There’s so much anti-LGBTQ sentiment going on around the country. And yet, the feelings of joy and excitement and anticipation for Pride still pervade the air as they always seem to do. In Philadelphia, we’re gearing up for one of the busiest Pride months we’ve had in recent memory, a bounce back not only from the Covid-19 pandemic but from the disbandment of one Pride organization and another organization, galaei, taking the reins.
As always, the work of equality and visibility is far more important and far more exciting than any bigoted person or group. The joy of Pride, and the continued need for positive change, is louder than the cries of those stuck in the homophobic and transphobic past. For anyone who needs a reminder: we will overcome those hateful cries, because we’ll put in the hard work — within ourselves and in our communities — to do so.
The reason that Pride will always overcome bigotry is because Pride is impossible to destroy. You can’t destroy something that’s a part of everybody, especially because that something means different things to different people. To some, Pride is the freedom to express themselves how they like; to others it’s the ability to find community; and to some it’s the mere act of self-love and self-care. You can’t destroy something so omnipresent. Even if MAGA Republicans try to take down one aspect of Pride, there are countless more aspects ready to reveal themselves.
Yes, even if MAGA Republicans scare Bud Light or Target into fewer rainbows, there will be another aspect of Pride ready to stand front and center.
LGBTQ visibility is a vital part of Pride; it’s the reason we have Pride in the first place. That’s why it’s so important for the neolithic right-wing to attack any national, wide-reaching corporation that attempts to say gay. That’s why they are going after libraries and schools. That’s why they are trying to intimidate their neighbors so much that they scale back their allyship. But one thing they can’t do is rewrite history.
They can’t put Stonewall back in a box. They can’t silence the voices of those marching in the first Pride from Christopher Street to Central Park. They can’t destroy the work of LGBTQ elected officials from Elaine Noble to Tammy Baldwin. They can’t rewrite the scripts of “Love, Simon” or “Moonlight.” They can’t stop a young queer person from knowing who they are, even if they don’t know how to say it yet.
The LGBTQ community won’t go away because we won’t forget where we’ve been and where we need to reach. So no matter what destruction the wrath of the confused sad conservatives might bring, the LGBTQ community will continue to build as we always have. We’ll build on our accomplishments; we’ll build on our hopes; we’ll build on our pride.
When the thoughts of book bans or rabid legislators foaming rainbow at the mouth becomes too overwhelming, don’t forget this: we started off small. We started off with individual people, all around the country and the world, saying they refused to live silently. They may have numbered only one or two in a city, but they steadily found more and more people. One small act — of visibility, or kindness, or excitement — turned to hundreds and then into thousands and millions.
And still today, those small singular acts are what make up our community and what make up Pride. They matter. Talking to your neighbor about LGBTQ people matters. Buying a banned book to give to someone who needs it matters. Holding your partner’s hand in public matters. Calling out acts of homophobia and transphobia matters. All of those things will help us weather the storms of hatred that inevitably come around.
Remember: all of us are able to help, in our own way, continue the traditions of Pride and ensure that the community continues to grow and thrive. The important thing is to figure out what ways you can best help, and to have the courage to do those things proudly.