Ok, so I've sat on this one for a bit.
There are different forms of extremism.
Referring to each type correctly allows us to discuss their tactics and motives.
Over Memorial Day, there was an extremist event in Seattle 🌲 , specifically Cal Anderson Park (Capitol Hill
):
https://www.thestranger.com/news/2025/05/26/80074724/the-city-let-anti-lgbtq-religious-zealots-take-over-cal-anderson
And a follow up article, a few days later:
https://www.thestranger.com/news/2025/05/30/80080084/invading-antifa-land
The short, short version? Religious extremists chose Cal Anderson Park to host a hate event.
The Park is named for WA's first openly gay Senator. It is in Capitol Hill, Seattle's gayborhood. And Seattle is one of the least religious cities in the US (based on Census data).
Religious people could, of course, worship in their existing places of worship. The United States has the largest Christian population in the world, so it's not like churches are hard to find.
Or they could violate Matthew 6:8 . It's not even deep in the New Testament or obscure.
There are many, many things that I could cover here but it would get (typically) verbose. So I'll choose one: the choice of colors. They chose
colors for their event.
Extremist groups repurposing existing symbols is a tactic as old as time.
people aren't the first target and won't be the last. There are a few reasons to do this, including but not limited to:
* Disrupting the trust chain (is a group flagging to _you_ or your aggressor)?
* Trigger you (your mind will start to recognize the symbol association that's been co-opted, and things that brought you joy can start to bring trauma)
* Use your identity to trigger others (people who have no association with your flagging will now associate it with trauma)
If you were looking at photos of the Park from that day, and not from an angle that easily "gave away the answer" (text on signs etc.): would you be able to tell the difference between the extremist event and a gay event in the gayborhood?
More to the point: would _most_ (not you) people be able to do the same?
If you are interested in community safety, you need two community preserving skills:
* Recognizing when people genuinely believe in the flag* they are flying
* Being able to work with each other, as recognition skills will vary.
* - literal flag and flagging.