A video of a man who calls himself a “recovering bigot” has gone viral on TikTok. The gentleman concerned sat in a wheelchair at the side of the Denver Pride parade in Colorado last Sunday. He held a sign identifying himself as a “recovering bigot”, apologizing, and offering free hugs.
Many of those in the parade took him up on the offer.
In the captions on the video, the person filming said, “To own up to your discriminatory beliefs and say I hear you, I see you, and I’m sorry, is top tier.
“It was so heartwarming to see the LGBTQ+ community so grateful and accepting of his apology. The world needs more of this love and understanding.”
The two-minute video has had over 24k likes and prompted hundreds of comments. The best-liked comment came from someone claiming to be the man’s child.
They posted, “This is my dad!! I just got a text earlier today from my mom (also there) saying how happy my dad was to be a part of something so special. #LoveWins”
Repentance
An image of the man also went viral on Twitter. The user who posted it said, “For many Christians, #Pride month is a perfect opportunity to workout one’s confession and repentance muscles. A friend in Denver sent me this photo of a “recovering bigot” making flesh-on-flesh amends with the children of God he once maligned.”
Club Q
Participants at this year’s Denver Pride were especially aware of the hatred the LGBTQ community faces. It was the first to take place following the horrific shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs last November. Five people were killed and 25 other people were injured. The killer, Lee Aldrich, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder as part of a plea deal. Aldrich was sentenced this week to five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, and 46 consecutive 48-year sentences for the attempted murders.
dbmcvey
Very sweet.
JClark
What a great story! More like this, please.
Hayden
I love this. What a feel good story.
wikidBSTN
People like him often report feeling so much happier when they release their bigotry and realize there is no need or benefit from being in constant opposition or fighting large swarths of humanity.
Being kind and empathetic comes back at you. 🙂
Diplomat
So cool.