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Meeting new neighbors can be stressful; you have to live near these people so making a good impression, or at the very least a neutral one, tends to be important. There are tons of ways to do that, but the events of this article start with an example of how not to do it.
A man's new neighbor chose to make their first impression by insulting him and his family, so he took some deliciously petty steps to make the new neighbor feel (un)welcome. One of the man's kids shared video of dad redecorating for the neighbor—and the clip has the internet cheering.
As the user explained via text overlay:
"My dad's new neighbor said having 2 gay kids means he failed as a parent... So DAD took a moment then replied with this... No, saying things like that does."
The video, shot from inside the house, shows Dad outside.
He is placing huge pride flags around the exterior of the yard space, effectively creating a pride wall between them and the new neighbor/homophobe/parenting "expert."
The video now has almost 2 million views on TikTok
@fitxander Some AWESOME shade from my dad 😂🌈 #gay #dad @claire_training
That's just TikTok, though.
People are talking about the clip—which has the TikTok comments disabled—on Twitter too.
Heartwarmingly, there were quite a few stories out there about dads, pride flags and standing up for their LGBTQ+ kids.
Passive-Aggressive Flag Fights = Dads' Domain
Just saying if we know where we could have a whole parade right outside his house..— Neil Campbell (@Neil Campbell) 1649172051
I would do the same for My sonhttps://twitter.com/Independent/status/1511362084373929984\u00a0\u2026— OVCM Ohio Valley Citizens Militia (@OVCM Ohio Valley Citizens Militia) 1649171865
My dad just told me that some guy he was talking to derogatorily said \u201clook at your neighbor flying their *colors*\u201d referring to a pride flag and my dad was like \u201cYeah my daughter flies those colors too\u201d in a *watch your mouth* kinda way and the guy shut up. I could cry of joy— Lauren (@Lauren) 1619804306
My dad's putting up a big gay pride flag in his yard to piss off his homophobic neighbor #WeAreRelated— Emily Brooke Zercher (@Emily Brooke Zercher) 1407954132
our grumpy boomer neighbor just hung up a swedish flag on his balcony so now my dad is ordering a pride flag for our balcony— ella (@ella) 1591553893
Flags aren't the only way this dad fights homophobia and celebrates his children.
TikTok is full of adorable videos of the family bonded and enjoying life together.
They've got wholesome dances:
@fitxander #gay #lesbian #family
Tear-Jerking proud dad quotes:
@fitxander I love his answer #gay #dad #lgbtq #pride
And this advice to other parents:
@fitxander Who else is loving @claire_training ‘s shuggle at the start? 😂❤️🌈 #lgbt #lgbt #gay #lesbian #dad #dance
Part of the reason this family is so special is because dad wasn't always this supportive.
In fact, according to videos, it used to be a very different story.
The now-proud father admits he was initially ashamed of his children for being gay. He was rigid, conservative, Trump-supporting, homophobic and closed-minded.
Everything changed after the death of his wife.
The family-values man realized he had rejected and ostracized his family, friends and community because of who they loved. He was determined to never make that mistake again and set out to make it right.
He started celebrating neighbors, his children and grandchildren, and even stepped in to support and uplift a neighbor who came out in his 70's and was rejected by his family for it.
This dad and his two gay kids continue to support and educate, hoping other families won't miss out on time and togetherness like they did.
Even if their neighbors don't love it.