White supremacist group and staunch Trump supporters, Proud Boys, were taken for a spin after members of the gay community took over their hashtag to post pictures with the love of their lives. Messages of gay pride using #ProudBoys flooded the social media.
The far-right Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group, called the Proud Boys, shot into limelight after US President Donald Trump told them to 'stand back and stand by', during the Presidential debate with Joe Biden.
Proud Boys Say They Are Not Bothered With Gays Using Their Hashtag
Founded by Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes, the men-only group has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and its members have been accused of growing violence, particularly around Portland, reported Daily News.
Soon after Trump gave the orders to the Proud Boys, after being forced to condemn the white supremacists by the debate moderator Chris Wallace, the group's organiser Joe Biggs responded by saying: "President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with ANTIFA... well sir! we're ready!!"
Speaking to CNN, Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the Proud Boys, said he wasn't sure what the gays were trying accomplish by using the hashtag. "I think it's hysterical. This isn't something that's offensive to us. It's not an insult. We aren't homophobic. We don't care who people sleep with. People think it's going to bother us. It doesn't," he told the outlet.
"One of the messages they want to send with this is that they're trying to drown out our supporters, they're trying to silence us. ... When you're trying to drown out other people's thoughts, I don't think there's anything progressive about that. Why don't these people just engage?" added Tarrio.
Proud Boys Express Love on Social Media
The hashtag Proud Boys was one of the top trending topics on Twitter, the microblogging site, on Sunday. "I wonder if the BTS and TikTok kids can help LGBTs with this. What if gay guys took pictures of themselves making out with each other or doing very gay things, then tagged themselves with #ProudBoys. I bet it would mess them up real bad. #ReclaimingMyShine," wrote George Takei.
"Brad and I are #ProudBoys, legally married for 12 years now. And we're proud of all of the gay folks who have stepped up to reclaim our pride in this campaign. Our community and allies answered hate with love, and what could be better than that," the author added in another tweet.
"YALL. The #ProudBoys hashtag has been hijacked by the gays to piss off the Nazis and I'll happily do my part by flooding the internet with the only acceptable proud boys out there: the very gay ones," wrote another user.
Here are some of the tweets made under the hashtag Proud Boys:
#proudboys on their way to vote pic.twitter.com/m1d7gcJwBY
— Alexandra (@michiganington) October 5, 2020
