ProudBoys reclaimed as gay pride pics flood Twitter

The Gay Twitterati this weekend took over the hashtag ProudBoys in response to an earlier call-out from George Takei. Following the path pioneered by K-pop stans, they co-opted the hashtag from the white supremacists who traditionally use it to spread hate.

The male-only Proud Boys promote political violence in the US and Canada. The group sees men and white culture as under siege and describe themselves as ‘white chauvinists’.

During last week’s presidential debate, Donald Trump told the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and stand by’. The organisation took that as an endorsement. “Standing down and standing by, Sir,” some tweeted.

George Takei then suggested that the gay community follow the lead of K-pop stans and monopolise the #ProudBoys hashtag. When white supremacists attempted to flood the internet with racist propaganda in June, the fans of Korean pop music fought back with their massive Twitter presence and overwhelmed the #WhiteoutWednesday hashtag.

Takei posted to Twitter, “What if gay guys took pictures of themselves making out with each other or doing very gay things, then tagged themselves with #ProudBoys.”

His call-out prompted an immediate response as the gay Twitterati took up the challenge to drown out racist use of the hashtag.

#ProudBoys on route 😂🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/RABayty2i6

— Being LGBTQ Podcast🏳️‍🌈 (@BeingLGBTQPod) October 4, 2020

Canadian Armed Forces in United States

Even the liaison office of the Canadian Armed Forces in the United States then joined in, sharing an image of a Canadian serviceman kissing his partner.

“If you wear our uniform, know what it means. If you’re thinking about wearing our uniform, know what it means,” CAFinUS said in a tweet.

“Love is love.”