The response to Sadiq Khan’s Pride buses was as homophobic as you might expect
Pride buses and trains have been launched in London (Twitter/@MayorOfLondon)
The mayor of London has announced a fleet of Pride-themed buses and trains for the UK capital, to mark this year’s Pride month.
Sadiq Khan’s announcement on Tuesday morning (27 June) was met with outrage from homophobes, angry at the mere hint of LGBTQ+ solidarity.
A small number of buses and trains have been decorated in the colours of the Progress Pride flag, and feature a diverse range of cartoon people, with “every story matters” written on the side.
Khan posted images of the Transport for London vehicles on social media, writing: “All aboard for Pride. What a fantastic way to help spread the message that in London, you are free to be whoever you want to be, and love whoever you want to love.” He signed off with #LondonForEveryone.
However, many responses on various social media platforms were less than supportive and riddled with homophobia.
One user on Twitter said Khan had made London “10x [ten times] worse”. Another added: “This is why it [Pride] gets so many angry reactions, because it is pushed in your face. If you are gay, great, get on with it, no need to broadcast it all over.“
Other recurring comments on Twitter were about it being a waste of time and money, while people also made comments using the slur about gays being groomers.
There were also a variety of anti-trans comments, including one user who said: “This isn’t the LGB flag,” – hitting out at the use of Progress Pride flag, which represents trans and black queer people – and people who made fun of the use of preferred pronouns.
Similar comments were made on Instagram.
In addition, a number of people targeted the mayor himself because he is Muslim and claiming he should not be supportive of Pride as a result.
People particularly appeared to take issue with the fact that the post was made on 27 June, which happens to be the start of this year’s Day of Arafah, an Islamic holiday where people seek forgiveness from Allah.
The amount of negative comments significantly outweighed the positive ones, with a few comments expressing joy at the buses and trains.
One supportive Instagram user wrote a long comment asking “all the haters” to “please learn to co-exist”.
They identified themselves as Muslim and said they were “very happy to see Sadiq post this… there are many LGBTQ+ folks who are Muslims and need to be seen too”.
