Late Monday night or Tuesday morning, a group of teens from the Atlanta suburbs slashed some pride flags hanging outside a restaurant in midtown Atlanta. They also did some scooter stunts on the street, so it doesn’t sound like anything worse than a bunch of young guys doing a bunch of stupid young guy things. Charge them with vandalism, slap them on the wrist, and maybe make them buy some pride flags on Amazon to replace what they cut up, amirite?
There’s one problem with the theory that stupid kids will do stupid things: these young men (and one 16-year-old boy) destroyed the unsacred symbol of the modern left. They could have ripped up, say, an Atlanta Braves flag, and the city and local media might have been little more than annoyed. Instead, they cut up precious pride flags; thus, Atlanta must make an example of them — and local media must parade the young adults’ mugshots.
Oh, and the city slapped them with hate crime charges, of course. After all, they were just steps away from the unhallowed Rainbow Crosswalk. How dare they show such disrespect to the LGBTQugh community? And during the high unholy days of Pride Month? Quelle horreur!
Related: What Happens When Pride Night Is a Rainout?
Atlanta has its struggles with crime, although most crimes are trending downward. But let’s waste our time and resources on a handful of dumb kids acting the fool. They didn’t kill anybody; they destroyed some flags that probably cost about $30 to replace. But it’s a hate crime and a big news story.
Side note: As I was writing this, I learned that there might be some evidence that the guys pre-planned their little excursion. But beyond the fact that they filmed their antics, I don’t know of any hard evidence. Until there is, I’m still inclined to believe that these were just dumb kids. But my bigger point remains that the left acts like messing with pride paraphernalia is the crime of the century.
The media go up in arms anytime somebody leaves tire marks on a rainbow crosswalk, and this isn’t the first time a city has freaked out over disturbing the precious pride flag. My friend and colleague Athena Thorne reminded me of a story out of New York City, which she wrote about three years ago.
In 2022, a crazy homeless guy with the unfortunate name of Fred Innocent pooped on a pride flag outside a Manhattan restaurant. Then, he proceeded to yank another pride flag down to use as toilet paper. Innocent received the dreaded hate crime charge, too, although there’s really only one reaction to his antics.
This guy should have received vandalism charges, whatever public pooping is called, and probably indecent exposure. And obviously, a judge should have ordered him to undergo some mental health treatment. But because he went brown on a precious pride flag, he got the hate crime treatment.
I asked Grok if vandalism against churches is considered a hate crime, and the answer I got was: not necessarily.
Vandalism against churches can be considered a hate crime if it’s motivated by bias against a protected group, such as religion, race, or ethnicity, as defined by laws like the U.S.’s Hate Crime Statistics Act or local statutes. For example, if a church is targeted due to its religious affiliation—say, anti-Christian or anti-Semitic intent—it may qualify. The FBI’s 2023 hate crime data reported 1,370 incidents targeting religious groups, with 52% against Jewish institutions and 15% against Christian ones, often involving vandalism like graffiti or property damage. However, not all vandalism is automatically a hate crime; intent matters. If it’s random or motivated by non-bias reasons (e.g., personal grudges), it’s typically just property crime. Legal classification depends on jurisdiction and evidence of motive.
Let’s get one thing straight (no pun intended): vandalism is inexcusable, no matter the target or the reason behind it. Yet the left always leaps to the cry of “Hate crime!” whenever somebody messes with a pride flag, side-eyes a gay person, or crosses against the light on a rainbow crosswalk. It’s a certain type of performative justice that also reeks of the desire for normal people to not just accept gay people but also to affirm, revere, and celebrate them. We shouldn’t have to kowtow to the cult of the rainbow.
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