A person has shared online a sweet gesture from a neighbor they barely know, revealing the heartwarming way in which a simple act of kindness can bring a huge amount of joy.
Rochester, New York native Angela flies a rainbow American flag outside of their house, but it was looking like it had seen better days. A neighbor who they had hardly spoken to before left a surprise wrapped gift of a new rainbow flag on their doorstep with a friendly note attached.
"It was definitely getting weathered so when I took it down to put up a holiday themed flag for Halloween, I had intentions to buy the same one and hang it up after the Halloween one came down," Angela told Newsweek. "Before I had the chance, my neighbor across the street placed a new flag (the same exact one, not her own choice) and that sweet note saying she liked the "colors" it brought to the neighborhood."
Angela took to Reddit to share the story, posting a photo of the note from their neighbor, Lisa, on top of the package. "It looked like it needed a refresh," the note reads.
"I've always flown an American flag in front of my house that is rainbow colored on the stripes," Angela wrote in the post, which received over 16,000 upvotes and over one hundred comments. "Its out year round with exception of the holiday/buffalo bills flags I swap out periodically. I always figured some neighbors might not like it, but nobody's ever said anything negative (or positive) about it over the years.
"My neighbor left this on my porch today. I think it's so sweet and it's nice to know there's a like minded person/ally across the street."
The American flag with rainbow stripes is used by members of the LGBTQ+ community around the country. The first LGBTQ+ rainbow flag was designed in 1978 by artist Gilbert Baker, an openly gay man and drag queen, according to Britannica.
In 2023, 7.6 percent of the U.S. population identified as LGBTQ+, according to Statista.
Reddit users were touched by Angela's neighbor's sweet gesture, with many taking to the comments of their post with their reactions.
"From just glancing at the picture and the note, I thought they were trying to slight you by giving you a regular U.S. flag. I'm glad I read further before getting mad," said u/_austinm.
Meanwhile, u/madtheoracle wrote: "This is legit such a nice gesture. I used to be the director for a small town art museum that always flew a pride flag, but it would constantly get caught and torn on our elaborate metal fish mural on the side of the building, so much so we took it down to replace.
"Much like the post, so many people asked if they could replace it for us. I feel like it is such a great way of saying you support and accept the LGBTQ community."
"Allyship in action," said u/frisfern. u/Conorgrs commented: "Saw this photo expecting the worst and got the best. Thanks for sharing the good news."
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