The pride month has been given a black edge in Eindhoven and Helmond. Rainbow flags have been ripped from the facades in various places and destroyed. “Really ridiculous,” says Deniz from Helmond. “This flag shows that everyone can be there. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say when you take that off.”
Deniz and his friend Jesse waved a rainbow flag as part of Pride Month. This means that worldwide attention is paid to the emancipation and acceptance of LGBTI people. When they came home on Saturday night, the flag was gone. “It was pulled out of the wall including the flag holder and stick,” says Deniz. “After some asking around in the neighborhood app, it turned out that the flag had been found burned. Really ridiculous.”
The neighbors did not leave it at that and decided to support the men with a dissenting voice. If you now walk through the Helmond district of Brandevoort, you can no longer ignore the rainbow flags. “We as a neighborhood were quite shocked,” says Michiel. He has hung a rainbow flag on his facade in solidarity. Just like Eric. “The time when people of the same sex could walk hand in hand on the street seems to be a thing of the past. And this is the result,” he says. “It just shows how important Pride Month is.”
“Take that gay flag away, the note said.”
Incidents with rainbow flags have also happened in Eindhoven in recent days. In the Strijp district, a local resident received a note in her mailbox with a negative reaction to her rainbow flag.
“Take that gay flag away, it said,” says Carmen Huijser. But her neighbors also decided to react when they heard what had happened. “There are now four flags. I think that’s very cool.”
“There have never been so many rainbow flags in Eindhoven.”
Johan Stribos, chairman of Queer040, which also organizes the pride walk in Eindhoven, is fed up with the hate actions. According to him, several people were also verbally abused during that event on June 10. “We want to organize the pride month again next year. That is why we will soon have an evaluation of the municipality. And I will certainly take this with me.”
He is also pleased that neighbors are showing their support so en masse. “There have never been so many rainbow flags in Eindhoven. It seems like it’s spreading like wildfire the way people respond to incidents with love. That shows that there are still a lot of people who want to change this.”
