By Lori Perkins
This seven-year old Washington Post story about a “Relentlessly Gay” front yard popped up in my Twitter feed this month, but I didn’t read the date, so I thought it was new this year…and it charmed me.
The story in brief features a catty note from a “concerned neighbor” to a Baltimore home’s front yard they accused of being “relentlessly gay” which read, “Your yard is becoming Relentlessly Gay! Myself and Others ask that you Town It Down! This is a Christian area and there are children. Keep it up and I will be Forced to call the Police on You! Your kind need to have respect for GOD. A Concerned Home Owner.”
Julie Baker, the homeowner, was a mother of four who has lined her front yard with $1 rainbow colored mason jars strung with tea lights.
“They call me relentlessly gay? Damn right, I’m going to be relentless. I’m going to be relentlessly joyful, because life’s too short for anything else,” she said in an interview with the Washington Post. “Relentlessly compassionate. Relentlessly amazing.”
At the suggestion of her 17-year-old daughter, Baker created a fundraising page under the title “Relentlessly Gay.” She set a $5,000 goal — enough, she thought, to put up many more rainbow-themed decorations, and possibly paint her roof in rainbow stripes. In just over 48 hours, the “Relentlessly Gay” fundraiser has raised five times that amount, with contributions pouring in from supporters all over the world.
“All the parts of my house are going to be rainbow-fied,” she said. “Have you ever met a person in your entire life that has seen a rainbow and not stopped and smiled? That’s going to be my house.” She also said she would find a way to contribute some of the money to anti-bullying programs for school kids.
In these trying times, we should all be Relentlessly Gay! Every day!
Here’s a link to the original article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/06/19/an-anonymous-letter-called-her-yard-relentlessly-gay-she-raised-28000-to-be-even-more-relentless/