Martha-Ann Alito, wife of conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, has been quite offended by Pride month lately. During a recorded conversation with independent filmmaker Lauren Windsor, Martha-Ann decided to make Pride month all about her.
“I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month,” she said.
Catholics also celebrate the month of the Sacred Heart in June and for some reason, this makes Martha-Ann feel left out while the LGBTQ+ community waves their rainbow flags.
However, what she doesn’t seem to realize is that no one is stopping her from celebrating an event that means something to her. She wants to wave a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag? She can do it. She can celebrate her Catholicism unapologetically. As a matter of fact, some LGBTQ+ community members would willingly celebrate alongside her. According to “Religiosity Among LGBT Adults in the US,” a study from Williams Institute in 2020, “Nationwide, about 5.3 million LGBT adults are religious, including an estimated 3,063,000 LGBT adults who are moderately religious and 2,230,000 who are highly religious.”
Martha-Ann Alito is not alone when it comes to bemoaning Pride month. There is also a loud and vocal minority who get upset about how “the gays get a whole month while veterans don’t get anything.”
Last month was National Military Appreciation Month, Month of the Military Caregiver, Gold Star Awareness Month, Military Spouse Appreciation Month. Next month is Military Consumer Protection Month. November is National Veterans & Military Families Month. And April is Month of the Military Child.
However, there usually aren’t loud celebrations during these occasions. There are an estimated 1 million veterans who identify as LGBTQ+ and surely, they would love to take part in the festivities…if there were any.
The point is that these “pride months” exist for several different populations but far-right conservatives always seem to complain that there isn’t a spectacle over them. To be honest, it is sad that you don’t get your proper flowers. But instead of grieving over your community not getting the respect it deserves, create your own celebrations and marches. Pretty soon, corporations will catch on and create their own lines of military potato chips or Catholic toothpaste or any other pointless types of branding to get money from you. Then you can complain about your own personal versions of rainbow capitalism.
It seems like most people only cry “what about me?” as a way to silence the LGBTQ+ community, saying that we are stopping them from celebrating themselves.
We’re not.
So to everyone who wants a “pride month” celebration of their own, just do it. No one is stopping you.