Free (?) Speech in Erie

This piece is part of Yellow Scene Magazine’s Opinion section. The views expressed here are those of the author, and do not represent a reported news position. At Yellow Scene, opinion pieces speak freely, challenge assumptions, and say the quiet parts out loud.

Gotta love the MAGATs. They have now become fervent supporters of the First Amendment.

I do wonder how many of them have actual read the text. Certainly not the President, for his Constitution is buried somewhere beneath his huge piles of unread Holy Bibles.

Here on the local front, the paragon of civic rectitude, Ben Soelberg, passionately cited the First Amendment in a social media post wherein he defended the Erie Town Council for their protection of our flagpole from the Pride and Juneteenth flags.

Unchallenged by the Mayor and Erie’s straight, privileged white man majority, he pointed out that letting the Pride flag or any flag of Black solidarity fly – gee whiz, we’d have to let “. . . a KKK flag or Satanist Flag or Confederate Flag . . .” fly too. You know, free speech and all.

Council member Brandon Bell expressed similar sentiments during the “debate.” Our token woman, Emily Baer, excused herself from the meeting after Mayor Andrew Moore crudely, arguably illegally, smugly and dismissively cut her off mid-utterance so he might invite his pal Bell to offer a motion instead.

The flag-flying option Baer and her two minority colleagues supported would have allowed the Council to decide what flags the town might display. Apparently, Moore, Bell, Brian O’Connor and John Mortellaro are not comfortable distinguishing between a KKK flag and a Pride flag.

It takes a rather odd mindset to place the KKK flag and Pride flag in the same legal or philosophical category.  If I were Mayor or council member, I’d have no problem telling the KKK folks to place their flag where the sun don’t shine and the fresh breezes of Erie can’t reach it. And space in that sunless cavity should be saved for the Confederate flag request. How or why Soelberg brought up the Satanist Flag is beyond my ken. What the hell is that?

It is a contrived and disingenuous argument. Unfortunately, it seems that the conservative majority in our town just doesn’t want to be “that” kind of town, despite many of our neighbors happily honoring their LGBTQ+ and Black residents. Maybe banners, the Mayor offers?

This opportunistic allusion to the First Amendment is a hypocritical blight on the national landscape.

The MAGAstapo is picking up folks for irreverent social media posts. The Constitutional separation between church and state is filled with publicly-funded Christian schools all over the map. A baker doesn’t have to make a cake for a gay couple, but a Mayor can’t refuse to endorse the KKK?  The right to peacefully assemble is interrupted by illegally deployed members of the National Guard. Ask pro-Palestinian protestors how vigorously the government is protecting their rights.

Looking beyond the local squabble, the dynamics are crystal clear. Most Republicans, presumably our conservative council members among them, have had enough of “identity politics” and the “special” considerations LGBTQ+ and Black folks seek.

This backlash to years of social progress, albeit uneven, asks us to stipulate to the idea that now things are just dandy. No affirmative action needed. All Lives Matter. Back to that holy state of marriage only between a man and a woman. Get the damn men out of women’s sports! This is an important crusade, despite the NCAA President admitting that he knew of only 10 transgender competitors among the NCAA’s 510,000 athletes.

My wife and I moved to Erie to be near our family. We were initially wary of the political and cultural climate. Erie does have a bit of Stepford sheen at first glance.

We were enormously heartened by the June 2020 March in Solidarity Against Racial Injustice and establishment of Being Better Neighbors. I wear the T-shirt as I write. That event, and a joyful Pride celebration, gave us the comfort of kindred spirits. We are not Black or gay. Just human.

If we, a relatively privileged, comfortable, straight white couple, felt relief and support from this visible demonstration of support for those in the minority, I can imagine the powerful impact on the LGBTQ+ community and folks of color. Despite the post-racism nonsense propagated by the right, systemic and persistent racism and anti-gay bigotry are flourishing. Gestures and symbols of kindness and understanding are necessary. Especially for children.

It is deeply disappointing to see that support eroding.

Putting aside arcane posturing over the First Amendment, I ask questions our conservative neighbors are unlikely to answer: What is the cost you bear as a result of strong support for others? Does the Pride flag on our pole diminish either your rights or your well-being? Does it hurt your feelings? Does the assertion that Black Lives Matter make your lives matter less?

Proudly and prominently flying these flags is an expression of a kind community. The kind of community we want to live in.

Kindness costs nothing at all.

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