A self-described “country boy” from Oklahoma has decorated his truck in a rainbow flag and a message of support for the LGBTQ community to celebrate Pride Month.
Cody Barlow, a 28-year-old from the rural town of Hulbert, Oklahoma, wrapped the tailgate of his truck in rainbow stripes and wrote, “Not all country boys are bigots. Happy Pride Month.”
Barlow posted a photo of his truck on Facebook along with a lengthy message explaining why the straight ally decided to support Pride so visibly.
He said it was in part because he had friends and family members who had been discriminated against or harassed because of their sexuality.
“This is important to me, not only because I have family and friends that are LGBTQ+, but also because countless people have dealt with hatred and judgement simply for who they are, and/or who they love, for far too long,” Barlow wrote. “Obviously doing this isn’t going to change the minds of those who are intolerant, but hopefully it can help drown out the hatred with love.”
He noted that in his rural Oklahoma town he was “sure this is not a very welcome message around here, but this is going to be displayed on my truck for the entire month of June in support of pride month.”
Reiterating that he identifies as straight, Barlow, said it didn’t matter what backlash the rainbow display generated.
“It doesn’t matter what negativity I receive for supporting this. I hope that this can help even the slightest bit to encourage and support at least one person that needs it,” he wrote. “I hope everyone finds their inner strength to finally live life loud and proud without regard for the negativity of ignorant people.”
Cody Barlow — Photo: Facebook
Speaking to CNN, Barlow said he decorated his 1991 Chevrolet Silverado using duct tape and mailbox letters.
The idea for the decorations came after he missed the LGBTQ Pride Parade in Tulsa, the nearest Pride event to his hometown.
He said he wasn’t prepared for the response his Facebook post received. The post has been liked 142,000 times, shared more than 80,000 times, and has thousands of comments.
“I was trying to reach anyone it would help,” Barlow told CNN. “People are sending me these stories, telling me what they’ve dealt with over the years, telling me they were tearing up and crying while reading this post. I didn’t realize what kind of impact this was going to have.”
He said that, while response has been mostly positive, he has received some backlash. But the response has only solidified his support for LGBTQ people.
“I realized that anything that comes my way doesn’t affect me on a personal level in the same way it affects the LGBTQ community,” he said. “This is the kind of stuff they have to deal with all the time.”
He added: “Even if it helps one person, it’s worth it.”
Void, a Chicago-based Italian eatery, marked Pride Month with a pop-up parody targeting Chick-fil-A, the fast-food chain that has long been criticized for its past support of anti-LGBTQ initiatives and organizations.
"Chick-feel-Gay" appeared for one day only, on June 22, at a storefront at 2937 N. Milwaukee Street, in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood.
The menu featured chef and co-owner Dani Kaplan's version of the famous Chick-fil-A fried chicken sandwich, along with waffle fries, dipping sauces, and chicken nuggets.
An unknown vandal smashed the plexiglass sign outside Washington Plaza Baptist Church in Reston, Virginia, sometime before Sunday, June 15, targeting a message that read "God is Love. Love is Love. Celebrate Pride."
A member of the congregation was the first to notice the shattered singn and missing letters.
"Whatever was used to break the plexiglass on the sign was right over the word pride," Michelle Nickens, pastor of Washington Plaza Baptist Church, told the Reston edition of local news site Patch. "They actually damaged it so that the little track that the letters slid into was damaged. We could not even put the letters back up."
Tammy Baldwin, Angie Craig, and Mark Pocan were among the Democrats named by the alleged shooter, a right-wing pastor with a history of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
At least three out LGBTQ Democrats in Congress have been told their names appeared on a list kept by Vance Boelter -- a right-wing preacher suspected of shooting two Minnesota state lawmakers, killing one.
The LGBTQ lawmakers -- Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) -- were among several dozen Democrats at all levels of government whose names appeared on Boelter’s alleged "hit list."
Boelter is accused of killing Minnesota Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman (Brooklyn Park) and her husband at their home on June 14, and of shooting Democratic State Sen. John Hoffman (Champlin) and his wife at their home. Hoffman and his wife are expected to recover.
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