that’s why it has to stay where it is

Stefania Assenza and Emanuele Micilotta

It is known that in the electoral campaign, especially in this one where there are almost more candidates than voters, the aspirants for a position (in many cases more a political positioning than a remote possibility of being elected) try to impress the electorate with the often more imaginative ideas. There are those who even take it out on the rainbow flag that flies on the facade of the Town Hall of Scicli to remind everyone that – apart from proclaiming – the rights of LGBTQ people are far from being really protected. A sign, a civic commitment, a being there, as a community, in this slow, and necessarily unstoppable, path for the protection of the rights of all.

Antonello Firullo, candidate for the Regionals, has decided to collect some votes (however, it is not clear where), asking the mayor to remove the flag. The reason? He said it would be discriminatory. Yes, you read that right: “discriminatory and out of place”. For Firullo “it must be removed and placed in other parts together with other category symbols”. The use of the word category already makes the skin crawl, and confirms how that flag is fine where it is, it must be there, because if today a person who is a candidate to represent citizens makes such statements, we must really start from the ABC of civic teaching .

The proposal, in itself, could be archived with the acute analysis of the accountant Ugo Fantozzi regarding the film the battleship Potemkin, contained in a few words: “It’s a crazy shit”. And we hope that the reading by the new mayor of Scicli will be such. To lower that flag would be, as well as very sad, also clearly an own goal for a city that, for several years now, has been known, even abroad, as open, inclusive and avant-garde. We want to share the thoughts of Emanuele Micilotta, current vice president of Arcigay Ragusa, who has been involved with the association for years.

“Dear Mr. Firullo, today I am aware of the request you have submitted to the Municipality of Scicli, and exactly to the office of the new Mayor Marino, where he specifically asks for the removal of the Rainbow Arcigay flag because it does not respect the institutions.

But what motivation is it? At least the courage to expose their “ideas”, right?

This flag was displayed by the outgoing Giannone administration at the request of Arcigay Ragusa and proudly held waving also by the current Marino administration.

I imagine you know the meaning of the colors of the Rainbow colors that form the flag of peace as well as the Arcigay flag.

Therefore I ask myself:

What annoyance does it give you?

It seems to me, if I’m not mistaken, that she liked the Arcigay flag when it was displayed in her club in Playa Grande in Donnalucata during the evenings organized by her and our territorial association Arcigay Ragusa.

But let’s get to the point and try to briefly explain the meaning of the rainbow flag.

The Rainbow flag was created in 1978 in San Francisco by the artist Gilbert Baker, and originally had eight colors, each symbolizing an aspect dear to New Age symbology (serenity, spirituality, nature, life, sexuality…).

The flag is now used both in LGBT public events, such as Pride, and outside LGBT clubs or activities, alone or in conjunction with other symbols, as a sign of recognition.

Throughout history, gay people who could not come out have always used colorful clothing and accessories as a form of non-verbal communication to communicate and send signals to other men about their sexual orientation, interests and desires. For example Oscar Wilde was famous because he often wore bright green clothes.

Furthermore, during the Nazis, the pink triangle, which before the creation of the rainbow flag was the symbol of the LGBTQ community, was used to identify gay men who were sent to concentration camps precisely because they were homosexual.

If the flag is there, there will be a reason. It is a civic duty towards a community that is still clearly discriminated against today.

Good luck for your electoral campaign ”.

that’s why it has to stay where it is