Neighbourhood becomes a sea of rainbows after a lesbian couple鈥檚 pride flag was stolen
A lesbian couple in Fox Point, Illinois had their rainbow pride flag stolen earlier this month, and their neighbours responded by flying their own pride flags in solidarity.
Casey Handal and Zadette Rosado noticed their rainbow flag, which normally flew from a flagpole in their backyard, had been replaced by an American flag on 9 December, according to the (via ).
鈥淚 think the message was quite clear,鈥� Handal told the Chicago Tribune.
鈥淚t was sort of the intolerant view vs. the inclusive liberal view. I think if somebody would have just taken the flag and not replaced it with anything, that wouldn鈥檛 necessarily have sent quite the same message. It鈥檚 more premeditated this way.鈥�
Handal and Rosado moved to the neighbourhood with their two daughters back in May. The house came with a flagpole in the backyard, so they chose to fly a pride flag from it.
鈥淚t was just there to represent our family,鈥� Handal said.
鈥淭he girls loved it, and not just because it鈥檚 pretty. Every time they鈥檇 have a friend come over they鈥檇 be like, 鈥楬ey, look at our flag. Isn鈥檛 it cool?鈥欌��
Handal reported the theft to the police, and took to community social networking site Nextdoor to ask if anyone had seen the culprit. There she was met with overwhelming support from her neighbours insisting the theft wasn鈥檛 representative of Fox Point.
Kimberley Filian, a high school social worker, took things a step further and announced she鈥檇 ordered four dozen small rainbow flags for herself and other neighbour to display, to show their support.
Dozens of neighbours are now proudly displaying the flags outside their homes, planting them in their lawns, tucking them into mailboxes, and even incorporating them into their Christmas decorations.
鈥淚鈥檓 so sick of all this hate,鈥� said Filian in an interview.
鈥淚 just feel inundated in the media and everywhere I look, all those terrible stories. It鈥檚 overwhelming sometimes. I felt like it was one thing I could do to show support 鈥� just something little.鈥�
But the support for the couple and their two daughters didn鈥檛 stop there, with several dozen people volunteering to act as secret Santas for the family, vowing to drop off small gifts at their home until New Year鈥檚 Eve, the day Handal and Rosado plan to marry.
鈥淓specially in the climate we鈥檙e in, it just shows there are a lot of people who have a lot of love in their hearts,鈥� said Kristin Cannon, a neighbour and friend of the couple.
鈥淭hat love is bigger than the discrimination against a family like theirs.鈥�
鈥淭he fact that this story might make someone smile, maybe it鈥檚 not so bad, and maybe the hate we see so much is not the mass of people but individuals,鈥� said Handal.
鈥淚 think it makes it all worth it if this crummy thing that happened can lead to spreading more joy and happiness in the world.鈥�
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