Proudboys Get Smacked Down By Gay Men
What does #proudboy mean to you? Well, gay men on social media have certainly changed the narrative. George Takai led the call on Twitter.
He’s already been called the King of the Internet and if you didn’t believe it before, then now you have more proof. After the Trump/Biden debate, Takai mused on Twitter about every ally of the LGBTQ community posting romantic moments of gay love with the hashtag #proudboys.
Well, the internet responded in a big way.
Well, that certainly blew up. 😂 Have you posted your #ProudBoys photo yet, friends? pic.twitter.com/VGqUc8ORlA
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) October 5, 2020
#ProudBoys we will never stand back and standby! Together for 25 years with 2 amazing children. pic.twitter.com/cl9QOqcBj2
— Dan Ort-Patrick (@ok2bout) October 5, 2020
Brad and I are #ProudBoys, legally married for 12 years now. And we’re proud of all of the gay folks who have stepped up to reclaim our pride in this campaign. Our community and allies answered hate with love, and what could be better than that. pic.twitter.com/GRtSH1ijQ8
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) October 4, 2020
During last week’s debate, President Trump gave the Proud Boys what seemed like orders. He told them to “stand back and stand by.” It was viewed as a rallying cry from both the right and left. All Trump had to do was condemn White supremacy and he botched it as only Trump can.
Who Are the Proud Boys?
The Proud Boys was founded by Gavin McInnes of VICE back in 2016. If you saw a picture of McInnes, you’d think he was just another hipster from Brooklyn, not the leader of a hate group. Well, VICE has repeatedly distanced itself from McInnes and his far-right belief in violence against political groups and opponents.
That is a big part of the Proud Boys movement. There is an oath you must take to join the Proud Boys and it goes a little something like this – “I am a proud western chauvinist, I refuse to apologise for creating the modern world.”
That sounds inclusive. The Proud Boys are a militant men’s group with members spanning the country. There are believed to be about a few hundred members in total. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls them a hate group, the FBI calls them an extremist group and others have called them a racist, homophobic gang.
Yet, their ideology fits right in line with Trump’s core constituency. So, condemning them on the national stage would’ve been a big no-no for Trump. Instead, he gave them the equivalent of a commander’s order to stand down until he tells them otherwise.
To be fair, Proud Boys deny having White supremacy members or anti-LGBTQ ideologies. Here is a member of the Proud Boys in California speaking after the Trump/Biden debate.
George Takai Starts a Movement Online
Many people took offense to the President’s lack of tact by seeming to support the Proud Boys. One such person was none other than George Takai. In a tweet, Takai said, “What if gay guys took pictures of themselves making out with each other or doing very gay things, then tagged themselves with #ProudBoys.”
Although this hashtag trend might not do much damage to the Proud Boys, it does strengthen the LGBTQ community. If far-right extremists were planning to use the Proud Boys as an example of the president’s support, then their online presence has been successfully circumvented.
Several members of the Proud Boys insist that they are merely patriotic, and they have members of different races and walks of life. However, the public narrative surrounding the Proud Boys has been dominated by anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
If the Proud Boys truly stand as LGBTQ allies, then they should join the movement. Or they just might lose their movement altogether.
George Takai – 1. Proud Boys – 0.
