Pride Flag Still Flies, Despite Strong Opposition

We first reported on the rainbow flag flying in tandem with the American flag outside the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond for the month of June, in honor of LGBT pride month.

The flag is being flown at the request of PRISM, an employee LGBT group started at the Richmond bank a year ago. The group is one of several employee affinity groups at this branch (none of which have requested to fly a flag).

The flag, obviously was not the only thing raised, and ensuing dialogue has itself been quite colorful. If we could even call it dialogue, in most cases.

“Internally and externally we are seeing mixed reactions to this,” Jim Strader said, spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Within the Fed, there are internal channels for employees to share comments, and the tone has been respectful.

Strader spoke to the group about my questions, as is policy for contacting employees within the organization.

“They realized that part of being diverse is recognizing there are differences in opinion and hope the presence of the flag has opened up meaningful discussion,” Strader said, on behalf of the group.

The flag has certainly brought hope to one side, with statements of surprise and support from around the city.

On the other side, Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Prince William County, has stepped forward as the outspoken, disgusted politician who could be seen as representing the collective opinion of the voices of hatred.

Marshall sent a letter to the bank president condoning the presence of the flag, which was flown as “an example of our commitment to the values of acceptance and inclusion,” Sally Green said, chief operating officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Marshall went on record with incorrect, and unproven statements that homosexuality, "undermines the American economy . . . shortens lives, adds significantly to illness, increases health costs, promotes venereal diseases, and worsens the population imbalance relating to the number of workers supporting the beneficiaries of America’s Social Security and Medicare Programs."

FLAG FLYING MIGHT CHANGE VIRGINIA'S IMAGE
A great number of the people who find hope in the flag are not homosexual. Richmond.com has received almost 1,500 Facebook recommendations (and growing!) for the article and numerous comments of support. Our poll shows a majority in support of the flag.

In fact, Equality Virginia’s Executive Director James Parrish believes that the action is in-line with Fortune 500 companies, like Capitol One, that have great diversity programs. “Actions like this make Virginia look like a more open and inclusive state that will help attract more talent for the corporate community.”

“They should receive accolades for their decision to recognize and celebrate their LGBT employees, customers and vendors during Pride month,” Parrish added. “In fact, the majority of Virginians believe that LGBT’s should be protected from discrimination.”

“This flag is about celebrating diverse work communities and it isn’t about more than that,” Parrish said.

The PRISM group agrees, and said this symbol of diversity and inclusion is “beyond sexual orientation--it’s also where you are from, what perspectives you have.”

Their commitment extends further than the members of the LGBT group, it includes various ethnicities and perspectives.

“Those sort of differences are productive, and we believe people can talk about what they think in productive ways,” the group said.

Supporting freedom of speech means accepting that we will hear things which don’t reflect our own opinion.

Do not people assign their own personal meaning to the American flag? We have one flag that represents the lives of 300 million (plus) people.

Clearly, it designates where we live, and that soldiers fight to preserve our freedoms. Can that flag represent all the various cultural, personal and political beliefs of U.S. citizens? One thing for certain, it does unite us by place.

And this place that we all call home is meant to be inclusive, and can handle diversity.

Oh, and in response to several comments that the Fed needs to focus on improving the economy, not the special rights of a minority, Strader replied, "The fact that we are flying a flag does not change our mission on behalf of America’s economy."