Badass Pride Under Fire
- CC
- Jun 27
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 29
It’s been a very heavy #PrideMonth for #LGBTQ+ people in our country, and as an LGBTQ+ person and a cancer survivor, it's getting harder to stay hopeful. This is a call to action for straight allies.
Normally this time of year would be an all out celebration in our world. My favorite season of the year, my birthday - which I am so lucky to still have, and my anniversary of remission (3 years on 6/15), and of course, Pride Month. But this year, all of it is being overshadowed by the the amount of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation (more than ever in history), court decisions, Supreme Court decisions, as well as the stripping of our history and our “letters” from places like #Stonewall, and renaming the ship named after #HarveyMilk (a decorated Gay veteran), to the defunding of medical treatments, research & cancer research, and veterans benefits for LGBTQ+ people, to the banning of our flags and books, to not returning trans person’s passports, to very real threats to dissolve our federal marriage rights (and with that 1100+ other rights), to the dismissal of decorated trans people from our military, to childish name calling. The timing is no accident. The bullying is strategic. This administration's cruelty knows no bounds…
…And it all happened while the straight world has been distracted by big bad bills, ego parades, unsanctioned declarations of war, the offering up of vast swaths of our public lands to the highest bidder, defunding the poorest and youngest American's of food and essential healthcare (like preventative cancer care and contraception), threatening women's rights - from bodily autonomy and birth control to voting, and the continued erosion of immigrant’s rights, in the most deplorable of ways.
With all that's going on, I get that if you're a straight person, LGBTQ+ rights might seem like the least of your worries. But think of it like a target 🎯 while we are not the current bullseye (trans people and immigrants are), where do you and I fall in those outer rings? Remember, that "What happens to the least of us, happens to all of us." That is a truism. We may be first, but who will be last?
Those of us in the LGBTQ+ community are fighting a familiar battle, but mark my words the stakes are far higher this time, and people (especially straight people) don't even realize it! Before the election, as we begged those closest to us to take our concerns to heart, they said things like, "That can't happen." and "They won't do that." or "That's not what this is about." Or my personal favorite, "This is the best country in the world, if you don't like it, leave!"
I love my country! But what do you do when you're country doesn't love you back?
Even now, these same people (along with 50% of America) don't see the danger. Well, I've now taken a class on the constitution, read Project 2025, and have had more insight than I ever wanted on the rise of Hitler, and I beg to differ!
Imagine being so fearful of a group that makes up only around 10% of the nation’s population, and in the case of trans people, 1% of the population (The same number as the Jews in Germany) - that you would do and say anything to strip them of privacy, dehumanize them, vilify and even criminalize them so that the populous begins to see us as the enemy?
Have you ever BEEN to a pride parade? There’s so much love that one would have to be a psychopath to not feel it! I mean, you really should be questioning the people who hate love, not the other way around.
In small and big ways, in lies and fear-mongering propaganda, and now in high court decisions, they are chipping away at our rights and livelihood in ways that we may never recover from. Further, they are doing it out in the open and in the name of God! Last I checked, that was blasphemy. That’s certainly not the God I know.… Besides, if you read your Bible, you should know that it’s not your job to reconcile my life with your religion. Our existence harms no one - Jesus himself befriended us! ...And then there’s that whole separation of church and state thing.
It is quite frankly terrifying to NOT TO FEEL SAFE IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY!
And me & Amy were born here, so I can only imagine how immigrants are feeling right now! I never thought I’d say this, but the current situation for LGBTQ+ people in America is far worse than people realize, and far worse than it was a quarter century ago when Amy and I got together; because now the hate and open violence against our people has been unleashed, condoned and even encouraged by the highest leaders and the highest court in our land. Plain and simple, you are being lied to in order to create a common enemy out of us. Fear controls a populous. Ignorance fuels the fear, so the tendency is to believe whatever you are told. It’s propaganda 101.
But, PRIDE WAS ALWAYS A PROTEST, as is JOY!
We have always existed. We will always exist. We will not go back. They can slander us and strip our rights, but in the end, who will be judged harsher? The ones that hated us and taught others to hate? Or those of us who loved each other? My bet is on us. ❤️
So, if you are a straight ally, WE NEED YOU more than ever! PLEASE SPEAK UP!
Call your legislators and tell them to stop supporting anti LGBTQ+ legislation.
Reach out and ask an LGBTQ+ person how they are doing. Really listen. Give them a safe space to vent. Because we are NOT OK!
Learn about LGBTQ+ and don’t let fear mongering and propaganda win. If you want to understand something. Ask us. We are after all, the experts in our own lives.
Need proof? Check the facts!
They commonly refer to us as sexual criminals: Look up crime and especially sexual crime statistics. You will find that most pedophiles and persons who commit violent sexual crimes like rape are vastly white, heterosexual men.
Most of all, don’t let other people get away with ignorance when it comes to LGBTQ+ people. Speak up!
We are NOT the enemy. We are not now, nor have we ever have been “after” anyone or anything except LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS as afforded to us by the Constitution of the United States.
We deserve better because PRIDE is EVERY MONTH, not just JUNE.
Theoretically, it will take 3.5% of the population to change the current trajectory. Non-violent resistance campaigns achieving at least 3.5% of the population actively participating have never failed to bring about significant social or political change. Resistance comes in many forms. Choose the one that works best for you. What side of history will you be on?
Final Word: In Hungary (a place that this administration and Fox news has greatly praised for it's shift to authoritarianism), recently banned ALL Pride parades, and was actively using AI technology (similar to what has been created by Planatir technologies here at home) to illegally monitor, ID and label those attending an unsanctioned pride parade in Budapest. They are now under investigation by the EU Commission for violating the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act, which prohibits surveillance of citizens. Sadly, we don't have an EU Commission to keep tabs on our government to keep us safe, and this administration recently banned the wearing of masks at peaceful protests (though ice still wears them). You can make the logical leap.
❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷🖤🤎🤍🩶 We continue to be in solidarity with all those who are facing persecution in the shit show we are living in. We see you, we feel you, we are you, we love you! In love and light, we fight on. LOVE is also an act of resistance. ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷🖤🤎🤍🩶
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