dumb Chris, but your question is deliberately intended to cause stupefaction, which is just playing dumb. I kind of thought you were smarter than that.
Props to you Aaron – I read Chris’s comment several times and couldn’t grasp the point. I guess it must be my unobtainable, unrealized white privilege, straight lady blind spot. I still don’t know how equality is acheived if it requires special treatment, special privileges, special symbolism, and special flags – how is unity and co-existence obtained by standing and demanding special recongition and treatment apart from the rest of society? How does a person’s bedroom follies require me to treat them as a special class over anyone else?
Furthermore, your question has nothing to do with the flying of a flag for a group of people who want to be regarded as special. There’s no place for a “just friends” flag either. The constant jockeying for political affirmation on top of social affirmation then demanding celebration, adulation and veneration via flying their flag like it’s a nation is absurd. I think you know that Chris. However, like so many others, I think you want to be seen eating the social soup du jour so as not to look like a “hater”. Am I wrong?
Thanks for your response, I guess? There’s an awful lot to unpack there, so I’d thought I’d start with, “how come heterosexual marriages are about love, not sex?” You make a lot of incorrect assumptions and then jump into some rambling diatribe about transgenderism that I can’t make heads or tails of. Do you think that transgenderism or homosexuality doesn’t happen in nature? If so, you failed Bio.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nc-aquarium-pregnant-stingray-charlotte-mystery-b2501846.html You’re obviously not married because if you were you’d understand that there are many different types of love besides sexual love. I hope that you find some, so you’re not so angry.
That flag that bothers you is really nothing more than a symbol showing people that belong to that community that they are supported. That’s it. Obviously you feel that there is a larger agenda at work, but believe me often the simplest explanation is the correct one. Images we don’t agree with that exist in our community are part of living in a free society. I don’t like taxpayer dollars going to religious schools because God’s not real, but I’m not up in arms over it.
“I think you want to be seen eating the social soup du jour so as not to look like a “hater”.” No Aaron, as a real conservative. I just don’t care what two consenting adults do together, but it obviously bothers you, maybe you should look into that.
I take it back Chris, you’re most likely not as smart as I thought. Here again you use deliberately stupefying questions like “how come heterosexual marriages are about love, not sex?” as if they’re mutually exclusive. They’re not. HeteroSEXUAL indicates the binary nature of the relationship and it’s absurd to say they are about love and not sex when everyone knows sexual intercourse is a key aspect of marriage expressing the love intimacy via the physical act reserved for married couples.
You say I make incorrect assumptions but don’t name them but can’t make heads nor tails of them. If you can’t make heads nor tails of them then how can you say they are incorrect? That’s an incoherent statement.
You then trot out “a rare form of asexual reproduction” in a stingray as if it somehow makes your argument flying an LGBTQ+ flag? Equally incoherent and more gnat straining of mother nature’s anomalies rather than observing the “not rare forms of regular reproduction”, namely between male and female creatures. Society is built around norms not the abnormal, yet it makes room for the latter. However flying the LGBTQ+ flag is abnormal in more ways than one. It’s not a unifying flag, nor are the people who wish it to be special – they’re Americans like the rest of us. Why do they get a flag? What about women? Or Latinos? Or Albinos? They’re not a special group deserving of special treatment. They’re a sexually derived group identity looking for political power that undermines America – and they say as much. They are Marxists – fundamentally focused on abolishing family, state, property, religion, and normalcy. Read their literature, they say it, explicitly.
Keep your day job since your chances at a Dear Chris column aren’t good – I am happily married for fourteen years and familiar with the various forms of love – phileo, filial, erotic, agape, etc.
This isn’t an Occum’s razor problem – the simple answer they’ve already given. They have an agenda. They are Marxist activists and the Q in LGBTQ is the Q-de-gras. You clearly are defending from a Dunning-Kreuger level of knowledge.
I’m perfectly fine with LGBTQ people flying their flags and images on their private property, nor do I care what they do in their bedrooms, it’s when they seek political privilege on public property it becomes an issue. Especially when the movement now encompasses gender queering children and drag queen pedagogy hours. Please try to keep up.
You’re barely a libertarian let alone a conservative. As the country moves leftward it becomes less conservative – which is where we find you. Maybe you have fiscally conservative views but I haven’t seen them? Nearly every argument you make is an apology or defense of the left. How is that conservative? Conservative per this argument would be to conserve the honorific roles of the American and Vermont flags that represent everyone, not skip along with the rainbow brigade and pretend like the pride flag is tantamount. It’s not. It’s a sex flag (homosexual, bisexual, trans-sexual, queer-sexual, a-sexual, etc.) It’s not a love flag. If it were then why not have a heart on it? It’s purposefully in a constant state of color revolution hence it’s constant changing appearance. You should look into why that is.
As for angry, my anger is the fact this religious cult has lied and deceived their way into political power. I don’t like liars who take advantage of my fellow Americans. I also don’t like adults sexualizing children which is now part and parcel of what that flag stands for. Not my words either – they say it themselves. Go read some Gayle Rubin, Judith Butler or Jose Esteban Munoz then get back to me.
Almost as crafty as your uncanny ability to ask questions while not being willing to answer any.
Check mate.
Los Angeles Times March 7, 2024: “Huntington Beach voters approved an amendment to the city’s charter this week that barred the city from displaying anything other than a select few official government flags on city property.
According to the Orange County Registrar, 58% of the voters in the beachside city supported the amendment and 42% opposed it. Turnout was low — only 23% of the city’s registered voters headed to the polls. The charter amendment bars the city from flying anything on city property but the city flag, the Orange County flag, the state of California flag and the American flag as well as some military flags and the Olympic flag.”
The tide is turning – Californians appear to have had enough and supporters skipped the polls on this monumental charter change vote? Portland Oregon re-criminalizing and stiffening up illicit drug laws. Good times!
Thanks for sharing that change of heart in California, although I think Huntington may run redder than most areas of the Golden State?
California IS a massive State. Urban areas tend to be more Demogressive, while less built-up areas, as in most places, tend to be more Conservative and independent-minded…unless you’re in Vermont. At the same time, the most “Liberal” areas have seen what extremist policies have done the most clearly. The big risk is that they are more prone to take an equally drastic change of policy in a different direction, with a different-but-equally unbalanced result.
I need to start the TCBY+ movement…
USA has one flag,Red,White and Blue…end of subject.
You want another flag? Go start your own country and fly your flag there.
Did you know that China covertly started and financed the concept of LGBTQ+ to divide Americans?
Fact and they did a good job of it with the blind leading the blind left jumping aboard and doing the PRC work for them,not to mention the press.
Stone cold fact…people as such dupes in all due respect.
Better wake up before it’s too late and vote Team Trump.
The Chinese invented gay people may be the best thing I’ve read on this site.
I would like to see any evidence you may have to support the outlandish accusation that China started and financed the LBGTQ+ concept.
Go ahead. We’ll wait.
That’s ridiculous. Everyone knows Sir Isasc Newton invented homosexuality in 1672.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2654938987988683&set=a.196413127174627
Aaron, why do you think that the pride flag is exclusive? I’m not gay, but I don’t feel excluded in any way because like most of the country I support gay rights and oppose those who would like to force gay people back into the closet. Sexuality obviously makes you uncomfortable.
Hi Mark –
By comparison it’s exclusive. The American flag, and the people it represents, includes everyone. It is the MOST inclusive in that if you are American it represents you. It also represents the idea that is America and the freedoms that make us unique among all other nations, nations which have their own flags.
LGBTQ+ having a flag is silly to me for starters. They aren’t a nation, they don’t have an army, a constitution, nor do they represent the country, but rather a very small segment of the country. There representation as Americans is greater under old glory than it is under the LGBTQ banner, which is mostly symbolic. Furthermore, they have all the same rights as every other American, however they are now wanting special rights. I object to that even to the point of special rights to fly their flag on a government building. They aren’t special and they don’t deserve the honor. If they do then the door swings wide open to every other group and category which is a hot mess, especially since we only have eleven months, a point I make in my letter.
Sexuality doesn’t make me uncomfortable, that’s not obvious at all. Having a flag that represents people who have designated themselves by their sexuality is also juvenile, but whatever. I don’t object to them wanting to unite under their symbol and place it wherever they want, until they want to take political power and fly it with the most powerful political symbol – the American flag.
There is also a subtext to this event and it’s a power grab. These folks have not been honest and it’s come out. I am calling out the liars who are the real drivers of this flag movement, the activists who refuse to be happy with being equal but want to be special. It’s divisive and it’s exclusionary and that’s why I object.
The sexual aspect of it to me isn’t objectionable, it’s silly and it’s a puerile reason to unite under a symbol or flag and certainly doesn’t rise to the level of nobility of true freedoms we enjoy thanks to our constitution. The over-sexualization of our culture especially now foisted on to kids is my real issue with the sexual side of it. They don’t respect the innocence of children and are now openly manipulating and grooming them, under the pride flag. So – I’ve had it and those are my reasons.
They don’t have to “go back into the closet” but they also don’t get to “raise the flag and demand allegiance” – that’s a bridge too far.
Here is some good news from outside the bubble of Vermont.
Appears the Prime Minister of France and his First Lady? are caught in a big scandal and very extensive cover-up spanning several decades. Also, the Vatican may have known all about it for quite some time – prompting the Pope to turn the Church upside down by allowing certain blessings and ceremonies that are not in line with long standing doctrine?
After Kat Williams spilled the beans on Shannon Sharpe’s show, Club Shay Shay, now P Diddy – aka Sean Puffy Diddy Combs, is being outed and sued for $30 Million by his producer, Lil Rod, alleging all sorts of nasty things. This suit being after a settlement with singer Casandra Ventura for all kinds of other nasty things.
There is also a claim that “transgender” is an acronym inside the acronym. The meaning laid out as: To Redesign and Negate Sex Genetics Eductation Negating DNA Embryos and Races. Neat huh? I always figured they took a page out of the feminist movement of the early 1970’s and we see how that has worked out for women eh? Some now struggle to define what a woman is? Garbage sold and swallowed hook, line and sinker by woefully ignorant fools.
So the ensuing scandals, cover-ups, and lawsuits flying to and fro is exposing the ugly underbelly hidden from the public for decades. Along with this, the acronym mafia is getting pulled into the spotlight for their dirty deeds and who is behind it all. The false idols and why they promote such filth is coming to light. Where is Kate Middleton? Good times! God wins!
Hey Aaron, wish the comments lined up, but speaking of day jobs, how’d that election turn out?
If you think that’s a gotcha you’re wrong again. I said repeatedly I didn’t want the job. It was about starting the conversation and now people are more aware of issues they were previously in denial about. 436 people in my town resonated with what I had to say, which is about 25% of the registered voters turnout.
I’m told that’s pretty good for a first time out as a conservative in a heavily liberal town.
Have you ever held office?
Telling me you’re running for a job that you don’t want is such an amazing move that I’m just going to stop with you because I’m no match for the 4D level chess you’re playing. Keep reaching for that rainbow.