The Importance of PRIDE
I want to speak a moment about why PRIDE is still needed.
If you're new to my page, you may or may not have missed the recent uptick in negative attention. Specifically, people spewing bigotry and hatred against the LGBTQIA+ community. I won't go into detail regarding the hundreds of comments I deleted, you can see what is still on the post on my page if you wish, but they highlighted just how necessary PRIDE still is.
PRIDE started as a riot. A transgender woman of color, and others like her, said enough was enough and demanded equality and justice. Things got better, if not perfect. Marriage equality started to become law, as did workplace protections. We started to see the community in mainstream media, normalizing the lives of queer people and promoting acceptance. HRT for transgender individuals become more widely available, as well as hormone blockers for transgender youth. Hate still existed in the world, but things appeared to be headed in the right direction.
In 2015, a figurehead of hate came into the world stage. Their brand of hate and affinity for fascism opened the floodgates for hatred and bigotry, and suddenly those voices became loud. The introduction of "alternative facts" coupled with irresponsible media created what appears to be an entirely alternate reality that coexists with our own - one where queer people are accused to be pedophiles, perverts, and dangers to everyone. One where transgender individuals are told they are not worthy of rights, and their medical treatments banned across many states. A reality where members of the LGBTQIA+ community are uprooting their lives in attempts to move to safer states, because staying where they are is a danger to their lives and wellbeing.
Posts like the one I put up the other day, promoting children's apparel that says things like, "I Love My Dads", highlights just how bad things have become. The over one thousand comments were filled with bigotry and hatred, as well as talking points from this alternate reality that boggled the mind. It was a stark reminder of just how much work lies ahead in the fight for equality, acceptance, and equity.
This is why PRIDE is still sorely needed. Not only is it a celebration of identities; PRIDE is when we reclaim the rights and freedoms we have been denied for centuries. It is when we take up space in spaces we were previously denied. PRIDE was a riot, but it can be again if needed.
#LaLaSassafras #PRIDE #PRIDEWasARiot
