The solidarity of their neighbors was a welcome and pleasant surprise for Cari & Laurie Ryding. The Lesbian couple had put up an LGBTQ Pride flag outside of their home for the first time immediately following the news of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando FL. They had lived in the Natick community of Boston MA for a number of years. The couple had felt safe, secure and accepted living among their neighbors.
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However, earlier this month after having left their home for a vacation, they returned to disappointment and shock. Someone had stolen the Pride flag and had egged the front of their home. They were surprised by the act after having felt that this was their home for all of those years. But when their neighbors learned of the hateful act, they decided, as a group, that they couldn’t let this act stand, nor would they let the Rydings confront this alone. Soon after learning of the incident, various neighbors decided to display LGBTQ Pride flags from their homes. They also enlisted the support of many of their neighbors and soon, as many as 40 homes in the Ryder’s neighborhood, also were flying Pride flags in a strong community showing of love, support and solidarity.
One person’s act of fear and maliciousness created such a powerful statement of love. We are very blessed, very fortunate.
– Laurie Ryding
Information for this story was gathered from HuffPost and the video is from WWLP.com. The main image is a still shot from the video.