Unless you have been living under a rock for the past ten years, I'm sure you have noticed this disrespectful photo. It's of four guys holding a photoshopped pride flag in "Iwo Jima" (a similar photo to that of the Marines placing the flag in Iwo Jima). The original creator of this questionable piece is Ed Freeman. It was for Frontier Magazine, a gay publication, and it went viral following the Supreme Court's decision to legalize gay marriage.
As I type this, I am livid. I am livid because people think this is okay. Some of the LGBT community reveres this photo. Well, find something else to look up to, don't use your flag to disgrace MY flag.
Yes, the LGBT community has fought, and some have even died, for their rights and they deserve respect, but that fight pales in comparison to the lives of the many soldiers who fought for our freedom at Iwo Jima (and since) who also deserve respect. The original photo, and subsequent monument, is a testament not only for me, but for America, reminding us that heroes died that day for us to have the freedoms we have today. That statue is a tribute to their sacrifice for our entire nation. Covering up the American Flag and making a mockery of what that statue stands for is a disgrace to this country and to the lost lives of loved ones.
Our heroes didn't run into battle for gay rights, they didn't run into battle holding the pride flag either. They ran into battle for our country's freedom. The men who held that flag up, THE AMERICAN FLAG, sacrificed their lives for us to have the things we have today, to do the things we do today.
To recreate what happened at Iwo Jima for your own satisfaction makes you a disgrace to this country. The men that died in that war rest in peace, but the fact that there are some self-righteous, assholes who agree with this is like spitting on their graves and disrespecting everything they did for our country, our freedom, and our lives. They paid the ultimate price and didn't make it home to their friends and families. So please, take your pride flag and by all means, hang it off your porch, but don't use it to disgrace history.
This historic monument is a symbol meant to bring everyone together, defacing it with another flag only segregates everyone. I'm not against the LGBT community, but when you think it's okay to disrespect a piece of our history, a testament to our freedom, then yes, I am against you. You say it's for a fight for your cause, but you didn't go through bullets, blood, sweat and hell for your cause the same way these soldiers did. Our fallen heroes ran into battle holding the American Flag, not the pride flag. They ran into battle for our all freedom, not just gay rights. They ran into battle for and only for, The American Flag and our country.
Your fight is real, your rights as Americans are real, but it doesn't compare in the slightest.
So take your "testament, symbol, flag, etc." elsewhere. Don't disgrace something our heroes died for and the majority of the country, including myself, reveres.
Prayers and respect to all the people in the military, loved ones and fallen ones. You are my heroes.
