‘Inclusive’ Brisbane Pub Kicks Out Trump Supporter

The Wickham is an iconic Aussie pub in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. According to the website of this heritage-listed hotel: “The Wickham has been a proud LGBTQIA+ venue since the 1970s. Our open doors, open arms policy means that all are welcome here. We’re always ready to make new friends!”. Oh, how nice. Isn’t inclusivity nice? All members of the community from all walks of life are welcome at this classic pub. Well…

“Man kicked out of Brisbane pub for wearing Trump 2024 cap”, “Man ‘embarrassed’ after Queensland gay bar kicks him out for wearing Trump hat”, “‘You have to leave now’: Brisbane man kicked out of pub for wearing Trump hat”. Hmm, it seems their inclusive policy has its limits.

Apparently a Queensland man was attending a Halloween event at the pub with his wife and young daughter over the weekend. He had already spent several hours at the pub without issue, but then was approached by a staff member who asked him to leave due to his ‘Trump 2024’ cap. The conversation went something like this:
“Are you leaving now?”
“Yeah, we’re about to leave. Why is that?”
“Well, you have to leave. We want you out of here.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re wearing a Trump hat.”
“Okay, what’s that got to do with anything?”
“We’re a gay bar, you can’t wear that here. We don’t want you here. There are people here who feel like they’re not safe.”
“Really? I’ve never experienced that before.”

I watched the interview with the man. He seemed quite nice, and quite reasonable. He told reporters: “If they were upset by it, I could have easily just removed it, rather than being told to leave. That’s why we have conversations. Nothing gets solved by just telling people to leave and shutting them down. I hope I haven’t offended anybody. I’ve just got a hat on. I’m not being aggressive, or anything like that. I was just here for a day with my family.”

Apparently, The Wickham haven’t responded to requests from the media. I noticed yesterday, they had received a number of bad reviews regarding this incident on Google, but mysteriously this morning, the last three days of reviews have magically disappeared. The latest review states: “All the staff members are so friendly and welcoming.” Unless of course you wear a Trump hat, then you’re just a bigot.

One must wonder, what would happen if the shoe was on the other foot? What if a patron wearing a pride hat was asked to leave a pub? Well, I think we could all guess, but I decided to ask AI? “Kicking someone out for wearing a ‘Pride’ hat would almost certainly spark a heated debate. It would likely be seen as discrimination against the LGBTQ community, raising serious questions about the venue’s inclusivity and respect for personal expression. This could lead to backlash, protests, and potential legal challenges. Whether it’s a Trump 2024 hat or a Pride hat, the underlying issue remains the same: balancing the rights of individuals to express themselves with the venue’s responsibility to create a safe environment for all patrons. This situation clearly shows how complicated and nuanced it can get.”

So what exactly are The Wickham trying to achieve here by excluding people of certain political persuasions? Are they trying to bring society together by excluding people whose views they don’t like? What if Donald Trump wins the election? Will they have to exclude all Americans from their pub, as it would be very hard to determine which are Trump supporters and which are not? What about during the upcoming Olympics? How will they know which patrons support their cause? Will they have to check everyone’s beliefs before they enter?

What would I do if I owned this pub? Well, of course, I would accept people from the LGBT community, and I would also accept Trump supporters. What better way to promote an inclusive environment by accepting people from all walks of life, even ones that disagree with one another. You never know, perhaps they could even have a conversation with one another and realise that they’re not that dissimilar after all.

The proprietors at The Wickham better sort this out, otherwise people might not think they’re so inclusive like they claim.

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Allégro by Emmit Fenn