There are always protestors at Pride. People who stand with signs saying "Homo sex is sin" or "Jesus Saves" or a giant list of all the reasons you could be going to hell. They are usually yelling, but they are drowned out by the cheering of everyone else attending. They make themselves super visible so it's easy to avoid them. Or to flip them off when you walk by. Whichever.
In March, Reuters said that hate crimes have gone up 20% since the election.
Last year, when there was a car crash near the entrance to Pride in the Streets, I was worried it was an attack. The first thing I thought was that some homophobic asshole was emboldened by the Trump campaign and decided to do something awful. In the end, it was a DUI. But that wasn't my first thought.
What is it going to be like this year? Will the protestors be louder? More confrontational? Will there be more of them? Are homophobes going to be out in droves because they think that they can get away with it - or, even if they don't get away with it, that they will be able to hurt people. The murderer from Portland doesn't seem to care that he got caught - he believes he made his point.
The statement by the President of the Pittsburgh FOP that putting Pride decals on cars is a "slippery slope" doesn't help the situation. Even if the individual officers support the event, the official position is anti-LGBTQ. Not a great relationship.
I'm definitely still going to Pride. Probably even more events than usual (I'm going to head down to Ready. Set. Pride in a few minutes). Pittsburgh Pride is going to be bigger than ever this year - we aren't backing down. Even if the newly longer Pride isn't a direct response to right wing hate mongers, it seems like it is.
The LGBTQ community is not backing down. We're not going anywhere.
Happy Pride!
Last year, when there was a car crash near the entrance to Pride in the Streets, I was worried it was an attack. The first thing I thought was that some homophobic asshole was emboldened by the Trump campaign and decided to do something awful. In the end, it was a DUI. But that wasn't my first thought.
What is it going to be like this year? Will the protestors be louder? More confrontational? Will there be more of them? Are homophobes going to be out in droves because they think that they can get away with it - or, even if they don't get away with it, that they will be able to hurt people. The murderer from Portland doesn't seem to care that he got caught - he believes he made his point.
The statement by the President of the Pittsburgh FOP that putting Pride decals on cars is a "slippery slope" doesn't help the situation. Even if the individual officers support the event, the official position is anti-LGBTQ. Not a great relationship.
I'm definitely still going to Pride. Probably even more events than usual (I'm going to head down to Ready. Set. Pride in a few minutes). Pittsburgh Pride is going to be bigger than ever this year - we aren't backing down. Even if the newly longer Pride isn't a direct response to right wing hate mongers, it seems like it is.
The LGBTQ community is not backing down. We're not going anywhere.
Happy Pride!
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