A man was caught on a security camera in the United States while removing and damaging LGBTQ+ pride flags placed outside a private property, a vandalistic act that took place during Pride Month, which is commemorated every June to raise visibility for the community’s rights.
This type of action could be investigated as a bias-motivated crime when it is reported to the authorities, since in the United States several states provide for additional charges for hate crimes when attacks are directed against symbols of protected groups, and victims in similar cases have used security camera evidence to file formal complaints.
Comments on social media were quick to appear, and while some users wrote “Someone is inside a closet” and “Tell me what you brag about and we’ll know what you repress”, others pointed out that “A normal straight guy wouldn’t do that” and “The closeted gay every time he sees someone being free”, reflecting the outrage and biting humor with which many reacted to the act of vandalism and the aggressor’s possible hypocrisy.
