The pillory is ready in the town square in Moss, Norway. The pillory was a form of public punishment. People were displayed in the town square while crowds spat at them, shouted at them and humiliated them. The point was not merely punishment. It was public humiliation. The crowd was meant to participate in the degradation of the person locked into the pillory. Everyone was supposed to understand what happens when you step out of line. That is how you teach a population to conform. The pillory was abolished because such physical punishments were considered degrading, barbaric and incompatible with a more modern and humane justice system. For the city of Moss the pillory has been brought back to the town square. And right now, a young lesbian woman is in it. Her “crime”? Building Moss Pride — a local initiative independent of the organization FRI. She and a few other volunteers wanted to create their own Pride programme in the city where they live — and have ownership of that programme. They invited LHB Norge and Hungry Hearts to Moss Pride 2026. And then came the backlash. Not just from local activists and queer activists from Oslo. Now local political parties and organizations have joined in. Moss SV. Moss Rødt. HEF Moss. And Rødt in Trondheim The message is clear: No LGB without T. No lesbians saying that men cannot be lesbians at Moss Pride. Not in our town. The young lesbian woman in the pillory could take no more. She has resigned, apologized and accepted blame. She is stepping down as leader of the project she has spent four years building. I understand why. When a young person is left standing completely alone while the Moss mob tears her apart — and not a single adult steps in — it is not hard to understand why she wants to get away. But a public pillory works differently today than it did in the 17th and 18th centuries. Social media makes sure of that. Choices made today can follow a person for years. And the message from the Moss mob is clear: Too little, too late. What kind of community treats young, independent, free-thinking people like this? Because this was ugly. What happens to the next young lesbian, gay or bisexual person who dares to build something themselves — without T? Who dares to create their own project and invite Hungry Hearts? Who dares to organize a local Pride on their own terms? Who dares to say: “I want to decide what happens in the project I built.” The pillory is ready in the town square in Moss. @MossKommune @mossavis @lgbinternationl @AllianceLGB @ActiveLesbians @LesbianLabour @ScotLesbians @againstgrmrs @ThefantasticsL @WDI_UK