Rainbow Imperialism

When bombs come wrapped in pride flags

Image created by author using Dall E-3

You’ve probably seen it by now, the U.S. embassy in some foreign capital hoisting a rainbow flag during Pride Month while drones circle the sky a few hundred miles away.

Or the military running flashy recruitment ads about “two moms and a dream” right before they ship kids off to occupy a desert halfway across the world. All the while, we’re supposed to clap like seals because, yay!, representation.

This, my friend, is what’s called rainbow imperialism, or pinkwashing: when governments and corporations slap a pride sticker on the barrel of a gun and expect you to ignore where it’s pointed.

Pride was born out of a riot, literal bricks, blood in the street. People fighting for their lives and their right to exist in public. Now, in 2025, Pride has been neutered into a corporate-sponsored, flag-waving extravaganza where weapons manufacturers, banks, and police departments sponsor floats and wave trans flags while continuing to ruin lives.

Lockheed Martin has a pride logo, Raytheon posts rainbow tweets. The CIA, a literal global death squad organizer, wants to be your queer-friendly workplace. They put a trans woman in a recruitment video, and we’re supposed to forget they’ve overthrown democratically elected governments in more countries than you…