this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2026
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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.

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[–] whitedovebooks@lemmy.world 3 points 10 hours ago

Nowhere in the Bible does it mention the Pride flag.

[–] sunbytes@lemmy.world 3 points 10 hours ago

Oh wow i really thought this was an onion article...

[–] despoticruin@lemmy.zip 8 points 15 hours ago

It's hard out there for a wimp

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 15 points 20 hours ago

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

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 14 points 20 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

[–] Kraiden@piefed.social 18 points 23 hours ago
[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 17 points 23 hours ago

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

[–] GoalPostGhost@lemmy.blahaj.zone 53 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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 14 points 1 day 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.

[–] Prior_Industry@lemmy.world 12 points 23 hours ago

Sounds like a right snowflake

[–] Son_of_Macha@lemmy.cafe 19 points 1 day ago (3 children)

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.

[–] HuePony@lemmy.ml 5 points 23 hours ago (3 children)

Do you really think they are reading their book?

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[–] Zink@programming.dev 7 points 21 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.

[–] WorldsDumbestMan@lemmy.today 22 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Sounds like he is very, VERY gay.

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[–] razzazzika@lemmy.zip 48 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

I see confederate flags round here all the time and I don't feel forced to celebrate the confederacy.. idiot.

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[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 25 points 1 day ago

Fucking snowflakes

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm suing my employer because it rained today and I saw a rainbow.

disgusting.

[–] Lorindol@sopuli.xyz 10 points 22 hours ago

A few of my muslim students said that they couldn't draw a rainbow in art class, "because in our religion this is a bad thing".

I asked them "but are not all of nature's wonders the work of Allah?" While I watched the gears rolling behind their eyes I told them to ask their imams "who makes the rainbows in the sky?". And that they may return their given assignments after having received the answer.

[–] borQue@lemmy.zip 5 points 22 hours ago

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

[–] DankDingleberry@lemmy.world 37 points 1 day ago (3 children)

this guy does not deserve his last name

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[–] EvasiveSpecies@lemmy.world 44 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Christians like this are SO addicted to seeing themselves as victims.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 30 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Well the alternative is that they would have to help the poor and generally be a good member of society and that's too much like hard work so it's much easier to claim that they are the victim.

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[–] pingveno@lemmy.world 5 points 23 hours ago

There is a certain strain of Christianity that must see itself as the underdog in a cosmic war of good and evil. Everything fits into that overarching narrative.

[–] blitzen@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 day ago (8 children)

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 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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 4 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] Squirrelanna@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 9 hours ago

That's fair. I appreciate the consistency in your view. My follow up would be if, in that world, embassies would be exempt from that rule. Seems like a potential gray area.

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[–] UltraMagnus0001@lemmy.world 45 points 1 day ago (2 children)
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[–] Psionicsickness@reddthat.com 23 points 1 day ago

Everyone has so many theories about this guy’s motivations. I think it’s just capitalism manifest. This guy sees a way to make a buck litigating. Welcome to America.

[–] Jax@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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

[–] jwt@programming.dev 7 points 22 hours ago

Hate to break it to you, but they got killed by a mugger.

[–] RepublicansAreEvil@lemmy.world 3 points 21 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

[–] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 312 points 1 day ago (40 children)

It must be hard to be this fragile snowflake of a bigot.

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[–] blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 1 day ago (5 children)

He's definitely a repressed gay then

[–] nightlily@leminal.space 13 points 1 day ago

Stop blaming Christian fundamentalist fascism on gay people.

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[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

effectively forces him to “celebrate, recognize, and solemnize conduct and actions that he views as sin”

Well then it's a good thing that, "sin” as a purely theological term, has no meaning to the US government. Right?

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 21 points 1 day ago

Cue the 6 SCOTUS fucks busting through the wall like the koolaid man to make sinning illegal in their quest to turn the US into a christofascist theocracy

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 64 points 1 day ago (13 children)

I also think the Progress Pride Flag represents conduct and actions I view as sin. Not like, gender/sexual sin. Design sin.

The rainbow flag was already perfect. The rainbow flag to me says "human behavior exists on a spectrum, and everyone matters". It's beautiful, elegant. The stripes don't represent distinct groups, though sinners (the flag redesigners, not LGBTQ+ people) have tried. The flag itself represents harmony in diversity. You can't get better than that, no notes.

The Progress flag is meddling with a perfect formula. It takes a perfect symbol to celebrate diversity itself and plasters it with footnotes. By highlighting specific groups that were included by the rainbow in the first place, it just opens the door to more and more complex revisions to include more and more distinct groups. It turns a poignant symbol of broad inclusiveness into a weird patchwork of granular inclusiveness. That would seem like hyperbole if the pictured flag wasn't already the intersex-inclusive revision.

It's just sloppy vexillology. The rainbow flag is awesome. Why are we fucking with it?

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[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 2 points 20 hours ago

Sounds like a you problem

[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Can I sue Eric Batman for having to see that he exists, and being upset by that fact?

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