Stories of Pride: Pickup Truck Pride

There are just 590 people in Hulbert, Oklahoma so you don’t expect it to be a place for LGBTQ Pride celebrations, but this year, thanks to one man it is.

One straight man.

Cody Barlow is showing his support for LGBTQ Americans  by putting a rainbow, and this message, on the back of his truck:

"Not all country boys are bigots — Happy Pride month.”

And on Facebook, in a post that’s been shared 50,000, Cody talks about how he bought “rolls of brightly colored duct tape and ran them across my tailgate in the design of the pride flag, and added some mailbox letters”:

“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. Obviously doing this isn’t going to change the minds of those who are intolerant, but hopefully it can help drown out the hatred with love.

I live in a rural area in Oklahoma, surrounded by small towns in every direction, and I’m sure this is not a very welcome message around here, but this is going to be displayed on my truck for the entire month of June in support of pride month.

I don’t think it is necessary to say, but for all intents and purposes I am a straight man that grew up here in Oklahoma. I love taking my truck mudding, going fishing, swimming at the lake, floating the river, and several other “country” activities.

It doesn’t matter what negativity I receive for supporting this. I hope that this can help even the slightest bit to encourage and support at least one person that needs it.

I hope everyone finds their inner strength to finally live life loud and proud without regard for the negativity of ignorant people.”

Oklahoma; freakin’ Oklahoma, or as I like to call it, because a lot of what comes out of their state government in LGBTQ bigotry, Oklahomo,

But now it’s a state where one young man in a small town, driving a pickup truck, has told the world that there isn’t just bigotry and hatred and intolerance in Oklahoma, there’s love and understanding.

Thanks for being an ally, Cody, especially a smalltown Oklahoma ally.

The march goes on … one pickup at a time.

LGBTQ Nation