In case you didn't already know, June is Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ community.
People who identify as LGBTQ+ and their allies are marching in parades all around the country to celebrate.
Cody Barlow, a 28-year-old straight man from Oklahoma, has friends and family in the LGBTQ+ community. He wanted to find a special way to support them.
On June 6, he decorated his truck with rainbow duct tape and mailbox letters that spell out "NOT ALL COUNTRY BOYS ARE BIGOTS. HAPPY PRIDE MONTH."
He shared the photo on Facebook with this caption:
Found a way to show my support for pride month.
I simply bought rolls of brightly colored duct tape and ran them across my tailgate in the design of the pride flag, and added some mailbox letters.
This is important to me, not only because I have family and friends that are LGBTQ+, but also because countless people have dealt with hatred and judgement simply for who they are, and/or who they love, for far too long. Obviously doing this isn't going to change the minds of those who are intolerant, but hopefully it can help drown out the hatred with love.
I live in a rural area in Oklahoma, surrounded by small towns in every direction, and I'm sure this is not a very welcome message around here, but this is going to be displayed on my truck for the entire month of June in support of pride month.
I don't think it is necessary to say, but for all intents and purposes I am a straight man that grew up here in Oklahoma. I love taking my truck mudding, going fishing, swimming at the lake, floating the river, and several other "country" activities.
It doesn't matter what negativity I receive for supporting this. I hope that this can help even the slightest bit to encourage and support at least one person that needs it.
I hope everyone finds their inner strength to finally live life loud and proud without regard for the negativity of ignorant people.
Happy pride month!
The post now has over 136,000 likes and 78,000 shares.
"There's a lot of negativity coming from it [online], but I think that's kind of overshadowed by the positive response," Barlow told BuzzFeed. He's had thousands of people reach out to him from all over the world to share how thankful they are for his support.
No one has confronted him about his decorations in person, and he said he's separated himself from the people in his community who are intolerant toward those who identify as LGBTQ+.
When it comes to hateful comments online, Barlow said, “It's worth all of the negativity if it helps even just one person.” He'll be keeping the tape on his truck until the end of Pride Month.
Check out more posts celebrating Pride Month here!
