Last Friday, the U.S. Defense Department issued guidance that banned the display of LGBTQ+ flags, Black Lives Matter flags, and other symbols of diversity and inclusion on military bases. The memo from U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper was originally targeted at the removal of all symbols of the confederacy, namely the confederate flag, but he later took the order further.
“The flags we fly must accord with the military imperatives of good order and discipline, treating all our people with dignity and respect, and rejecting divisive symbols,” Esper wrote. The memo explained that Pride and BLM flags would be banned from “workplaces, common access areas, and public areas.”
But prohibiting inclusive flags is not equivalent to the removal of confederate flags, which originated as an overt symbol of slavery, white supremacy and secession.
President Trump has argued that the confederate flag does not represent racism, but that it simply, “…represents the South.”
“They like the South … I say it’s freedom of many things, but it’s freedom of speech,” Trump said in an interview.
Since the discriminatory ‘“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule was repealed in 2010, the Pentagon has gone on to celebrate Pride Month every year, but celebrations were cancelled this year due to covid-19.
Rudy Coots, the president of the Department of Defense Pride, expressed shock at the ban of rainbow flags.
“The flag is a joyous symbol of hope, acceptance and accomplishment that should continue to be displayed proudly,” he told the Washington Blade.
Jennifer Dane, interim executive director for the Modern Military Association of America, (MMAA) an association for LGBTQ Military members, also weighed in.
“The Pentagon is twisting an opportunity to ban the Confederate flag to achieve an anti-LGBTQ goal,” she said. “In what universe is it OK to turn an opportunity to ban a racist symbol like the Confederate flag into an opportunity to ban the symbol of diversity?”
She took to Twitter to pressure the Pentagon to take, “swift and appropriate action” to make sure that Pride month and Pride flags remain protected within the department.
It’s absolutely outrageous that the Trump (@realDonaldTrump)-Pence(@Mike_Pence) administration’s @DeptofDefense would ban the Pride flag ️ — the very symbol of inclusion and diversity. (1/3) https://t.co/OElodGeg8g
— Jennifer Dane (@jenniferdane_) July 17, 2020
