On The Anniversary of Stonewall
Today marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City. On June 28, 1969, members of the NYPD entered the Stonewall Inn with a warrant investigating illegal alcohol sales. Though the bar had been raided frequently, that evening proved to be different. As many in and outside the bar began to fight back and resist, rioting and chaos ensued. Considered by many as the catalyst for the modern Gay Liberation Movement, Stonewall is the reason why we celebrate “gay pride” in the month of June.
I often hear people questioning the necessity of a gay pride parade in the year 2008. If you live in a city like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, acceptance of the GLBT community seems like a no brainer. Why have a parade for something that isn’t such a big deal anymore? Right? But if you sit down with someone who lives in Mississippi, that person might have an amazingly different outlook.
Everyday people identifying as queer, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, same-gender loving, etc., are discriminated against in many different ways. The GLBT population still is disenfranchised when it comes to the protections of their families, regardless of the advances made in many parts of the country. Children like Lawrence King continue to go unprotected in schools that are supposed to keep themselves safe. The Transgender community can’t even count on pro-gay lawmakers to stand up for their rights in times of political pressure. Until all of that and much more is solved, the celebrations of our community continue to be necessary and important.
Gay Pride is a celebration of the uniqueness of members of it’s community. It celebrates everything we are and everything we want to become. Many will argue that Pride celebrations have become to commercialized with endless corporate sponsorship. But do those people remember when corporations refused to advertise within our community? While there are still many homophobic companies and executives who refuse to do business with the gay community, there are many who celebrate and applaud us. Miller Light continues to fund our parades, poor money into our communities, and resist calls from anti-gay groups calling for boycotts. But yet we have a problem with them advertising on a float?
Clearly, my point of this rant is that Pride means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Whether you live in a liberal and progressive community with the ability to live openly as you wish, or in a community that has not caught up with the times, you should be proud of the work that has been done and excited about the work that needs to follow. So celebrate your pride as you feel comfortable. If you’re not wanting to be a part of the parade and festivities, then stay home and celebrate as you wish. But let those who want to take our pride to the streets continue to do so.
Happy Pride.
