Burned Rainbow Flag

In 2021, a neighbour living above me in Warsaw destroyed a hand-sewn rainbow flag that I had displayed on my balcony by pouring chlorine bleach on it – so begins the story of a flag, a banner, which had been used during protests for the rights of women and LGBTQIA people before it was irreparably damaged in a hate-motivated attack. Although witnesses had confirmed the premeditated character of the act, and the artist was able to document the value of the flag far in excess of the statutory 700 zlotys, the police did nothing to punish the perpetrator. Instead, they went to considerable lengths to discredit not only the object itself, but also the person who created it as an emblem of the struggle for equal rights. The flag is an almost archetypal symbol of national and patriotic values, sometimes tinged with nationalism. During uprisings and military conflicts, flags were treated as relics. Handembroidered with gold thread, they would later be displayed in front of altars or in museum collections. Military colours or standards were often protected even at the risk of life, to be later displayed in glass cases in schools, museums and other public institutions. Stories would be told with tears of pride about the visible bullet marks or blood stains – visual reminders of the battles that were fought under them. The burnt rainbow flag, displayed in a glass case, is also a symbol of the struggle for freedom – this time of non-heteronormative people. Like historic flags and standards, it too bears a deep wound. The damage inflicted on it in an act of hatred further emphasises its importance not only as a symbol of struggle, but also as a banner honouring all the bullied and beaten children and teenagers who have to live in hiding every day to meet the expectations of a conservative society. Among them were also those who committed suicide because of.