I believe we are forging a new Pride, it will be different from last year, it will be different than from the year before… it will be a new Pride as Stonewall was forged in oppression and lead to a new pride in who we are, so is this new Pride is going to forged in the oppression of the fascist Trump & Company administration and its pogrom against us.
USA TodayBy Terry CollinsMarch 23, 2025San Francisco Pride Director Suzanne Ford feels both saddened and determined about this year's plans for the city's iconic Pride parade.The longtime LGBTQ organization is dealing with the potential loss of $300,000 in corporate sponsorship for its hugely popular annual parade, funding needed ahead of June's Pride Month. Multiyear sponsors including Comcast, Anheuser-Busch and Diageo have all backed away from participating."We're very disappointed. We're hurt. It's not just a number or transaction," Ford told USA TODAY shortly after announcing the sponsors' exit. "We know everybody is facing difficult decisions to make right now. But we're not going anywhere."
Trump’s intimidation of companies by threats of legal action by the Department of Justice is having a chilling affect on people’s First Amendment rights! The New York Times in the article “Companies Pull Back From Pride Events as Trump Targets D.E.I.” writes that;
“It was totally shocking,” Ms. Ford said, adding that some of the companies had supported San Francisco Pride for decades. “It was like somebody in your family just all of a sudden saying, ‘We don’t want to be involved with you anymore.’”With only weeks left to lock in sponsors for the summertime events, Pride organizers across the United States say that many longtime corporate sponsors are suddenly being evasive about their financial commitments or abandoning their support entirely. While some companies cited tight budgets or economic uncertainty, Pride organizers see another factor: President Trump’s widening crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion, which has prompted corporate America to retreat from such initiatives.
Fear and intimidation are a fascist’s weapons! We see it in every petty dictator! Nicolás Maduro Moros in Venezuela, Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, and in Hungary, Victor Orban!
We are now facing the new Pride where protest is now the call!
Corporate support wanes under Trump Administration policies.Out SmartBy Lauren Mascarenhas, CNNMarch 31, 2025Jordan Braxton still remembers her first Pride celebration in St. Louis, when it was still a relatively small gathering of about 5,000 people asserting their identity, in a city where simply being visibly gay was an act of resistance. It was in Forest Park, tucked away from downtown, and photography was discouraged because people feared they could lose their jobs if they were identified.Back in June of 1984, she says, Pride was more protest than parade.As the years went on, the LGBTQ+ community earned hard fought rights, and that small gathering in the park evolved into a brigade of 30,000-plus people marching down Market Street, with floats, glitter and performers, said Braxton, who now sits on the board of St. Louis Pride.[…]But this year, amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity and equity efforts and a torrent of legislative attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, Pride organizers around the nation are facing a decline in sponsorships and visible corporate support.Scrambling to fill the gap in funding, these groups are leaning on grassroots fundraising efforts and returning to that original spirit of resistance. This year, the organizers say, simply showing up will send an important message.“We’re putting the protest back in Pride,” Braxton says.
We have to get smart and work with our allies to bring a new Pride to the community, instead of partying we need focus on bring the community together! Finding our true allies, those that stand up with us when the times get tough! And we note who were our fair-weather friends were.
We have to dust off our rallying cry.
We're Here, We're Queer!Our bodies, our choice!Trans Rights are Human Rights!Out and Proud!My Identity is Not a Debate!No Pride for Some Without Pride for All!Exist, Resist, Persist!These slogans reflect the diverse experiences, demands, and spirit of the LGBTQ+ community in their ongoing fight for equality, acceptance, and liberation. They have been chanted at protests, displayed on signs, and shared through various forms of media, playing a crucial role in raising awareness and driving social change.*
And let us remember that here in certain state we are under attack, our right to exist is being questioned, LGBTQ+ people are fleeing oppressive states, our right to marry is being questioned, we are heading back to the time of the Lavender Scare and Anita Bryant!
[/Editorial]
*Gemini AI: “What are some of the protest slogans from the LGBTQ+ community?”
And this will give you something to think about...
AP NewsBy JUSTIN SPIKEApril 15, 2025Hungary’s parliament on Monday passed an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics call another step toward authoritarianism by the populist government.The amendment, which required a two-thirds vote, passed along party lines with 140 votes for and 21 against. It was proposed by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition led by populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.Ahead of the vote — the final step for the amendment — opposition politicians and other protesters attempted to blockade the entrance to a parliament parking garage. Police physically removed demonstrators, who had used zip ties to bind themselves together.The amendment declares that children’s rights to moral, physical and spiritual development supersede any right other than the right to life, including that to peacefully assemble. Hungary’s contentious “child protection” legislation prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors aged under 18.
Is this the preverbal "Hand writing on the wall?"
No comments:
Post a Comment