APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – Two Appleton community members are speaking out after somebody vandalized the pride flag that hung from the front porch of their home last month.
Benjamin Roe and Alex Frantz said when they came home from an event in Green Bay, they found their pride flag strewn out in their front yard. They told Local 5 News the vandal had ripped the pole the flag hung on from their home.
“Acts of hate have no place in our community; we will not be silenced,” Roe told Local 5 News.
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Roe, who uses they/them pronouns, said this experience was both scary and upsetting for both of them. They said that it reminded them of their childhood because they grew up in a small farming community in Waupaca County that didn’t accept people who were different.
Roe said it was important to speak out and turn the terrible experience of somebody vandalizing their home into something positive. With dozens of family, friends, and community members there to support them, Roe and Frantz hosted a flag-raising ceremony at their home where they put up a new pride flag on their porch.
“It will bring an incredible amount of joy,” Frantz said. “Joy in knowing that I did the right thing. Knowing I have the right to be myself and live authentically in my own skin.”
Next to the flag, Frantz and Roe have a gold placard with a Bible verse that talks about having love for everybody. They told Local 5 News that they dedicated the placard to anybody who has been a victim of violence fueled by hate.
“May this flag serve as a beacon, a reminder that every person, regardless of who they are and who they love, deserves respect, safety, and dignity,” Roe said.
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“It’s (the symbolism of the pride flag) about saving people’s lives when they feel like they’re all alone in this world,” said Appleton Alder Nate Wolff. “When you hate and try to steal that away from them, you are asking for them to cause harm to themselves.”
Frantz and Roe said they planned this event to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the legalization of same-sex marriage at the federal level.
“Part of the reason that I’ve kept it and kept it out and visible is defiance to say hey I’m still going to have it here whether you tore it down or not, it’s still a symbol of our community,” Roe said in regards to why he kept the vandalized flag. ”We will not be silenced and we will not be erased.”
