Man banned after stealing Pride flag from Waterdown car wash

A car wash in Waterdown had one of its pride flags ripped off a door last Sunday by a customer who said they were offended by the LGBTQ+ symbol.

Unfortunately, advocacy groups say they are not surprised, adding that this kind of behaviour is exactly why Pride Month is so important.

CHCH News obtained security camera footage from the car wash, which shows what happened at the time of the event.

Seen in the footage, a man tries to pull off a pride flag that was hanging on the door of Red Hill Car Wash on Parkside Drive in Waterdown.

When he couldn’t get it off, the man appears to grab pliers or scissors from his truck and takes it down.

“It was June 1 – we were putting out Pride decorations and within half-an-hour, he got some pliers and ripped it off,” said Melanie Sands, the owner of the Red Hill Car Wash on Parkside Drive.

Sands said two of her employees had confronted the customer that day, and the man ended up giving them the flag back.

“He was trying to tell them his views, and she shut him down and said ‘this isn’t the conversation’ and she told him he was no longer welcome anymore,” said Sands, “and we were going to cancel his VIP membership.”

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But sure enough, a few days later on Friday, the man returned for a car wash, and when he was told to go, Sands said he refused to leave and held up customers.

“He said he wasn’t going to leave, and he was happy to block traffic – and come back every single day and block traffic – and not let anybody get a car wash,” said Sands. “So we had to call police.”

Sands said the man eventually left before police arrived, but she still reported the incident.

Enzo De Divitiis, the co-founder and chair of Pride Niagara, said he’s not surprised.

“Every time someone says ‘why isn’t there a fill-in-the-blank Pride’, ‘why isn’t there a straight Pride’, ‘why isn’t there a this Pride’ – [it’s] because you’re not being targeted,” said De Divitiis.

“Ideally, if there was no need to have a Pride festival – a Pride symbol – that would be great,” said De Divitiis. “That would mean we are all treating people equally.”

Sands said the car wash commemorates lots of holidays and occasions, and Pride Month is especially important.

“We support them whole-heartedly, and it means a lot to my husband and I,” said Sands.

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