"Disgusting", "makes me sick", "polluting the environment", and "we're becoming more stupid" – these were just a few of the comments left beneath a Facebook post by Niederanven council announcing the rainbow painting, which affects just a small portion of the area's cycle path. Mayor Fred Ternes said the council could not have predicted the extent of the negative reactions to the symbolic gesture.
"There were so many negative comments, many were also homophobic. I would go so far as to call it a shit storm. But at the same time we got a lot of likes, a lot of positive reactions and feedback for the council. It's always the way, negative comments are more likely to attract attention, people who feel negatively about it are more likely to leave a comment while others are more quiet."
Over 440 comments were published on the Facebook post. The mayor stressed that he read every single one.
"99% were from people who aren't even from the municipality, lots of them were from much further away. The post seems to have spread via social media and circulated among certain groups, where it triggered these emotions."
In the meantime, the rainbow, which is painted on the cycle path between Niederanven school and the care home, has already been vandalised.
"Someone has taken it upon themselves to paint male genitals on the rainbow. It's not very visible but it's there. There are also trackmarks from scooters and bikes, where the riders have purposely tried to leave marks behind when they brake. At the very least, as a council we have filed a complaint for the drawing and we will get rid of the marks. We have plenty of paint, we can cover it up as often as we like. And every time there is a clear act of vandalism, we will absolutely file complaints with the police [...] the rainbow will stay as long as I do", the mayor declared.
Andy Maar, of the Rosa Lëtzebuerg association, says these reactions online are nothing new.
"It's always frustrating to see such negative comments online, one would think we would have progressed past this in the year 2026. The most dangerous thing we could do is just leave these comments without reaction. We always advise 'counterspeech' when there is hatespeech, in which one can argue against the hateful comments with facts. In most cases, the other side never even responds."
Niederanven council has opted for this approach. Instead of deleting the hate comments, or leaving them without a response, the council pinned a statement to the top of the post, clearly distancing itself from the negative backlash, Ternes explained.
The rainbow prior to the vandalism:
The municipality of Niederanven is not the only council affected by online hate. Luxembourg City council received a similar backlash when it recently announced the return of Pride. Alderman Maurice Bauer expressed shock at the comments:
"It cannot be that we live in a world in which people are persecuted for their sexual orientation, fewer than 1,000km away from here. And then we receive online hate or disgusting comments such as these. Obviously anyone can comment as they wish but it must result in respectful exchanges between people."
This is exactly why these symbols for mutual respect and solidarity are needed. Maar thanked the municipalities installing such symbols, explaining they are not just important for the visibility of the queer community and LGBTIQ+ people, but also to support people who are in a phase of finding out about themselves, but who may be too afraid to be open about it for fear of exclusion.
"If these people can see that councils, the administration and society are there for them and accept them as they are, it is so important," Maar concluded.
