Today’s a day that ends in “Y”, so, naturally, people across America are at each other’s throats online over something of relatively little consequence. This latest culture war flare-up comes courtesy of the federal Stonewall monument in New York City, which commemorates the site of a famous gay rights protest, as Trump officials just shut it down and turned it into a conversion therapy camp to help people become “ex gays.”
Just kidding.
The monument is still fully functional and remains dedicated to documenting the historical accomplishments of the gay rights movement. The Trump administration actually just took down the rainbow flags flying outside, as part of a broader federal initiative that allows only the U.S. flag, as well as a few other flags, such as state flags and prisoner-of-war flags, to be flown on federal property. But based on the online freakout, you’d think something much more seismic had occurred.
The progressive TikTok “journalist” Aaron Parnas told his 4.9 million followers that the move was a “major attack” and described it as part of a broader effort to “do away with and try to whitewash LGBTQ+ Americans.”
Meanwhile, a transgender Instagram influencer named Zaya Perysian with more than 5 million followers posted a video showing the influencer manically laughing and hysterically screaming into the camera while reacting to this supposedly earth-shattering news.
But it wasn’t just online commentators who were up in arms about this. Democratic elected officials, such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), also put out scathing statements slamming the move. Mamdani, for his part, called it an “outrage” and suggested it was a threat to the “dignity” and “safety” of the “LGBTQ community.”
The backlash also led to an in-person protest, where more than 100 attendees blasted the change as “hate” and “erasure.”
In reality, it’s just not that big of a deal. First, it’s worth clarifying that this isn’t even about Stonewall Inn itself, the actual site of the famous protest, which is private property and remains decked out in rainbow decor. This “controversy” is just about the federal park across the street that, frankly, no one really cared about until it became a political lightning rod. A park which, to be clear, still remains dedicated to commemorating this historically significant event.
And whether one really finds it necessary or not, it’s not crazy or authoritarian to suggest that only the U.S. flag or other government-related flags ought to fly on federal property. It’s especially understandable when you consider the fact that, like it or not, the rainbow flag is now a highly politicized symbol that activists have conflated with support for everything from medically “transitioning” confused minors to biologically male athletes competing in women’s sports.
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Anyway, despite all the outrage, this move by the Trump administration won’t hurt anyone. Frankly, almost no one would have even noticed the flags coming down if activists hadn’t highlighted them and drawn media attention to them.
Yet the constant doomsday rhetoric from activists, politicians, and media outlets whenever Trump does anything does have a serious impact. It means that when he truly does do concerning things, much of the public doesn’t realize it because they’re so used to tuning out the often baseless noise.
Brad Polumbo is an independent journalist and host of the Brad vs Everyone podcast.