Hate crimes, especially those done with vandalism, aren’t new in the Deep South. In Austin, Texas, a church was defaced and violated by vandalism in the form of intense hate that speaks out against the church and its inclusive beliefs. With Trump in office and a slew of anti-LGBTQIA+ laws and rules taking hold, this church stood in the face of bigots with a clear act of defiance.
In a post shared to the Austin Reddit page, by user atxgpc, Life in the City, the self described radically inclusive and progressive United Methodist Church was recently vandalised with graffiti that said “Pride was the first sin“, twisted the old words about pride and the church’s inclusive policies to create a false narrative and send a hateful message. The Pride flag was also torn, pulled down, and left in a heap in front of the entrance. In a stunning rebuttal and act of defiance, they countered the hate by painting the Pride flag onto the building itself, and they hung the tattered Pride flag back up inside the church.
This led to a flurry of positive messages, alongside some hostile ones, as conservative and religious people were not keen to see a church preach inclusivity.
“Hanging the tattered flag is honestly dope. Can’t keep us down that easy! 💪 🌈💐”
“It sucks that they got vandalized, but it’s great to see them leaning into it and making good out of a bad situation. You love to see it.”
“Conservativism is a plague. Hiding your hate behind “traditional values” is evil work. If you have a problem with that I have two ready for you 👊”
“Loving the LORD your God above all things, especially your own sinful desires, is THE greatest commandment. Don’t fool yourself with lies and deceit and miss out on eternal peace because you couldn’t die to your flesh. I wouldn’t be loving you fully as my neighbor if I told you otherwise. God made woman for man, and man is for woman. Period.”
“Now to setup well placed cameras (but hidden) and great lighting to create a honey pot to catch the self hating closet homosexuals that vandalized it the first time.”
As you can see, many supported the church and their beliefs, while some stuck to their guns and religious beliefs disguised as hate towards the inclusive thoughts and messages.
