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When is a Rainbow just a Rainbow?
Bed and Breakfast Affected by Anti-Gay Town Boycott By Laura Amato I received a forwarded letter (below) from the Stonewall Group today from our Vice President Georgia Ann that deeply upset me. The owner of a the Lakeway Hotel Bed and Breakfast in Meade Kansas displayed a rainbow flag next to an American one outside of his business. He wasn't doing this because he supports Gays, Lesbians or Transgender people. The owner, Knight, says his son gave him the flag after a trip to Dorothy's house, a museum about the Wizard of Oz. The flag reminded the boy of "somewhere over the rainbow" a song from the movie. To some the banner means friendship or gay pride and to others it is simply a flag of a rainbow. The townspeople though wrongfully took it to mean gay support and boycotted the Bed and Breakfast. The local radio station threatened to remove his ads if he didn't remove the flag. His business has suffered severely and his income has nose dived as a result of the town's rampant homophobia. While it is not a gay issue the locals made it into one. I'm hoping that anyone reading this who is traveling through Kansas will stop by the Lakeway Hotel Bed and Breakfast for food and lodging. Said Knight: "Any gay, lesbian or transgender people that do stop by will be treated with the best service I can give you". Let's support him not because we are LGBT but because this man is a hero whose livliehood is at stake. Like us though he is the victim of a hate crime even though he's done nothing to be hated for, unless Free Speech is a reason. I certainly hope he calls the ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union. They have supported both Gay Rights and the anti-gay Rev Fred Phelps. Hopefully there is some money in this for Mr Knight. The LGBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Transgender) Travel Industry is worth billions of dollars a year. Its only fair that this man get a piece of that pie. I am forwarding this page to several LGBT Travel Agencies. Its the least we can do to help this man and his Family make ends meet. I'll also provide Free ad space on this site to Lakeway Hotel Bed and Breakfast. Please send him your support and prayers to this Great American who practices freedom of speech firsthand. Forwarded email from GeorgiaAnn: Hi
Stonewallers: A dear friend just sent me this from the net.
Many of you may have already seen this in the news, but I hadn't.
If ANY of us are anywhere near Meade, KS, we need to support
this bed & breakfast and at least stop for a meal in the
restaurant....I know I will! I've also sent him an e-mail
of support.....at innkeeper@lakewayhotel.com Stonewall
Hugs from Chandler, AZ. (We're finally getting a small break
Rainbow Flag Brings Out Bigots in Kansas A
heterosexual couple who display a rainbow flag next to an American
flag outside their bed and breakfast in the small town of Meade,
Kansas _have now found themselves the target of local bigots
and a newspaper that they say is trying to put them out of business.
Rainbow
flag creates controversy Knight
says the radio station has called him threatening to remove
the restaurant’s commercials if he does not remove the flag.
A local pastor stopped by said it was equivalent to hanging
women’s panties on a flag pole. When Knight jokingly said he
might consider that – the preacher said he would have him arrested.
His
business has suffered - down to only a few local customers.
The folks in Meade who've boycotted say it's too offensive for
them to eat there. The
B&B's owner, J.R. Knight, is standing his ground despite
the hate he is facing from certain townspeople. This man is a hero in my book. When in Kansas, stay at the Lakeway Hotel (http://www.lakewayhotel.com/) , and somebody give this man a medal! J.R. Knight, we applaud you. Editors note August 1st, 2006 I received an update from the owner of the Lakeway Inn today. It seems his flag was cut down overnight and they sent their 12 year old son to a relatives home. "We
received your email earlier today and I just wanted to drop
you a line and thank you for all your kindness. This whole mess
is truly unbelievable, the things that cause these local bigots
to get their panties in a twist I will never understand. There
are so many more important things going on in the world today.
Last night they actually cut my Rainbow flag off the pole. Imagine
that and how it makes my 12 year old feel. I'm actually glad
he is no longer here in Kansas with us, we sent him home to
CA to live with his grandparents. I know the hate we are experiencing
is small to that the LGBT community feels every day. JR
& Robin Knight, Innkeepers BIG Rainbow Thanks from - JR & Robin at the Lakeway Hotel Robin
& I can't even begin to come up with words strong enough
to convey our appreciation for all of your support and well
wishes. Especially to those of you that have booked rooms and
even just sent money to help pay our bills. We are getting so many emails every day that we barely have time to read them let alone respond to each of them in a timely manner. So I thought I¹d send out this Big thanks to everyone and then do individuals as time permits. First of all, reading your letters at the end of a long day makes it allot easier getting up the next day. So a BIG thanks for that!!! As you know our rainbow flag was hung outside of our hotel because we dearly miss our son. It signified to us that he is just over the rainbow and as soon as we can we will all be together again. When my good neighbors told me to take it down, I assure you there was no hesitation. It will not come down. Last night, July 30, 2006 some ³person² cut it down, well most of it anyway. Robin & I want you all to know that as soon as we can get a replacement here, the rainbow will proudly fly again. My son's Rainbow flag is gone, cut by the very closed minded bigots that we sent him home to get away from. Our new Rainbow flag will serve a different purpose, it will stand for the very thing that THEY (the schalooses) wanted it to stand for. Gay Rights, Gay Pride, Human Rights, Equality of the Sexes, Equality of the Races, Diversity, Unity, Peace, The International Co-operative Alliance's, The Inca banner, The Flag of Cusco, Peru, The Wizard of OZ, God¹s Gift to Mankind, and everything else that the homophobic, bigoted, ignorant ... people of the world fear.
Before we bought the Lakeway Hotel a gay couple looked at it and the same good christians that want my son¹s rainbow flag down told the bank, Œif you sell to those gays, we¹ll all pull our accounts.¹ They¹ll never be happy, and their hunger for control will never subside. Never!!! They change scripture to suit their purpose. They are spreading ignorance and bigotry one child at a time. Not my son. Our
new Rainbow flag will wave : At the group I counseled in High School who I vowed I would never reveal their names or what we talked about. To my 7th and 8th grade teacher who taught me that gay people are just people, and who the kids that called him a fagot behind his back eventually named as their favorite teacher of all. To the two retired teachers Ruth and Madge who still reside in this old brick Hotel, playing jokes and helping me see, I don¹t know if they were really a couple, but if they were, good for them. To the gay and lesbian people of Meade and elsewhere, hiding in closets and garages, letting you know that someday you'll just be able to be you. To all of the people traveling on hwy 54 who are afraid to stop in these hick towns because they don¹t think they¹ll be accepted or worse. To Shawn and all the other people in the world that had the terrifying and heart wrenching task of telling their parents that they are Gay or Lesbian. To Shawn¹s dad, my good bud Robert, who although probably didn't want this for his son, hugged him, loves him and is very proud of him. I wish all parents were like him. But most importantly our new Rainbow flag will wave in the face of Hatred, Bigotry, Ignorance and the people who embody these traits as a constant reminder that they can¹t control everyone or every thing. That god loves every one the same. And that hate is a much bigger sin, than 2 people loving each other ever could be. George Washington once said that the thing that separates the American People from all other people of the world is that we will die on our feet before we will ever live on our knees. I think it¹s time that we get up off our knees and stand together for what¹s right. Even if we are a bit squeamish about what the right thing is. We
might not be able to fix stupid, A BIG Thanks Again to All we'll remember you, long after you forget us
Editorial When is a Rainbow just a Rainbow? Our perception is not always in our eyes. Sometimes its in our hearts. After a damaging storm who can deny the beauty of a rainbow its beautiful colorful hues shaping a natural curve extending from one side of the horizon to another. Everytime I see one it makes me think about the "Creator" and his promise to us. Its a promise that comes from love not hate. For thousands of years a rainbow was simply a rainbow. Who can honestly say that when they see a rainbow in the sky that it symbolizes gay rights? Lest anyone forget the Rainbow flag was given to the parents by their 12 year old son. His thoughts were pure and not in the gutter where a handful of Homophobes in Meade Kansas are dwelling. To punish the parents for an innocent child's actions by boycotting their bussiness is a hateful act. It is a hate crime pure and simple. The fact that their son doesn't have the prejudice that some adults have is a credit to his parents. Who in the world really thinks that this child was taking a stand on gay rights? Those who are afraid of rainbows need to learn to see with their hearts as well as there eyes. They need to realize that being Christian is about Jesus and about loving thy neighbor. Too often some conveniently forget the new Testament and spout from the old one where stoning someone for ones sins is advocated. This article has created a lot of publicity and I am proud to have been a part of it. What disturbs me the most about this is that a reporter pointed out what the flag symbolized with out asking the intent of the owners. I always thought the press was suppossed to be unbiased. Its too bad the reporter can't be held responsible for sowing hatred in a small community. The press and most people have rights. LGBT people and the Knights have had theirs denied. Transgender people have a 31% suicide rate with 50% having had one suicide attempt before their 20th birthday. The number one cause is Homophobia. Clearly it has to stop. Win a Weekend Stay At Lakeway Hotel and Show Your Support For Fair Treatment in Kansas When hate speech becomes accepted Rainbow flag creates controversy Rainbow flag causes flap in small town Discuss this article in the Forums
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