Local Pub Landlord Discovers Pride Month Still Exists, Writes Manifesto About It

So Ridiculous It Deserves An Equal Serving of Facts and Satire

Well, folks, it’s that time of year again. No, not the time when corporations slap rainbows on everything (though that’s happening too). I’m talking about the annual tradition where someone who ‘totally supports gay rights‘ writes a lengthy screed about how Pride has gone too far™.

This year’s contestant is Adam Brooks, who opened their Substack approximately 4 hours before penning this masterpiece, and boy oh boy, did they bring all the classics to the table.

Let’s start with their masterful opening gambit: ‘June used to be just another month.’

You know what? They’re right. June used to be just another month… if you ignore the Stonewall riots that happened in June 1969[1], which is literally why Pride is celebrated in June. But hey, who needs historical context when you’ve got feelings to share?

Brooks employs what I like to call the ‘I’m Not Racist, But…’ structure, except it’s the LGBTQ+ edition: ‘I’ve always supported basic human rights for gay people… BUT.’ That ‘but’ is doing more heavy lifting than a forklift at an Amazon warehouse.

The Flag Discourse™

Now, Brooks takes particular issue with the Progress Pride flag, claiming it ‘drags in everything from BLM… to radical gender ideology.’

Here’s the thing about intersectionality that seems to escape our publican friend: Black and brown LGBTQ+ people exist[2]. Trans people have been part of the LGBTQ+ movement since day one - remember Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera?[3] The Progress flag simply acknowledges that Pride isn’t just for white cisgender gay folks. Revolutionary concept, I know.

But Brooks really shows their hand when they claim the flag ‘represents drugging confused kids with puberty blockers and cutting off healthy body parts.’

Let’s fact-check this real quick:

• Puberty blockers are reversible[4] and have been used safely for decades for various conditions

• Gender-affirming care for minors follows strict medical guidelines[5] and primarily involves counseling and social support

• Major medical organizations worldwide support age-appropriate gender-affirming care[6]

But why let medical consensus get in the way of a good moral panic for their manifesto?

‘Think of the Children!‘ (Classic Move #47)

Brooks then pivots to the time-honored tradition of clutching pearls about Pride parades. ‘Parents taking kids to parades where fully grown men wear bondage gear and wave their bits about in front of toddlers.’

First off, most Pride events have family-friendly zones and times[7]. Second, I’ve been to plenty of Prides, and I’ve seen more explicit content on billboards for perfume ads. But sure, let’s pretend that teaching kids LGBTQ+ people exist is somehow more damaging than… gestures at everything else in society.

Brooks counters with this claim: ‘Parents taking kids to parades where fully grown men wear bondage gear and wave their bits about in front of toddlers.‘

So did we take that at face value? As a shock to our white cis hetero guest interviewee, no! We sent our reporters out to the field and cast a wide net, attending 47 Pride events to investigate this claim. What did we find?

Number of ‘bits’ waved: 0
Number of family-friendly zones: 47
Number of times Brooks has actually attended Pride: Also 0

‘I’ve seen more explicit content in perfume ads,‘ noted one parent at Brighton Pride. ‘And definitely more ‘bits’ waved at The Three Colts or The Owl on a Friday night.’

The Corporate Hypocrisy Point (Where They Almost Get It)

Here’s where Brooks accidentally stumbles onto something real: corporate Pride washing IS largely performative. Companies relly do slap rainbows on things in June while doing little to support LGBTQ+ rights year-round[8].

But instead of using this valid critique to argue for MORE authentic support for LGBTQ+ people, or for setting himself up to be the example, Brooks uses it to argue for… less visibility altogether? That’s like saying ‘corporations exploit Christmas for profit, therefore we should cancel December.’

The ‘Silent Majority‘ Fantasy

My favorite part is where Brooks claims to ‘speak for the millions who feel the same, but are too scared to say it.’

Buddy, if you’re writing this on a public platform with your name attached, you’re not exactly Rosa Parks here. Also, polls consistently show growing support for LGBTQ+ rights[9], including among younger generations. The ‘silent majority’ Brooks imagines is getting smaller and louder - which is usually what happens when a majority becomes a minority.

The ‘I Have Gay Friends‘ Defense, Premium Edition

Brooks claims to receive ‘a lot of support from Gay men‘ for their stances, and that and the ‘… many inside the gay community, are saying: enough is enough.’ So we took to social media and through our analysis of their social media replies, we found mostly straight people and what appeared to be several accounts with default avatars posting ‘As a homosexual, I agree!’

‘I definitely exist and am very gay,’ posted user @TotallyRealGayMan47283, whose other posts include ‘Trump 2024’ and ‘Why I, a gay, hate Pride.’

Editor’s Note: We reached out to the ‘many gay men’ who supposedly support Brooks but could only find one respondent who insisted on being identified as ‘definitely not Adam’s ‘flatmate’ Steve.’

The ‘I'm Not Hateful, I'm Just Honest‘ Finale

Brooks concludes their manifesto with this gem: ‘This isn't about hate. It's about truth. You don't need a rainbow to show respect. You need honesty, boundaries, and the courage to push back when ideology goes too far.‘

And you know what? They're absolutely right. Let's apply this principle, shall we?

‘You need honesty‘: Like honestly admitting that Pride Month exists because LGBTQ+ people still face discrimination, violence, and higher rates of suicide. Or honestly acknowledging that Black and brown LGBTQ+ people exist and deserve representation. Or being honest that Brooks' real issue isn't with corporate pinkwashing (a valid critique) but with having to see queer people at all.

‘You need boundaries‘: Like the boundary between ‘I personally don't celebrate Pride‘ (fine) and ‘I'm going to use my multiple media platforms to attack marginalized people for existing visibly one month a year‘ (not fine). Or the boundary between running your pub how you want and demanding the entire world cater to your discomfort with change.

‘The courage to push back when ideology goes too far‘: Brooks is right - we DO need courage to push back against ideology. Like the ideology that says LGBTQ+ people should be invisible. The ideology that claims supporting trans kids is ‘child abuse’ despite medical consensus saying otherwise. The ideology that turns ‘I'm uncomfortable with things I don't understand’ into a political movement.

The beautiful irony is that Brooks has perfectly described what Pride is about: having the honesty to be yourself, setting boundaries against discrimination, and pushing back against the ideology that says you shouldn't exist.

But sure, Adam. The real ideology problem is... checks notes... rainbow flags existing for 30 days.

The Platform Paradox

Brooks ended their manifesto with: ‘If you dare to say this out loud, like I do — the mob comes for you.’ This is a bit of premptive deflection, isn’t it. Consider the current platforms where Brooks is ‘silenced’:

• GB News (regular panelist)

• DAZN Boxing (host)

• X/Twitter (45.7k tweets and counting)

• Brand new Substack

• Two successful pubs

• Various boxing rings

Yeah, Brooks is a real underpriviliged struggling cisgender heterosexual white male version of Rosa Parks of the pub landlords. There’s no ‘built on daddy’s pub success’ story here at all (there totally is).

The Origin Story: From Daddy's Pub to ‘Voice of the People’

But perhaps the real reason for Brooks' anti-Pride stance isn't ideological at all. To understand the full picture, we need to go back to where it all began: The Gunmakers Arms in Debden, where young Adam grew up in their dad's pub.

That's right - our ‘self-made man of the people’ literally inherited the family business. From daddy's pub to owning multiple establishments, it's the classic bootstrap story... if your boots came with a property portfolio attached.

Brooks proudly declares their pub is a ‘bastion of free speech’ while simultaneously complaining about other people exercising their free speech during Pride Month. The cognitive dissonance is so thick you could pour it into a pint glass and serve it at £7 a pop.

And here's the kicker: Brooks is teetotal. That's right - they don't even drink. So all these hot takes about what's ruining British pub culture? They're coming from someone who's stone-cold sober while watching their clientele make increasingly questionable decisions under those harsh fluorescent lights.

‘So we know these takes are coming from a completely sober place,’ one regular observed. ‘That almost makes it worse, doesn't it?’

The Business Impact

Since taking their anti-Pride stance, The Three Colts has seen an interesting shift in demographics. Gone are the days of diverse clientele, replaced by what Brooks proudly calls ‘proper British drinkers.’

‘Business is booming,’ Brooks insisted, gesturing at a half-empty pub on a Friday night. ‘We’ve become a haven for people who appreciate traditional values, like paying £7 for a pint while complaining about cancel culture.’

Regular patron Barry, 67, agreed: ‘It’s nice to have somewhere we can speak freely without all that woke nonsense. Just yesterday I had a lovely chat about how pronouns are destroying society. The echo in here really amplifies your voice.’

So we went to the TripAdvisor comments on his pubs, and what we found was revealing. Could it be that Brooks penned their manifesto because the LGBTQ+ community did not find his pubs fabulous enough? We dived into this with a small investigation of our own to shed some light on Brooks’ motivation.

The Investigation: Why The Gays Won’t Stay

Our investigation revealed several factors contributing to the LGBTQ+ community’s rejection of The Three Colts:

1. The Clientele: Described by reviewers as ‘Full of TOWIE girls and identikit Essex blokes, perma-tanned and ‘sleeve’ tattooed whose frequent visits to the toilets…‘ (the reviewer diplomatically didn’t finish that thought)

2. The Ambiance: Multiple reviews mention the lack of warmth, with one noting it sells ‘keg beer and typical ‘Euro fizz’ at London prices‘

3. The Vibe: Staff reportedly ‘incredibly rude and uninterested‘

‘We tried to give it a chance,‘ said Marcus, a local gay man who asked that we not use his last name for fear of being claimed as one of the ‘many gay men‘ who supposedly support Brooks. ‘But between the heterosexual mating rituals and lighting that could guide planes, it was giving more ‘police lineup’ than ‘pride lineup.’‘

When we took this to Brooks for his side of the story, he reveled that he spent £200,000 renovating the establishment, and admits to being devastated when, last year, not a single Pride event chose their venue. Brooks believes his ‘fabulous‘ interior is more than good enough, even though TripAdvisor reviewers have described as ‘harsh lighting, ‘fake old’ interior a pastiche of what a pub should be‘.

‘I’ve always supported the gays,‘ Brooks told us while standing beneath fluorescent lights that one patron was overheard comparing it to ‘an interrogation room at MI5.’ Brooks continues ‘But when they take one look at my authentic British pub atmosphere and immediately leave for somewhere with actual taste, that’s when I draw the line.’

The Truth About Brook’s ‘Truth’

When Brooks says ‘it's about truth,‘ what they mean is ‘it's about MY truth‘ - the truth of someone who inherited a pub business, spent £200,000 on renovations, has multiple media platforms, and still somehow thinks they're the oppressed one because they have to see rainbow flags in June.

The actual truth? Brooks doesn't want honesty - they want comfort. They don't want boundaries - they want control. And they don't have the courage to push back against ideology - they ARE the ideology, dressed up in a ‘common sense‘ costume and served with a side of ‘I'm just asking questions.‘ They want enforced conformity.

But here’s the inconvenient truth: Pride exists because LGBTQ+ people still face discrimination[10]. Trans people in particular face alarming rates of violence[11]. In many places, you can still be fired for being gay[12]. LGBTQ+ youth still face higher rates of homelessness and suicide[13].

Until LGBTQ+ people have a map that looks like this:

Areas In Red: Map of countries where it is illegal to be straight and/or cisgender, or where it is legal to discriminate against and deny basic human rights and healthcare to straight or cisgender people.

We still need Pride. We need it loud, we need it proud, and we need it to include everyone - even the people who make Adam Brooks uncomfortable.

And if that ruins their June? Well, they’ve still got the other 11 months where everything caters to them.

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[1] Morris, B. J. (2019). The Stonewall riots: A documentary history. NYU Press.
Link: https://nyupress.org/9781479816859/the-stonewall-riots/

[2] Human Rights Campaign. (n.d.). Communities of color. Retrieved June 4, 2025, from https://www.hrc.org/resources/communities-of-color

[3] Rivera, S., & Johnson, M. P. (2013). Street transvestite action revolutionaries: Survival, revolt, and queer antagonist struggle. Untorelli Press.
Link: https://transreads.org/star/

[4] Ristori, J., & Steensma, T. D. (2016). Gender dysphoria in childhood. International Review of Psychiatry, 28(1), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2015.1115754
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/09540261.2015.1115754

[5] Coleman, E., Radix, A. E., Bouman, W. P., Brown, G. R., de Vries, A. L. C., Deutsch, M. B., ... & Arcelus, J. (2022). Standards of care for the health of transgender and gender diverse people, version 8. International Journal of Transgender Health, 23(S1), S1-S259. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644
Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644

[6] Rafferty, J., Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, Committee on Adolescence, & Section on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health and Wellness. (2018). Ensuring comprehensive care and support for transgender and gender-diverse children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 142(4), e20182162. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2162
Link: https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/142/4/e20182162/37381/Ensuring-Comprehensive-Care-and-Support-for

[7] InterPride. (n.d.). The international association of pride organizers. Retrieved June 4, 2025, from https://www.interpride.org/

[8] Data for Progress. (2023). DFP's pride corporate accountability project. https://www.dataforprogress.org/accountable-allies-pride

[9] Pew Research Center. (2023, November 27). How people around the world view same-sex marriage. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/27/how-people-around-the-world-view-same-sex-marriage/

[10] Williams Institute. (2024). LGBTQ people's experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. UCLA School of Law. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbt-workplace-discrimination/

[11] Human Rights Campaign. (2023). Fatal violence against the transgender and gender-expansive community in 2023. https://www.hrc.org/resources/fatal-violence-against-the-transgender-and-gender-expansive-community-in-2023

[12] Movement Advancement Project. (n.d.). Employment nondiscrimination laws. Retrieved June 4, 2025, from https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/employment_non_discrimination_laws

[13] The Trevor Project. (2023). 2023 U.S. national survey on the mental health of LGBTQ young people. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/