Department of Public Works employee Eric Batman claims that having to see a Progress Pride flag flying outside the department’s Alhambra, California, headquarters during the month of June effectively forces him to “celebrate, recognize, and solemnize conduct and actions that he views as sin” in conflict with his sincerely held Christian religious beliefs, according to a lawsuit filed in March by anti-LGBTQ+ evangelical nonprofit the Liberty Counsel.

  • limelight79@lemmy.world
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    7 hours ago

    How much do you want to bet that this guy has been on the internet calling people snowflakes unironically?

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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    8 hours ago

    Fascist sues because he’s reminded daily that he could be a nice and caring person if he wanted to

    Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… The United States of America

  • Zink@programming.dev
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    8 hours ago

    This is literally what qualifies as “shoving it down our throats” when conservatives say that LGBT+ folks can live how they want but not shove it down everybody’s throats. That’s my personal experience with conservative relatives and locals, at least.

    Being reminded that certain “other” people exist without being hunted down is all it takes to set them off.

    So while the lawsuit is a stupid waste of resources, the basic dickhead at the center of it is probably genuinely motivated to pursue it.

  • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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    10 hours ago

    So can all his coworkers sue them because they have to look at this bigoted piece of shit every day?

  • Son_of_Macha@lemmy.cafe
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    12 hours ago

    Has he considered reading the Bible and following the teachings of Jesus Christ? It might help him understand what Christianity is supposed to be about.

  • GoalPostGhost@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    16 hours ago

    Would be fun to see this lawsuit succeeding.

    The Satanic Temple would have a field day suing everything christian by this precedent.

    • Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      13 hours ago

      A satanist could even argue it causes them physical harm to be subjected to “holy” imagery against their will, if the scriptures are to be believed.

  • RepublicansAreEvil@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    I saw another video today of some hag saying “who you have sex with is no one’s business” but the flag is about equal representation and how gay marriage was illegal and they were denied rights. It used to be way worse than just being denied rights too-- it used to be dangerous to be out.

    These people just can’t face the fact that we do come from a darker world and the wounds are still fresh. They just can’t think critically and inwardly it seems to hurt them. You don’t have to feel shame but anyone can recognize this is exercising a right they had been denied for a long, long time

  • borQue@lemmy.zip
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    9 hours ago

    forcing to see is different. (Clockwork Orange) You can look the other way, teutonic twat.

  • Jax@sh.itjust.works
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    13 hours ago

    I want to sue Eric Batman’s parents, or whoever the fuck decided on that dogshit name.

    • nickiwest@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      That has to be it, right?

      If seeing a piece of cloth is so triggering, then maybe that’s an indicator of a much more deep-rooted problem.

      The “Christian men” who protest gay rights the loudest are usually the ones who wind up in the headlines when they get caught soliciting male prostitutes at rest areas.

  • blitzen@lemmy.ca
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    15 hours ago

    I know I’m probably bucking the hive mind here, but I would actually support legislation that government owned building can fly only city, state, and country flags. I’m completely in on making sure that government policies are inclusive and protective of those needing them, but flags just seem performative. In fact, they could be counter productive; flying them “in support” while policies do not.

    • Squirrelanna@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      12 hours ago

      Which cities, states and countries can a building fly? Only their own? Could a federal building raise a flag for another nation in solidarity, even if support for said nation is polarizing? Flags are performative, but knowing what is allowed to be performed can be a good indicator for marginalized groups to know where they might be okay living, even if policies are quite there yet.

      • blitzen@lemmy.ca
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        10 hours ago

        In my world, no. A government building flys the flags associated with it. While it’s easy to be on the side of a federal building flying the flag of Ukraine, or one state flying the flag of another going through a tragic event, supporting that would also allow government buildings to fly the Israeli flag, or the confederate flag or a MAGA flag. You don’t think that confederate sympathizers in the south would claim to be marginalized and the confederate flag flying at the Mississippi statehouse would make them feel welcome? It’s a knife that cuts both ways.

        I want marginalized people to feel welcome in their communities, but I don’t believe the flagpole of a government building is where to do it. The floor of the government building is.

    • dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      Agreed. Plus a legal precedent in favor of pride flags, could cut the other way. On principle, I don’t want to see hateful sentiment yield a legal victory. In practice, disallowing this kind of expression in government facilities would/should keep MAGA flags and other nonsense far from the same flagpoles. Or at the very least, it could be argued so in a second court case.

      • phx@lemmy.world
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        11 hours ago

        Yeah. I generally don’t have an objection to pride flags but I could definitely see somebody stretching the same arguments to have a Confederate or MAGA flag (or just Trump’s face as he’s so fond of putting it on fucking everything)

      • Folstar@lemmus.org
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        13 hours ago

        I come to Lemmus for exchanges like this. Well reasoned, level headed, and consequences considered. Imagine if we could get conversations like this to take place in those government buildings- sure would be swell.