Image Writer Triggered over Pride Parade Flag Burner Arrest

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Submitted by RJ Carter on Mon, 06/11/2018 - 14:45

June is LGBT Pride Month. If you've not turned on your Internet in the past 12 days, this may be something that has escaped you. Nationwide, the LGBTQ community has gathered in cities to throw parties, hold parades, and declare their personal independence.

But apparently it's just not a party until someone masks up and starts a fire.

That's what happened in Philadelphia yesterday when Ryan Segin, a New Jersey transexual, attempted to light an American flag on fire. To be clear, this was a modified American flag in black and white with a thin blue line, created for the Blue Lives Matter movement honoring American's police. Segin was arrested and led away, not for burning a flag (which is completely legal, as well as protected speech), but for doing so while closely surrounded by a crowd of people on a busy street (which is totally not legal, so don't even try it, it's dangerous). Segin was charged with attempt to commit arson, risking a catastrophe, recklessly endangering another person, as well as a few other odds and ends.

News of the arrest hit Twitter, and various people coordinated to raise bail for Segin, a goal which was more than met.

Tweets of the arrest also caught the attention of Image Comics writer Michelle Perez, who responded with a string of tweets that made clear her feelings about police:

While the "Blue Lives Don't Matter" sentiment might be inflammatory to some (but, as the thread makes clear, certainly not all), it's the later tweets that are interesting. Perez, whose works for image include the autobiographical graphic novel, THE PERVERT, presents an odd definition of "pride." In an era where the culture is seeking to successfully interrelate the words "diversity" and "inclusion," Perez defines pride as "an act of bold defiance" -- a distinctly and decidedly separatist stance.

So remember the next time you attend a Pride parade: don't forget the matches and lighter fluid, because you want your parade to be something more than a tourist attraction.