Guess we’ve found the one person who wasn’t a Dolly fan.
Since her death last week, tributes have been pouring in to the legendary Dolly Parton from all corners of the world.
Shortly after her passing was announced by her family, President Donald Trump took to social media to honor the late legend, while also announcing that he was ordering flags be lowered to half staff for the next week:
“Very sad to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest country singers, and far beyond, EVER, has just passed away. This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will. In her honor, I am lowering the American flag throughout the United States for a one week period beginning tonight at 6:00 PM. Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
All around the country, flags have been lowered to half staff as the country mourns the loss of one of our greatest treasures. But one Texas pastor apparently isn’t a fan of the gesture, and even filmed himself raising a flag that had been lowered in her honor.
David Grisham is a street preacher in Texas who made headlines over the summer when he filmed the Fort Worth Police Department violating his rights and threatening to issue him a citation for preaching outside of a pride festival. The police department later admitted they were wrong and said they would implement department-wide First Amendment training.
Well after President Trump issued his order that flags be lowered to half staff for Dolly, Grisham took to social media calling the move “repulsive and offensive” while calling Dolly a “fake Christian” for her support of the LGBT community:
“As a U.S. military veteran I find this REPULSIVE and OFFENSIVE. She has never served this country in any official capacity and this honor should be reserved strictly to those who have.
If any flags get lowered to half staff to “honor” this fake Christian’s death then lower the flag of the community she honored. She honored the LGBT community, transgenders, and supported gay marriage so they can lower that rainbow flag over every sewage treatment plant and garbage dump in America.”
But he didn’t stop there. On Sunday, Grisham stopped by a post office in Borger, Texas and filmed himself raising the flag back up after it had been lowered in honor of Dolly:
“What I’ve done here is they were flying this flag at half-mast under the orders of the president, half-mast for Dolly Parton. And since she’s never served in the United States government in any capacity officially, I don’t think this is an appropriate way to honor her.
So what I’ve done is I’ve untied the flag and ran it back up to the top of the flag pole in protest. And I’m just going to leave this here for the weekend and let them come back and find it Monday morning.”
Grisham says that the honor should be reserved for “people that have served our country valiantly” and not “country western stars.”
The protest follows the mayor of Olive Branch, Mississippi also declining to lower the city’s flags in honor of Dolly, for much the same reason. According to mayor Ken Adams:
“I believe lowering the American flag to half-staff should mean something very significant. In my opinion, it should be reserved for our military heroes, fallen first responders, presidents and other major national leaders, or events that have had a tremendous impact on our country.
If we lower the flag every time a well-known or beloved person passes away, I believe we eventually lessen the meaning of the gesture.”
I really thought Dolly Parton was the last unifying figure we had left in America, but apparently not.
