The American far-right group Proud Boys felt empowered after President Donald Trump asked them to “be ready.” In response, proud gay men on Twitter hijack the hashtag #proudboys. The Canadian army is also participating.
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It doesn’t happen every day that the Canadian military posts a photo of two kissing men on Twitter, but that’s exactly what happened on Sunday under the hashtag #Proudboys. ‘If you wear our uniform, then you know what that means. Love is love ‘, it says in reference to the deep kiss. At the time of writing, the photo has already been retweeted nearly 12,000 times. The army thus joins a chorus of proud gay men who – successfully – try to hijack the hashtag of the extreme right-wing group of the same name.
The American Proud Boys have been in the center of attention since Tuesday, after Donald Trump called on them in the debate with presidential candidate Joe Biden to “ back down, but stand by ”. He replied when moderator Chris Wallace insisted on condemning white supremacists and armed militias such as the Proud Boys. The president later claimed he didn’t actually know the Proud Boys. Simon Purdue, an expert on far-right hate groups and paramilities at Northeastern University, calls these militias “the street army of Trumpism.”
It is certain that Trump’s statements are received with enthusiasm by the Proud Boys. For example, they report that their membership has expanded significantly since the debate. Members proudly wear t-shirts with the print ‘stand back and stand by‘. A new logo with the Trump quote and a yellow laurel wreath on a black background, it also looks like a smashing success. The resemblance to the Fred Perry logo is no coincidence. The British sports brand has previously indicated that it is taking legal action against the appropriation of their brand by the neo-fascists.
The Proud Boys are now getting a taste of their own medicine. Proud gay men, who, along with other members of the LGBTQ movement, have a historical connection with the word ‘pride‘have appropriated the hashtag #proudboys. Under that hashtag, warm memories of gay pride marches, expressions of love and photos of men kissing have appeared since Sunday morning. It’s a devious tactic by online activists to shift attention. It has previously been used with great success by fans of Korean pop. In June this year they flooded the racially inspired hashtag #whitelivesmatter with photos of their idols.
Of extremist group Proud Boys, which does not shrink from glorifying violence, emerged in 2016 to ‘defend Western values’. That quickly degenerated into open racism. For example, the group had a large share in the ‘Unite the right’ rally in Charlottesville in 2017, in which counter-protester Heather Heyer was intentionally killed. The members also often pose heavily armed in photos.
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