Pride Month is among us and it’s a time for LGBTQ people and allies come together and celebrate pride in who we are. Altogether, it’s nice to have a month that recognizes the value and accomplishments of LGBTQ people, and because this month is so significant, many places display pride flags to show support. One such place is the Alibi Lounge, a gay bar located in Harlem. However, one person thought that displaying pride flags was unacceptable and decided to burn them, according to NBC.
The scorching occurred shortly after midnight on Friday and the owner, Alexi Minko stomped the fire out. Luckily nobody was injured and, as Alexi reports, that he received a great deal of support from the gay community. Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted his disgust about this incident, saying that New York is not a place for such hate.
I am disgusted by the burning of a Pride flag outside an LGBTQ bar in Harlem early yesterday morning.
There is no place for hate in New York. I am directing the @NYSPolice Hate Crimes Task Force to provide NYPD with any resources needed to investigate this repugnant incident. pic.twitter.com/6MgkxmnHCk
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 1, 2019
He also directed New York’s Hate Crimes Task Force to investigate so that they can find out who burned the flags. There is security footage of a man burning the flags with the aid of an accelerant, as it was raining heavily during the incident. Milko gave the charred flags to the police for evidence, but is expecting replacements that will “bigger, brighter,” and “bolder.”
I don’t have any doubts that burning the flags the day before Pride Month was intentional. Some people really can’t understand that someone else’s sexuality doesn’t have any effect on anyone else, but that’s really nothing new. It’s nice to that Governor Cuomo supports LGBTQ people and that he denounced this act. There will always be opposition to anything involving pride, unfortunately, but that doesn’t mean that we will be silenced.
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Source: NBC