Scottish train company slaps down homophobe who complained about ‘Pride train’
ScotRail's Twitter team had no time for someone who demanded a train painted in "straight colors"
Scotland’s national rail operator has been praised for effectively shutting down someone on Twitter who complained about a special Pride-themed train.
Last week, ScotRail tweeted a photo of its “Pride of ScotRail” train, featuring one of the company’s electric locomotives wrapped in the Progress Pride flag.
Launched to coincide with Pride Month, ScotRail said they “wanted to do something really special to demonstrate our support for Scotland’s LGBTQ+ community.”
“It’s a visual commitment to our support and a reminder that we won’t tolerate bigotry or discrimination,” ScotRail said in a statement. “Regardless of background or your identity, you should feel welcomed and safe when travelling.”
What’s more, the design won’t be removed at the end of Pride Month, but will instead remain on Scotland’s rail network until 2029, when the train “eventually requires repainting.”
Apparently that show of support was too much for one Twitter user, who responded to ScotRail’s tweet asking if the company planned to paint a train “in ‘straight colors’?”
“Or will we be discriminated against?” he added.
Wasting no time in shutting down bigotry, ScotRail quickly responded.
“Straight people aren’t punched in the face for holding hands with their life partner, nor are [they] executed in other countries simply for being straight,” Ste — one of ScotRail’s social media team and our new hero — wrote. “Please educate yourself on the matter before commenting such nonsense.”
Straight people aren't punched in the face for holding hands with their life partner, nor are the executed in other countries simply for being straight. Please educate yourself on the matter before commenting such nonsense. ^Ste
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) June 26, 2021
The effective retort was widely praised by Twitter users, who thanked Ste, calling him an “absolute star,” a “legend,” and applauding their “mic drop response.”
One user suggested crowdfunding to “buy Ste a drink,” adding, “I fkn love Ste.”
ScotRail employee Megan responded, writing, “Don’t worry…I’ll 100% be buying Ste a drink or 5 next time we are out for this!”
Others heaped praised on Ste and ScotRail for the tweet.
“Thanks for calling this out,” one person wrote. “Hoping to see more allyship like this every day, every year and not just for #PrideMonth — as we aren’t at risk of being punched in the face only in June.”
“Thank you so much for your support Ste and @ScotRail,” another added. “The previous post showed exactly why we still need Pride today!”
“You absolute beaut,” someone else tweeted. “Thank you for using your platform to promote love over hate.”
One person said that giving Ste an “Employee of the Year” award wouldn’t be enough. “They just need a framed pic of them up on the wall for all time. Employee of Forever,” they added.
What’s more, it seems that Ste’s response had an effect. The Twitter user who demanded a train with “straight colors” deleted their tweet.
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