North Ogden Pride flag stolen and returned with apology note
Jun 12, 2023, 6:37 PM
The person stealing the Pride flag from Ryan Silver front yard. (Courtesy: Ryan Silver)
(Courtesy: Ryan Silver)
NORTH OGDEN, Utah — A North Ogden man is showing gratitude towards a thief because he believes there may have been a change of heart.
Ryan Silver didn’t expect it to work out this way. He knew there was some risk in posting any Pride flag, but he said he does it to send a message.
“My daughter, she’s told me she identifies as bi. She’s still young,” Silver told KSL TV.
He said he wanted to support her in her journey.
“There’s no way to know who you are if you’re being told ‘No, you have to be this or you have to be that,” Silver expressed.
Silver said the flag is not just for her; he wants to support everyone in the LGBTQ+ community.
“Try to love everybody, I guess. I’ve always tried to stick up for people that can’t stick up for themselves sometimes or people that are just marginalized in general,” he said.
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But he was a bit disappointed when his straight ally Pride flag was taken, but he was also not surprised.
“I could see myself doing that as a kid, you know. Just thinking it’s funny, ‘Hey! pull over, grab that, dude!’ ‘Okay!’ Silver said. “So I saw, I figured I’d put it out there, and it was frustrating. It’s the second year in a row it’s happened.”
He posted the video on social media. It looked like a teenager or someone young.
“‘Hey, if anybody knows this kid or this truck, can you please talk to him or his parents?’ just to educate them a little bit, because you know it isn’t very cool,” Silver said about his social media post.
And in less than 24 hours, he got a little surprise on his doorstep. The flag was returned with a note saying “Sorry” on it.
“I thought that was really cool. That they were willing to, actually. Most people like, ‘Oh man, that sucks. I did this. I better get rid of the evidence,” Silver said.
Hard to know exactly what the thief was thinking as the note says so little, but to Silver, it says a lot.
“Whether it was out of guilt, or you had a change of heart, or your parents yelled at ya. Whatever it is, thank you. I appreciate it.”
