On June 12 of this year, 31 members of a white supremacist group traveled from all over the US to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with the intent of wreaking chaos at the town’s Pride festival. Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said, “It is clear to us, based on the gear the individuals had with them … along with paperwork that we seized from them, that they came to riot downtown.” The extremist group was wearing masks, had shields, and their U-Haul truck contained riot gear and a smoke grenade. And people wonder why the LGBTQ+ community feels the need for Gay Pride.
What’s interesting is that all the things people hate about the gay community are found within the heterosexual community, but to a much greater degree — yet it seems to be more permissible and forgivable as long as you’re “straight.” Did you know that the US is ranked one of the world’s worst countries for human trafficking, that 80 – 90 percent of sex offenders are male (most of them white), and that 95 percent of pedophilia cases are committed by heterosexuals? Perhaps it’s time for straight people to take a look in the mirror.
There’s a good deal of purposeful misinformation surrounding the LGBTQ+ community and why they feel they need to have a Pride parade and festival. So, let’s try to shed some light on the subject.
There are a lot of people who don’t understand the real reason for Gay Pride. For many, it’s an opportunity to party and celebrate all things gay. Some people take great offense at this, and their reaction is to try and close down the LGBTQ+ community, to ban Pride parades, and even go so far as to declare the need for “Straight Pride.” Put simply, they’re missing the point.
Gay Pride was called into being out of a need to no longer be put down, suppressed by those afraid of gay people, denied civil rights, and damned by religionists caught up in their maniacal self-righteousness. For so many years, gay people have been hated, discriminated against, and even tortured and killed just for being who they are.
So “Pride” is about having survived — and continues to survive — an unending onslaught of negativity, scorn, vitriol, bullying, loathing, scapegoating, disenfranchisement, and ex-communication. It’s about:
- tuning out the voices telling you that you’re bad, a sinner, and evil;
- seeing yourself as worthy and deserving of all things good, that you are a Divine spark of God; and
- celebrating your very existence and all the good you bring to humanity …
… despite the myopic haters, the misinformed ignorant and fearful, and the fear-mongering opportunists of every stripe who will say anything, even if it’s an outright lie and bears false witness against another.
The first Pride parades were held in 1970 following the 1969 Stonewall riots in NYC and were a mixture of protest against mistreatment by the police, unfair judicial practices, lack of civil rights and protections, liberation from societal oppression, and celebrating gay identity. Since then, Pride is observed with parades and festivals around the world and in the US, June has been designated as Gay Pride month.
What many people fail to understand is that they’ve been led astray by those who are 1) afraid of gay people for whatever reasons, 2) those who adhere to ancient writings based on the personal dislikes and insecurities of the authors and not on the truth, and 3) those seeking power, control, fame, and the ego-based need to be right and superior.
You can always rely on human beings to resort to rationalizations and bald-faced deceit in order to avoid dealing with the truth and their insecurities and fears. And hate appeals to the lowest level of consciousness because fear is its fundamental driver.
What we’re seeing today in the US and elsewhere is the same old story being played out — and yet gay people still exist and thrive. They’re not “grooming” anyone, but they are informing, unlike so many straight people who are unable to see their own grooming efforts as they work to instill a white supremacist mindset, promote religious intolerance and ignorance, and advocate a white-washed history of the US so white children aren’t made to feel uncomfortable — though it seems to be okay to continually subject Black, Hispanic, and Asian children to racism and LGBTQ+ children and adults to bullying and discrimination.
Speaking of children, there is one other aspect of discrimination that the gay community is subjected to: family values. The one-dimensionality of “family values” exists in a B&W world whereas the rest of the world is in full technicolor.
What “family values” adherents are blind to is the fact that they aren’t the end-all-and-be-all moral model of what constitutes a family, especially if it’s based on religion. Do a search on Google to find out just how moral the “family values” people are. They’re rife with all the moral bankruptcy they allege the gay community has. They’re really good at throwing stones (despite what the Bible says about that). As was said earlier, it seems to be more permissible and forgivable as long as you’re “straight” and a member of an approved religion.
The point is that all families experience challenges, but gay families have it worse for one reason: the “family values” people purposely make life worse for gay families with their judgmentalism, discrimination, divisiveness, and intolerance — instead of leaving them alone.
And, FYI, judgmentalism, discrimination, divisiveness, and intolerance exist within the gay community. The fact is humans are humans no matter what their ethnicity, religion, education, gender, age, or sexual preference. And as much as many people don’t want to admit it, we are the same, yet unique.
It’s been said a million times by many people: We need to celebrate our uniqueness, not try to turn everyone into lemmings just so we can feel comfortable. Life is enlarged and enriched by diversity; uniformity shrinks and impoverishes the mind and spirit.
So many of the world’s amazing creations have come from people who were considered different and outsiders: nerds, geniuses, savants, people with disabilities, artists, visionaries, and immigrants, as well as gay people.
So, Gay Pride? Until the day arrives when LGBTQ+ people are no longer targets of other people’s hate and ignorance, then, yes, we need Gay Pride. Oh, and here are two versions of what PRIDE can mean — not just for the gay community but for anyone:
Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Discipline, and Excellence
People Respecting Individuality, Diversity, and Equality
