“The opportunity came up, and that is what we did,” Basye told the Omaha World-Herald. “They loved it. I like to get them involved in Dad’s work.”
Man Paints House in Rainbow Colors to Troll Anti-Gay Neighbor
Landlord Ryan Basye painted one of his properties in rainbow colors to appease his daughters and troll an anti-gay neighbor.
A landlord in Omaha, Nebraska, is receiving national press for painting one of his properties in the colors of the LGBTQ Pride flag.
Ryan Basye, who owns 25 different properties in the Omaha area, decided to paint the house, located in the Dundee-Memorial Park neighborhood, in rainbow colors at the urging of his three daughters, aged 5, 7, and 9.
The girls had previously advised Basye to paint an office building he owns red. Once that project was completed, they suggested rainbow colors for whatever property he planned to paint next.
But his daughters’ artistic tastes aren’t the only motivation behind the color palette.
The choice was also prompted by bigoted comments made to Basye, who is straight, by a neighbor of the property when earlier work was being done on the house in 2022. The comments included a slur traditionally used against gay men.
“It brought me back to a conversation I had with [a property owner] on that block that used some derogatory words and that didn’t sit well,” Basye told USA Today.
“It puts a smile on my face knowing that neighbor has to see it every day,” Basye added.
Most people who have commented on the house have provided glowing feedback, including the tenants who live in the house’s five apartment units, with one calling it “freaking amazing and beautiful.”
A neighborhood Facebook group praised the decision, with several noting that the choice of rainbow colors and their LGBTQ symbolism is in keeping with central Omaha’s progressive reputation.
“Hate absolutely has no place [here], but you know that in midtown that’s more than a slogan,” resident Julien Wulfgar told the World-Herald. “It’s a way of life for many of us.”
Basye’s decision has made him popular with his daughters, who think the new paint job is “the coolest thing ever.” The girls, he says, aren’t at the age where they associate the rainbow with the LGBTQ community.
“To them, it’s not the symbol it is to other people,” he said. “They would want to play Barbies or have Care Bears over.”
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