It’s not about the flagpole! It’s about mutual respect and human rights.
Nov. 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day mourning for our
trans siblings brutally murdered or pushed to the point of taking their lives
Last fall, I wrote the Belchertown Select Board about marking Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20, 2021. I suggested raising the trans pink/white/blue flag at the town offices.
In response the town administrator wrote “we don’t have a flagpole policy” and denied my request. I had also suggested a Pride Flag for June 2022 but was not answered.
Feeling alone but facing reality, I realized Belchertown was not the accepting town I thought it was. Because it was never about “flagpoles.” It was about human beings and human rights.
But in spring 2022, a new Senior Rainbow Coffee at Belchertown Senior Center had a huge turnout! And that’s where we learned four different residents each made June Pride requests. Each was told “we can’t, there’s no flag policy.” This was the first time we four ever met.
It was also where I learned there are lots of LGBTQ+ folks in Belchertown. I also learned from older residents of various lesbian- and trans-hostile acts over the decades. And despite the lack of a “flagpole policy,” in April a flag for Child Abuse Awareness Month was raised on the town flagpole.
This despite the Select Board’s “flagpole moratorium.” I don’t care if the town even has a flagpole. I suggested a flag-raising because a specific action request is usually better than vagueness. The town answered the flagpole question, but ignored the context.
The board could have said, “The flagpole idea won’t work out. How else might we do this?”
Churches and synagogues rarely have flagpoles, but open and affirming congregations will put a rainbow flag on the outer wall of the house of worship to “show their colors.”
A simple statement of support for all residents, including trans, nonbinary, and queer people, could have been voted on and published. Space could have been offered for a town memorial event.
Pennants on poles weren’t the point, but human dignity, equal rights, and maybe even a little respect.
With pressure growing, the board called for a Flagpole Task Force. I was one of three appointed. I did my research. I understand the “government speech versus public speech” question as the Supreme Court defined it.
I contacted local municipalities when I couldn’t find their “flagpole policies.” Surprise! Can’t find them because they don’t have any! Amherst flies many flags throughout the year to honor various groups of residents. No “policy,” they just pass a resolution.
We can of course adapt the recently devised Boston policy if we think we need one. I have no objection.
But the emphasis on an urgent, critical “flagpole policy” starts feeling disingenuous as it is examined. The latest issue of Boston Spirit reported on the Darien, Connecticut situation, which is much like ours. When asked to put up a Pride flag, they suddenly needed a “task force.”
But the Darien people realized that this only seems to become an issue if the symbols involved are those of so-called “sexual minorities.”
If you investigate other towns claiming to be worried about being sued for supporting their residents, that pattern holds. And it apparently holds here in Belchertown. There was no problem until they were asked to do the right thing. Flags are powerful symbols, but they are not themselves power!
I will do my best to work with the Flagpole Task Force to help Belchertown create its own special “flagpole policy.” However, even if permitted, I would now oppose officially raising the pink/white/blue on Nov. 20. It would be rainbow washing, pure and simple.
On Nov. 20, 2022, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., I will be on the east end of the Belchertown common, in free association with others who are serious about the epidemic of gender-based murder.
I hope others who believe in the pursuit of justice will join me. Candles, flags, and posters are encouraged. It’s a quiet gathering; with enough people we will read the known list of trans people murdered in the past 12 months. I hope others who believe in the pursuit of justice will join me.
Rivke Lela Reid lives in Belchertown.
