The ‘Straight Pride’ parade canard fomenting in Boston is being organized in part by a wingnut group called Resist Marxism, founded by the notorious Bay Area stick-stirrer Kyle "Based Stickman" Chapman.

SFist has long borrowed the old joke of satirically referring to Bay to Breakers as the “Straight Pride Parade,” but that joke has fallen out of favor as more and more legitimately hot LGBTQ people have been costuming up and running the race. We never thought anyone would actually utter the words “Straight Pride parade” with a straight face, particularly an attempt to gaslight and demean the gay community. But this is the golden age of alt-right grievance assholery, and you’ve probably heard that a group of sexually frustrated conservatives are attempting to put together an actual Straight Pride parade in Boston. The New York Times unsurprisingly reports the effort is being organized by “several men,” but there is gay shame for the Bay Area deep in that report. To wit, one of the organizing groups was founded by Daly City’s violent alt-right agitator Kyle “Based Stickman” Chapman, who’s previously faced felony weapons charges for his behavior at unruly Berkeley rallies.  

According to the Times, one of the co-organizers is “a group called Resist Marxism, which was founded by Kyle Chapman, an alt-right figure who refers to himself as an 'American nationalist' and has engaged in violence at street protests.” Readers may remember Chapman for hitting protesters with a large stick at the infamous 2017 Berkeley dust-ups, planting a fake story about a stabbing that he blamed on “Antifa terrorists,” and a fizzled Berkeley Free Speech Week parade that drew dozens.

Chapman seems to not be involved with Resist Marxism these days, presumably because of his extensive legal problems. In addition to the Berkeley weapons charges, the Chronicle reports he was arrested last summer for his role in a bar fight at a “Texans for America Freedom" rally. In January of this year, the East Bay Times reported he pled guilty to two more misdemeanor charges in an unrelated case of illegally off-roading at Fort Funston.

But his Resist Marxism proteges are operating this Straight Pride Parade stunt from a playbook we’ve seen before. They have of course received no permits whatsoever, according to the Boston Globe, but they’re claiming on social media that the event “will happen” and “the city is now working with us on the parade.” Co-organizer John Hugo told the Times they were suing the city of Boston for not allowing them to fly a “Straight Pride Flag” on city property, but then walked that back to saying “We filed a discrimination complaint” with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

This whole thing is probably more of a troll job than an actual event plan, where organizers’ half-ass, unprofessionally prepared permit attempts will be rejected, and they’ll attempt to spin this as persecution. Organizers will be praised for their courage by right-wing media, which by the way is already happening. And while it’s irritating that some glorified prank will make martyrs of three underemployed rubes, that’s probably a best-case scenario outcome — that is, an outcome that does not involve counter-protester assaults, or sticks being cracked over heads.    

Related: When, Exactly, Did Pride Become A Party For Straight Teens? [SFist]