Aliso Viejo showed up—and won.

A MAGA-obedient member of the City Council wanted the Pride flag out of his sightline. His constituents had other ideas.

I arrived to last night’s Aliso Viejo City Council meeting at 6:40, and it all felt … different. Buzzy.

The sidewalk was crowded. The entrance to City Hall was packed. Someone handed out small Pride flags, and they bobbed up and down like miniature balloons. There were people of all ages, genders, ethnicities. Folks who lived in town and other folks who arrived from miles away.

We were (with some exception) there not to shake hands with Richard Hurt or grab a bite at the bewildering nearby oatmeal restaurant, but to speak out against what was officially labeled, “Discussion 6.2: City of Aliso Viejo Flag Display Resolution.”

If you really must know, here are the details (feel free to skim past) …

On the surface, it’s a LET’S ONLY HAVE THE AMERICAN FLAG AND THE STATE FLAG AND THE COUNTY FLAG AND THE CITY FLAG WAVING ABOVE CITY HALL ordinance. But, generally speaking, much of politics involves delving beneath the top soil. In this case, that means understanding the resolution that was sponsored by Mike Munzing, a hard-right zealot who, rumor has it, aspires to slide into the White House residence, stick his right hand into the toilet, grab a chunk of Donald Trump’s unflushed excrement, sneak it out, bronze it and turn it into a shrine atop the Munzing Family coffee table.

Whether willing to admit it or not, Munzing’s intent last night was to cease the Pride flag from ever appearing above City Hall. He’s that type of guy—a culture warrior; a bully; a wanna-be sheriff; a ridiculer of LGBTQ+ rights; a man who almost certainly would, um, never, ever, ever, ever, eh, ah, sneak into the bathroom as his wife sleeps and gaze longingly at this shirtless photo of the late Jon-Erik Hexum …

Wait.

I digress.

The meeting kicked off at 7 o’clock. The room was packed. People rose for the Pledge. Then sat. Tiffany Ackley, the flu-ravaged mayor, did everyone a solid by moving the flag discussion to the top of the agenda, meaning we wouldn’t have to sit through chats on bike lane improvement. Everyone who signed up to speak would be given their three-minute slot.

And so it began …

I was there for, oh, 40 speakers—and about 36 of them were in support of allowing the Pride flag to wave atop City Hall. It was passionate and emotional and pointed. Chris Kluwe, the Huntington Beach resident and former Minnesota Vikings punter, spoke about the slippery slope that comes with seemingly little moves like this. Michelle Antenesse, president of the Aliso Niguel Democrats, explained how downright unnecessary this whole consideration felt. There were young gay citizens and older gay citizens and straight friends of friends and gay friends of friends of friends and teachers and veterans … all of whom just wanted to be heard.

Through it all, I kept watching Munzing—a shifty-looking dude who I wouldn’t trust to watch my CHiPs lunchbox. After about an hour, I heard my name called. I stepped to the mic and stared down Munzing. Who seemed to stare back.

I said this …

My name is Jeff Pearlman.

I was going to start this by saying that Mike Munzing doesn’t get how mean this is.

But I’ve been watching you from afar, and I realize: the meanness is the point. You revel in this. Lather in this. I know you love this packed room, all here to see you. All here to speak out. Look at all the libs, with their cute little flags. Look how angry I’ve made them. I know you love this. It’s why you brag about your trove of guns. It’s why you talk up defunding the Boys and Girls club. Angry libs! How fun! MAGA 4 life. USA! USA!

But you look small and you look ignorant. You don’t know it, because your introspection is broken. You show it repeatedly. Your. Introspection. Is. Broken.

This is WWE wrestling. That’s what this is to you. Showmanship. Bluster. Pissing people off. Andre the Giant vs Hulk Hogan.

But what it overlooks is the gay kid. Riding by city hall on their bike. Shunned at home. Ridiculed at school. Looking up. Seeing the Pride flag. Feeling a pang of acceptance.

But I know, for a fact, you don’t give a damn about that.

This is all a show to you.

All a circus.

And the WORST part to me, hands down, is what you and your political brethren have done to the once universally beloved American flag, referenced tonight by your supporters. You’ve twisted it, distorted it, mangled it. You talk about how much it means, and what it symbolizes, but you’ve turned it into a MAGA infomercial. I assure you, there’s no LGBTQ-plus person who nowadays looks at the American flag and feels embraced.

Why? Because those consumed by ugliness. like Mike Munzing, have destroyed it.

You know what this is.

And you fucking love it.

I walked off angry. Heart pumping. Fists clenched. I was mad, because I knew none of this shit would likely matter. The Aliso Viejo City Council leans conservative, and they’d surely follow the Huntington Beach Two-Step and pass this nonsense and take us down the path of hatred and intolerance.

But then …

Mike Munzing (gasp) caved.

After a grand total of 164 public comments … after Wednesday became Thursday … after eyes turned red and fatigue settled in and dogs howled at the moon … Munzing tossed in the towel.

At 12:35 am, he ripped up his printed copy of the resolution and moved to pull it. As the room burst into applause, the Council voted 5-0 to shuffle onward

And that was that.

But … no.

That wasn’t that.

There’s a lesson here. Two lessons, really.

Lesson One: Persistence matters. Be persistent. Keep going, keep going, keep going. Even when all seems lost. Just keep going.

Lesson Two: Bullies hate exposure and they hate opposition. Munzing wanted this to pass, wanted the applause, wanted the praise from his followers. Instead, he was confronted by an army of Americans who find him and his beliefs repugnant. He caved, because the bully got bullied back.

That’s what we need to do in America: 2025.

Bully back.