Before you load up the family truckster and head to Hamburg thinking you’re going to attend a “support the veteran’s rally”, we think you should know what you are getting into.
Let’s be clear. This event is not to support “veterans”. It’s to support one veteran. The same veteran that rally organizers like the 1791 Society, The Constitutional Coalition and right-wing media outlets have been using as their latest ‘culture war’ martyr.
This fake outrage brigade has planned a so-called “Support the Veterans Rally” in Hamburg Saturday after an event last week where a POW/MIA flag was temporarily taken down and replaced with a new flag just days after a pride flag-raising ceremony on the same pole.
During the event, Jerry Welsted, a 72-year-old veteran and former commander of VFW Post 1419, was duly arrested after assaulting Hamburg Town Supervisor Randy Hoak during the event at Hamburg Town Hall after becoming outraged over the raising of a Pride Flag.
We welcome all who back us to bring their American flags and POW-MIA flags to show support for our Past Commander and combat veteran who was arrested at the behest of Supervisor Hoak. We demand that all charges against our member be dismissed and expunged from his record
While the ‘#faktriot’ groups maintain their faux outrage over the POW/MIA flag being temporarily removed, a quick glance at Welsted’s Facebook profile shows Welsted’s growing animosity towards gay/trans people, regularly sharing homophobic, racist, conspiratorial memes and vile rhetoric that parallels the same anti-pride propaganda pushed by the organizers of Saturday’s “rally”.
Honestly, we aren’t sure what’s worse. Welsted’s homophobic hate towards LGBTQ+ people:
Or Welsted’s blatant racism:
It’s important to remember how the 1791 Society and the Constitutional Coalition use people’s patriotism to further their extremist agendas. Both groups are notorious for hosting events under the guise of patriotism to attract people to their extremist causes.
These groups regularly attempt to lure people in with a heavy dose of ‘ra-ra’ patriotism and American flags, load you up with as much Christian Nationalism rhetoric as you can stand, then send you back on your way, hoping one day for the opportunity to continue grooming you into taking up their cause du jour.
So before you go accidentally show up at a hate rally, or send money to a give-send-go campaign to support a homophobic racist, have a better understanding of what you are getting involved in. People like this do not deserve your support or your patriotism.
