Now and then, a casual scroll through our social media news feeds can surprise us with a touching video that restores our faith in humanity.
A clip of an elderly gentleman in Portugal reaching out to a member of the LGBTQ+ community during a Pride march to share a sweet moment of love and solidarity with a total stranger did just that and elicited tears on the internet.
The video showed an older man standing in a doorway watching the passing Pride march at his doorstep. He had called out to one of the participants, a young woman, and gifted her with the Portuguese flag by draping it around her shoulders.
Moved, the woman attempted to return the gesture by draping him with her Pride flag but in the process was intercepted by his sweet embrace.
You can watch the viral video here that is captioned, "Love always wins."
Before parting ways, the old man gave the woman a reassuring thumbs up as she rejoined the pageant winding through the cobblestoned streets of the town.
The brief video ended with him holding the Pride flag he received out in front of him and waving it as other LGBTQ+ parade participants marched by.
Another photo was shared of him clutching the Pride flag and tearing up.
The woman in the video was Lily, and she explained what happened in a backstory video on TikTok, which you can see here.
@lily.ctrlv Obrigada @maranunes e @PÚBLICO pela cobertura! #fyp #pride2024 #storytime #gayrights #lgbt #queer
In the TikTok clip, Lily said she was Portuguese and had been living in the UK for a few years.
She and her family were in Porto for a few days visiting her girlfriend and she decided to go to the city's annual Pride Porto because "we’re gay and we can.”
Lily noted there was initial concern about the older man waving the national flag at her because it can have several meanings, including a negative connotation in Spain, and she wasn't sure what was being applied in her situation.
“He kept pointing at me and calling me," she recalled. Lily approached him anyway.
Although she couldn't see what was happening behind her, Lily said, "Everyone just sort of stopped," out of safety concerns as they weren't sure what was going to happen.
She continued:
"He just takes the flag and he puts it around my shoulders like this."
"And I was so taken aback and it was such a beautiful moment."
Lily clarified she didn't know this gentleman and had just noticed him holding his flag in the open doorway.
At that moment, Lily gave him her Progress Pride flag, and she said he subsequently started crying, which made her start getting emotional as well.
The two hugged each other as spectators cheered the sweet moment.
Because it was a loud situation with the festivities going on, she said they didn't get a chance to have a conversation beyond thanking each other.
"It's super overwhelming," she recalled of the interaction. "Everyone's giving the gentleman hugs, everyone's giving me hugs."
"It was a really incredible moment and the entirety of the rest of the march."
Love broke the internet, and people were moved by the incredible human interaction.
Lily said she hoped to thank the gentleman properly in person for the beautiful exchange and wanted to "get to know him" but also worried about bringing him too much "unwanted attention."
"There's hope out there," Lily said in retrospect, adding:
"That's just the spirit of pride."
While we may never know the sweet gentleman's backstory, there is one takeaway after watching the uplifting video.
At the end of the day, regardless of one's background or beliefs, only kindness matters, and love will always win.
