White Pride??????

How many times have to heard people write in comments about “White Pride” or “Straight Pride parade” (One was even attempted in Boston a couple of years ago) and they are many times written by far right-wing pundits.

Getting back to our roots: if one thing all these Republicans anti-LGBTQ+ laws are doing is getting us back to our roots… how Pride originally started. It wasn’t a celebration of our rights because we didn’t have any back then, back them we were just struggling to stay out of jail and keep our jobs and we have come full circle. The first Pride was about… “We are queer, and we are here!”

The debate over Stonewall: Uprising or Riot? That is the question.

Google Bard put it this way,

The term "Stonewall riots" is more commonly used in the media, while "Stonewall uprising" is preferred by some activists and historians. The choice of terms reflects different perspectives on the events of June 1969. Some people see the riots as a spontaneous outburst of anger and frustration, while others see them as a more organized act of resistance.

Ultimately, the terms "Stonewall riots" and "Stonewall uprising" are both accurate descriptions of what happened in June 1969. The events were both violent and spontaneous, and they represented a turning point in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

I look at it this way… The oppressors sees it as a riot, the oppressed see it as a uprising.

When you see it as an uprising then Pride makes sense. 

Google Bard wrote about why Pride was started;

Pride Month is a time to reflect on the progress that has been made in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, but it is also a time to remember that there is still more work to be done. There are still many countries where being LGBTQ+ is illegal, and there is still discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ people in many parts of the world.

Pride Month is a time to celebrate, but it is also a time to continue fighting for equality. By coming together and raising our voices, we can create a world where everyone can be proud of who they are.

Our sisters and brothers are fighting for their existence again, states around the country that are banning drag queens and trans people. They are banning books about us! They are banning just “saying gay!” The oppression is starting anew.

In a letter-to-the-editor in the Desert Sun…

Pride is both a communal celebration of visibility and personal celebration of self-worth

The uprising at the Stonewall Inn in June 1969 sparked a liberation movement — a call to action that continues to inspire us to live up to our nation’s promise of a more perfect union. The yearly Pride event is a time to recall the trials that the gay community has endured and to rejoice in the triumphs of individuals who have bravely fought — and continue to fight — for justice, liberty and full equality. Pride is both a jubilant communal celebration of visibility and a personal celebration of self-worth and dignity.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) people are extraordinary and we need to recognize the resilience and determination of the many individuals who fought and are still fighting to live freely and authentically. We may have been bullied in our childhood, erased in our classrooms, shunned by our government, stigmatized by religion, visited by a plague and still, we rise. Today, we joyfully say, “This is me; this is us.” We need to celebrate our incredible journey.

Together, we are opening hearts and minds, and laying the foundation for a more just and equitable city and country. Let us continue to dedicate ourselves to protecting the most vulnerable among us.

Ken Richard, Rancho Mirage

The Library of Congress wrote in an article...

On June 28, 1970, on the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, the first Pride marches were held in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Thousands of LGBT+ people gathered to commemorate Stonewall and demonstrate for equal rights. The events of Stonewall and the liberation movements that followed were a direct result of prior decades of LGBT+ activism and organizing. In particular, Pride traditions were adapted from the "Reminder Day Pickets" held annually (1965-1969) on July 4 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[…]

At the November 1969 E.R.C.H.O Conference [Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations] , the 13 voting organizations present adopted the following resolution:

"We propose that a demonstration be held annually on the last Saturday in June in New York City to commemorate the 1969 spontaneous demonstrations on Christopher Street and this demonstration be called CHRISTOPHER STREET LIBERATION DAY." The Stonewall Inn is located on Christopher Street, and was the origin point for the Uprising. 

One thing to remember… we were not invited to the first Pride parade in 1970. We were specifically told: Keep Out! This is only for the gays and lesbians.

We had to demand our rights to be part of Pride but we were not the only ones banned for Pride but also gays who were too feminine and lesbians who were too butch were also told not to come to Pride. They only wanted gays and lesbians who could assimilate into society.  Listen to the boos when Sylvia Rivera talk at the 1973 New York Pride!

This year those who march in the Florida Pride parades, those who attend Pride events are doing so in the environment that those who marched in the first Pride parade had to face. Violence, discrimination, harassment, and arrest some 60 years later!

We celebrate Pride because we made it through another year alive.