It seems strange to think that just a week ago President Trump and Vice President Biden first debated for the 2020 presidential campaign. Although they had touched upon (or completely ignored) a slew of topics of discussion important to the American people, one moment alarmed the world. When President Trump was asked to denounce white supremacy he lazily brushed off the point of discussion and then said quickly, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”
Now, despite Trump aides scrambling to cover up and/or decode what he was really trying to say, there’s no denying what the Proud Boys stand for. According to Wikipedia, the Proud Boys are defined by their far-right, neofascist ideologies and male-only membership. Although the group rejects racism, several members have been affiliated with white supremacy.
Trump’s moment of refusing to reject white supremacy was a low blow in the debate and shortly after the Proud Boys were trending all throughout the internet. To counter the attention the group received after the debate, George Takei had an idea.
And of course, the internet delivered.
Although The Proud Boys were banned from Twitter in 2018 because their toxic and abusive language, they have returned to the site to denounce the hijacking of their name. Many of the comments include hateful, homophobic language that will, most certainly, lead to them being banned again. In an effort to distance themselves from the LGBTQ+ community, The Proud Boys announced they will be changing their name to the “Leather Men,” which went about as well as you’d think it would.
If there’s one thing that the Proud Boys and any other hateful, white supremacist group needs to get straight is that, in the end, love is love and will always win.