this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2026
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Department of Public Works employee Eric Batman claims that having to see a Progress Pride flag flying outside the department’s Alhambra, California, headquarters during the month of June effectively forces him to “celebrate, recognize, and solemnize conduct and actions that he views as sin” in conflict with his sincerely held Christian religious beliefs, according to a lawsuit filed in March by anti-LGBTQ+ evangelical nonprofit the Liberty Counsel.

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[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 hour ago (2 children)

I also think the Progress Pride Flag represents conduct and actions I view as sin. Not like, gender/sexual sin. Design sin.

The rainbow flag was already perfect. The rainbow flag to me says "human behavior exists on a spectrum, and everyone matters". It's beautiful, elegant. The stripes don't represent distinct groups, though sinners (the flag redesigners, not LGBTQ+ people) have tried. The flag itself represents harmony in diversity. You can't get better than that, no notes.

The Progress flag is meddling with a perfect formula. It takes a perfect symbol to celebrate diversity itself and plasters it with footnotes. By highlighting specific groups that were included by the rainbow in the first place, it just opens the door to more and more complex revisions to include more and more distinct groups. It turns a poignant symbol of broad inclusiveness into a weird patchwork of granular inclusiveness. That would seem like hyperbole if the pictured flag wasn't already the intersex-inclusive revision.

It's just sloppy vexillology. The rainbow flag is awesome. Why are we fucking with it?

[–] Soggy@lemmy.world 2 points 3 minutes ago

That's basically my problem with the term "LGBT(Q(IA(+)))" but as a basically straight white dude my input has very little weight. I think SAGA is cleaner (Sexuality And Gender Acceptance/Alliance), covers all the bases while being a pronounceable word with a poetic meaning. "Queer" works too but has too much baggage in some regions.

[–] Summzashi@lemmy.world 10 points 1 hour ago

Hear hear. I refuse to use it for this exact reason. The rainbow flag is such a strong symbol!

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 13 minutes ago

he must getting mixed feeling in his pants to be this upset.

[–] CptHacke@piefed.social 43 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

It's very simple. We'll get rid of the pride flags as soon as they get rid of all the crosses. Fair is fair, after all.

[–] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 31 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (2 children)

The fucking crosses, man.

You think Jesus ever would want to see another cross again?

Dude wouldn't be able to take Public Transit in Boston.

If Jesus came back he probably wouldn't even use the letter "t".

[–] HertzDentalBar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 hour ago (3 children)

Imagine resurrecting into a world full of people wearing crosses with you nailed to them all just acting like it's not fucked

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 points 10 minutes ago

thats why theres the angels to clear everything out when the time comes.

[–] Rozauhtuno@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Then you go to church and see them eat your flesh and blood.

[–] HertzDentalBar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 42 minutes ago

Cannibal death cults man, they be fucked.

[–] mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 58 minutes ago* (last edited 54 minutes ago)

The funny part is that they aren’t even historically accurate crosses. The cross was more like a capital T. The upright post was buried in the ground like a fence pole, with a square peg carved at the top. The actual cross part was just the crossbar, with a matching square hole carved in it. The crossbar was lifted up and set on top of that peg.

The square peg likely only stuck out an inch or two from the top of the T, and that was mostly just to make it more durable, as the peg wore down with use but burying the posts was a labor intensive process. They didn’t want to bury a new post for every single crucifixion, so they made the posts reusable and just swapped out the crossbars.

When Jesus carried his cross to Calvary, he was only carrying the top of the T. But over time, to distinguish it from the capital T, Christians started using the modern cross with the accentuated peg, and it eventually morphed into the modern cross that we all recognize today.

[–] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

That brings a whole new dimension to the T, but you know what, after being subjected to the green line more than a few times it entirely makes sense.

[–] poprocks@lemmy.world 8 points 1 hour ago

So they can take down the flag but that means no Easter decorations or Christmas decorations and definitely canceling the Christmas holiday because I don't want to be forced to celebrate your beliefs you weak twat.

[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 hour ago

Somebody should sue him for suing for seeing a flag. If that's the way we gon play it.

[–] webkitten@piefed.social 7 points 2 hours ago

Someone should punch him in the throat

[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 2 hours ago

I assume this is an effort to create another suit that will get all the way to SCOTUS so that white Christian nationalists get yet another carve-out of everyone else's civil liberties.

[–] Blibly@lemmy.world 20 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

You know, if youre gonna be this pathetic we should be able to exile you to an island.

[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 hour ago

Hey... Australia...

[–] thethunderwolf@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 hours ago

lmao cry about it idiot

pride is unstoppable 💜💛🤍🩷🩵🤎🖤❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 26 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

If this works, is it not precedent to make the same complaint every time I see a cross?

[–] v3ritas@infosec.pub 12 points 3 hours ago

Or see “god” anywhere.

[–] nucleative@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

Maybe. Sometimes different rules apply to government (public) property vs private.

[–] andxz@lemmy.world 5 points 2 hours ago

Snowflake much?

[–] BillCheddar@lemmy.world 13 points 4 hours ago

Why do so many right-wing Christians sound like the villain from a Criminal Minds episode?

Like...this MFer thinks he has a right to make other people not exist for his comfort. Fucking psycho when you dig into it.

[–] TipRing@lemmy.world 12 points 4 hours ago

His faith must be weak for it to be shaken so easily.

[–] FrChazzz@lemmus.org 8 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Meanwhile my church:

(ALT: The words "The Episcopal Church" in white above a variation of a shield graphic that has a blue field in the upper left with a series of white crosses forming an X shape; pink, blue, brown, black diagonal stripes on the right; the classic Pride rainbow colors of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red forming the remaining sections with a white cross holding them all together)

EDIT: I tried to use a spoiler tag/format but I apparently suck at that. Sorry. Don't sue me!

[–] bmebenji@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 hours ago

If I exercise my free speech in the woods with no one around to hear it, is it free speech?

[–] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 286 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (6 children)

It must be hard to be this fragile little bitch of a bigot.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 89 points 7 hours ago (31 children)

Ya know....I really hate that people use the term "snowflake" to describe soft sensitive people. My logic is simple. When I grew up, I was taught that snowflakes were unique and beautiful. Individually a work of art on their own or can work together to form something greater.

I don't want that beautiful word to describe these foul creatures.

Instead I suggest they are called "little bitches". Use that term instead of snowflakes from now on.

[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 hours ago

In the early years of the alt-right and 4chan/b, the derisive use of snowflake was a counter to the notion that everyone is special, noting that while snowflakes are unique and beautiful, they're also superfluously abundant.

It smacks of social Darwinism, the notion that there's too many people and fair treatment of them all is unaffordable, which is only the case when a few hold an extremely disproportionate amount of wealth and power.

(As an aside, the extreme wealth/power disparity that we see today is a symptom of the decay of a society that precedes decline and collapse, at least as we've seen in history. Before the US, an embarrassment of riches was exactly that. In the states, since the rise of the gold rush and the railroad barons, extreme wealth in the US has become an object of admiration and aspiration. The American dream is to join the billionaire class, no matter how rarely it actually happens.)

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[–] ieGod@lemmy.zip 7 points 4 hours ago

He's not wrong, which is why we should not acknowledge or grant any privileges to any religion. Practice what you want but you should get no special privilege or consideration.

[–] W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 19 points 5 hours ago

Forcing me to see a crosses and churches on my drive to work violate my religious beliefs all.

[–] renegadespork@lemmy.jelliefrontier.net 125 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (7 children)

And not a single person has complained about being “forced” to see all the churches he also goes past.

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 hours ago

So yes, but also this is slightly different than that. It's about the department itself flying the flag. Still absolutely insane, but slightly less insane than that. The end result, if this person wins, is literally no flags or any other messaging. "My religion doesn't support nationalism." This would also include extreme stances like "my religion doesn't support the periodic table" or things like that.

[–] neatchee@piefed.social 65 points 7 hours ago

Waiting for the precedent so the Church of Satan can abuse the fuck out of it to start forcing churches into seclusion

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[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 14 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Pride also is notably not a religious belief. Its a belief in fundamental human rights and equality under the law.

If my religion was that "all government is evil" then there's no amount of government that would not offend my sensibilities. Notably a lot if "sovereign citizens" believe exactly this and happen to be religious christians.

This should be treated with even more ridicule than sovereign citizen beliefs because this is being offended by a belief specifically opposed to the equality of the law.

[–] altkey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 hours ago

Holy homophobia Batman! It's 1984 and the Big Gay shoves gay frogs down a christian throat! Should've sued his maker for making him a whiney tool with pretty offending vibes of one another cross-cluthing mass shooter.

[–] ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world 18 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I used to have to drive past this fucking thing on my way to work. We banning those too?

[–] PriorityMotif@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

I know where this is, I hate it.

Love thy neighbor

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