HULBERT, Okla. – A simple gesture of support from one man in a rural Oklahoma town is getting a lot of attention on Facebook, both positive and negative.
Cody Barlow shared a photo of his pickup truck on Facebook Thursday. His tailgate bore a pride flag designed in brightly colored duct tape and mailbox letters reading “Not all country boys are bigots. Happy Pride Month.”
Barlow said the decorations weren’t much, but they meant a lot to him.
“This is important to me, not only because I have family and friends that are LGBTQ+, but also because countless people have dealt with hatred and judgement simply for who they are, and/or who they love, for far too long,” Barlow wrote.
He described the area he lives in as “rural” and said he wasn’t sure this was a very welcome message in the area. Despite that, he went on to say the message will be on his truck for the entire month of June.
Barlow said he is a straight man who loves “taking my truck mudding, going fishing, swimming at the lake, floating the river, and several other “country” activities,” but that that is not important.
The post has been shared over 56,000 times and received thousands of positive messages; still, some comments on the post are hateful and negative.
In the original post though, Barlow acknowledged this, saying he doesn’t care if he receives negative feedback; he wants to be supportive.
“I hope everyone finds their inner strength to finally live life loud and proud without regard for the negativity of ignorant people,” he said.
